Clearly, they are still in love.

He kept asking me: “Is the plate full or empty?”  and it sort of confused me.  He asked in between each bite.  After about the third time I finally figured out he was asking if it was ok if he didn’t eat it all.  (Do I have to make the plate empty?) As soon as I told him he didn’t have to finish it, he looked relieved and left the rest of the cake.  A kid that isn’t really into cake just baffles my brain.

The kids made some cards for Grandpa/Opa and Zach:

From Zora to Opa:

From Zora to Daddy:

From Zane to Grandpa:

From Zane to Daddy:

And a few shots of lunch

She is dipping the blueberries into the leftover, cooled chocolate.

Yum!

As the sale neared it’s close we went back to the kid’s area to find that Zora had made an instant best friend (not much of a surprise. lol) and both kids had a lot of fun.  Zane was starting to zone out, so the timing was good.  (had fun, but he was about done).

Zora and her new friend

And, since I didn’t have one photo where everybody looked good, I will ask you to use your imagination and combine these two photos.  Mom is good in both, but take Dad and Zora from this one…

and my Mom and Zane from this one…

…and you have one good photo of my folks and their grandkids. 

Upon arrival, Zora wanted to show off the box she made to Great-Grandma, who was, naturally, enthused that her great grand-daughter had a love of arts inherited from her.

After a wonderful dinner the kids were on a mission to find the Easter eggs hidden around the room.

The eggs at Oma’s had booty in them: candy and coins.

And the most fun of all, watching new love bloom.  It is so wonderful to see my brother so happy.  They are so wonderful together, comfortable together on a level that many people who have been together for years don’t get to.  Reminds me of when Zach & I were dating.  Happy times.

Steve spent considerable time pushing Zora around on the tricycle, much to her utter delight.

When we pulled the bicycle out we realized, much to our chagrin, that the tires were flat.  This is a “BIG PROBLEM” for Zach and I, who are not particularly good at stuff like that, but Steve and Nora took care of it for us.  (THANK YOU!)  They probably don’t even realize that it meant so much to us, but it did.

This picture would make me a bundle of nerves if I hadn’t seen it in person.  My dad is going really slowly and being very careful, which made this “hover mom” feel less anxious than I normally would have been about 2 kids, a 4-wheeler and no helmets.  lol.  If I remember correctly, Zora also talked dad into a ride in the tractor, but I was busy talking to mom and grandma when that happened.

They charged up the Hummer Remote Control vehicle, which was formally a point of contention when it was given to a toddler Zane (and was powerful enough to run over the Christmas tree when we tested it out after he got it).  It immediately was sent out to the farm because Zane was using it as a step stool to reach things and was too powerful (and complicated) for him to use at that time.  (plus, who would think a Hummer was the appropriate thing to give the toddler of two hippy type people?)  Now it is  a lot of fun to use, but I still have to laugh at the fact it takes many more hours to charge the batteries than it does to run (seems appropriate for a Hummer, doesn’t it).  At any rate, we had a ball with the Hummer, especailly when teasing the dogs with it.  (The dogs LOVED it…it was so much fun for all of us watching them chase it around the farm.)

And now the kids are both able to control it well, so they have a lot of fun with it too.

After the food had settled a bit, it was time to make dessert…homemade ice cream.  Steve has a great, easy recipe for it and always invites the kids to help make it.  Zane isn’t as interested in the process, but Zora sure is.  She will brag for days later that she helped make the ice cream.

Our favorite boy, with the hair that drives moms and grandmas crazy, was loving the feeling of the wind in his hair.

And then we attempted a group photo.  Apparently, it is asking too much for both kids to smile at the same time and pose appropriately.  Oh well, it is the real deal, which is better any way.

I can’t for the life of me remember the dog’s name, but she was beautiful and very good with the kids.  She also made me want to fall asleep just watching her stretch out in the sunshine.  Nora is a vet and the dog was abandoned by the owner after an injury.  Honestly, it was probably the best thing that could have happened because she has a great life now, including a loving owner and a new friend in Shelby (Steve’s dog).

Steve showed Nora this diabolical game from our Grandpa S.  (paternal grandfather) Nora worked on it for a while, making good progress on it, then Steve showed her the solution.  She fits great in this family…brilliant and nerdy enough to enjoy puzzles like the rest of us.

A fantastically relaxing and fun day for all.  We really enjoyed the day with the family, in more ways than we can say.

The vitality of our Savior risen permeated the jubilance of the day.  It was a fitting celebration, filled with love and peace.  I look forward to more.

For Zane, it was “Map Day”.  He has always loved maps, but today he got to indulge his interest and we pointed out the street signs and how those coordinate with the map.  I think he loves the Zoo as much for the entwining paths as the animals.  He wanted to follow the map to the boat dock first.  It ended up still being closed for the season, unfortunately, but we told him that we would come back during the summer when it was open.

The grizzly bears were out and active, so we stopped and watched them for a while on our way to the Jungle/Rainforest building.  Zane later said that was his favorite part of the zoo that day. The bears even did a little playing/roughhousing for a while, including growling at each other and running.  It was very cool.

We let him direct where to go, and here he is confirming the map route with the signs.

Instead of racing through the jungle like we do when Zora is there, we got to linger a lot more.  Zane read the signs, matched the birds sitting around (they are a lot more “out” when it isn’t busy…on paths, on the benches) with their names, and watched the bats flying around (a zookeeper or maintenance person was messing with one of the major branches in the giant solarium that we have seen them on before, so they were swooping all over the place).  He also loved the part of the path that goes under the pond water and lets you see the fish.  We stood in that tunnel watching fish for quite a while.

After we finished up, Zane suddenly was interested in finding Zora again.  We assumed she was at the playground and decided which path to take to get there (we went on the slightly longer path through the “North American Prairie” and gradually made our way back to the playground area.

It is a good thing we took the longer path because Zora had taken my mom to the opposite side of the Zoo to the Children’s farms and while watching the tigers a bit, near the playground, I suddenly heard Zora’s voice coming from the “wrong” direction as they were heading back to the playground.  Zane was excited to find Zora and Grandma.

We headed back to the playground, both kids played for a while and I dug out the snacks and drinks and we hung out for a while before leaving to head back across town for the traditional “ice cream with Grandma” and then swimming lessons.

Zora also had a lot of fun.  Here is a quote from my mom’s comments:

When I took Zora and you took Zane at the Zoo the next week, she was very…VERY clear to leave the geese alone!!! And that is bamboo, and there are the penguins, etc, etc, but mostly, “Where is the playground???” We found it and she enjoyed playing there. When the tram came by, she wanted to go on that, so we sprinted to the next stop and got on. I don’t know if she was expecting a more exciting ride, but she could hardly wait to get off at the next stop. Then she wanted to go to the American farmyard. We did that, where she told me all the animals, and informed me that those (goats)were sheep, because goats lived in the forest. Next we went to the African farmyard. As we approached it, she saw one of the zoo employees w/ a lawn rake, raking the farm grounds. Zora came to a dead stop, looked at him and proclaimed, “LOOK, Oma, It’s NEW McDonald!!!” It was such a fun day!

Zane requested Ci-Cis for lunch, and since he had worked so hard all morning, we went there over Zora’s objections (she wanted McDonalds…for the playground.  Zane doesn’t like McDs burgers and Zora often requests Ci-Cis herself, so he won this round).  Both ate well, then, in reverse of the normal procedure, Zane and my mom went to play (Exploration Place) and Zora went with me.  I had a WIC appointment to get that reinstated and she had to come with me.  The appointment took most of the afternoon, most of it in waiting rooms.  She was a trooper though.  She didn’t even cry when they did the iron test (finger prick) and it was almost alien for me to have a child that easily followed directions (like where to stand to weighing and measuring).

By the time we got out of our WIC appointment, Mom and Zane were leaving Exploration Place to come back to our side of town for some ice cream at Braums.  Zora and I picked up Zach and met her there.  Zora wanted chocolate chip ice cream, Zane wanted birthday cake flavor and orange sherbet.  Zach was in the middle of a project at home, but he stayed long enough to eat and socialize a little before heading back home to finish up his project on the computer.  (he met us later at swim lessons).

Here is Zora right after showing us where she got her finger prick, and not quite sure why the adults started laughing like 12 yo boys when she enthusiastically showed us her finger.

After a while, Zane picked up the camera.  Here are some of his photos:

And then Zora wanted a turn:

And me, from my cell phone

We had so much fun, but the adults were WORN OUT by the end of the day.

The kids were thrilled to see them again so soon, and Zora kept her Oma occupied the whole time they were here.

So, for my birthday, the three ladies had a Menage a Trois.  lmao.  What a hilarious name for a wine.

Everybody had pizza, except me, who had an awesome salad.

It is so good to see my brother happy again.

It was a great dinner, although we all agreed that I can’t possibly be turning 40 in a week.