Wild and Hairy Beasts

I know what you are thinking...with a title like this I can only be talking about my brother, or perhaps Sydney or her brother Corwin.  Well, I'm actually referencing a recent trip Sydney and I took to the Woodland Park Zoo.  This was Sydney's first ever 'spring break,' so while she had the entire week off I decided to take a couple of days to spend with her.  She greatly enjoyed her spring break camp, but I think she also greatly enjoyed a couple of daddy-daughter days, too.

She was so excited she could
hardly bear it...haha!

Speaking of small beasts, we obviously had the same great idea to visit the zoo.  There were a million other people that were also on spring break, and there were little creatures everywhere.  Camps, families, children, strollers...it was the busiest I had ever seen the zoo.  In terms of animal viewing, though, we really lucked out.  Most times you will get at least a few favorite animals that are sleeping or hiding in their enclosures.  Surprisingly, we basically saw everything.  Most animals were out and even active.  We even caught the snow leopard eating his lunch.

It was fun seeing all of the animals, but Sydney wanted to stop and get a picture with each statue we saw.  It was little more time consuming than just visiting the exhibits, but each time there was a line by the statues Sydney would just say, "we just need to have a little patience, daddy."  Wise words, but ones that left me thinking "who are you?" and "what have you done with my kid?"  I had been planning on the zoo trip for a couple of months, but ironically, we also found out later that her spring break camp would be going to the zoo on Friday (fortunately we went on Thursday).

In other news, Sydney continues to play soccer.  She usually scores two or three goals each week, but amazingly, she's quick to point out that "it's not about winning or losing, but only about having fun."  Once again, not sure what this little blond girl has actually done with my daughter...the one that has to beat me up the stairs each night, or needs to win each of the games we play at home.

In terms of other little creatures, Corwin continues his 'adventures in potty training.'  Although some days are better than others, he is getting it down and making great progress.  He's even managed to get a NUMBER 2 on the throne.  With that, I guess you could say he's making some good movement in that respect...ha ha!  We have mostly abandoned the portable little-john that you can take and stick anywhere, in favor of a little seat that gets added to the regular toilet.  Most adults would decide to remove the seat prior to use, but I find it as more of an extra challenge, sort of like a game and if you succeed, you get extra points.

In other news, we recently finished fencing off the back yard.  Karen's dad came and helped get a bulk of it done last month, and we recently finished up all of the remaining items yesterday.  We now have containment, which means the kids can play in the back yard without much worrying on our part.  Unfortunately, they both have discovered how much fun it is to 'ride bikes' in the front of the house.  Oh, well!  It's been a great April so far, and we've enjoyed being out in the sun as much as possible.  I hope you enjoy the shots of Sydney on the gorilla statue over the years, as well as the other comparisons.  We hope everyone else is doing well, too!