A Bunch of Animals

Carter had a flex day so no Kindergarten today! We decided to use our bonus weekday time to go to the zoo with our friends, the Buyrn girls!  Unfortunately, we picked a super hot day to go.  Megan and I were sweating lugging the five kids around.  We had a fun picnic in the zoo, saw some cute baby animals and just enjoyed an afternoon together.  The kids were great (for the most part) and Davis even napped today--score!

Looking at the baby zebra.

See the Leopard?

Best friends eating lunch together.  So sweet!

I think these five look like they could all be related.  Who knows, someday there could be an extra Beilman or two in the mix... Catch my drift? ;-)

I drove the boys by our old house in Park Hill (see below) and then we stopped for milkshakes on the way home.  What a day!

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As a bonus, here's what our old house looks like now.  The new owners painted the ugly brick and I think it looks pretty good. The yard is another story...(Yes, it has already been re-sold since we sold it two years ago.  And yes, the couple we sold it to made $65K when they sold the house. Have I mentioned that the Denver housing market is on fire?)  This house was tiny and a little bit in the ghetto, but we have so many fond memories of that place. It is always fun to drive by and remember our time there.

And here's what it looked like when we lived there:

Zoo Lights 2012

In keeping with our annual holiday tradition, we took in Zoo Lights with the family.  Sean opted out because he was sick over most of the Christmas break.  Our other negative was that we picked a really COLD night to go & probably didn't plan as well as we should have.  Some long johns would have been nice.  Anyway, the lights are always amazing and we had a good time despite the icicles forming on our noses.

Taylor was on wagon duty-score!

Entering the mouth of the hippo...

Posing with my boys in front of the Penguin house. (FYI: Nobody bothered to tell me I had crazy hair with my headband on!)

Riding in the sleigh with Kelsie Rae!

Zoo Trip with Mimi

We had a great visit with Mimi last week and took advantage of the beautiful Fall weather with a trip to the zoo!  I miss when we lived five minutes away and could just go over for an hour or so whenever we wanted. Driving there now takes a little more planning ahead, but still a fun trip and worth the drive.

Mimi helping Davis pick out some seafood.

Davis looking for something in the cave.

Mimi on wagon duty!

Our stop at Carter's favorite animal...the penguins.  He did admit that they are a bit stinky, but claims he loves them anyway.  The same could be said of his brother, I suppose, and we still love him...

And of course, no visit would be complete without rides on the carousel and train!

Special time together.  We love you, Mimi!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

After hearing from several mommy friends that the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was worth the drive to Colorado Springs, we decided to check it out for ourselves!  The zoo did not disappoint and the highlight was being able to feed the giraffes!  We had never been this close to a wild animal before (I guess giraffes are wild?) and it was a thrill to feed and pet them!  Sean's funniest comment was "Their ears were a lot harder than I thought they'd be."   So, there you have it!  Our giraffe experience in a nutshell.  :-)

 You can buy lettuce leaves at the zoo and feed the giraffes until your heart's content.  Incidentally, the people next to us decided to put a lettuce leaf on their toddler's head & that turned out to be a bad idea (duh!) as the giraffe nibbled a little bit of blond hair along with the lettuce.  Live and learn, people!

 Check out the super long giraffe tongue reaching down (above Carter's head) for the lettuce!

 We had a great time exploring this zoo & would love to go back sometime.  The only downside was the fact that it started pouring rain at lunch time, forcing us all inside for a $40 lunch!  (I told Sean that this was good preparation for our Disney trip coming up this Fall!)

 Did I mention the zoo is built on the side of a mountain?!  Lots of good exercise to be had while you're checking out the animals.  

 Sean assessing the progress on the zoo's new elephant habitat.  Is he an engineer, or what?!

 What's a trip to the zoo without a ride on a zoo train?  We were bummed to miss out on the Sky Ride (a ski lift ride to the top of the mountain) which was also closed due to rain.  Maybe next time!

 Three Beilmans in a circle, looking for Tigers...

 ...and two Beilmans in an Otter cave!

What a Bunch of Animals!

This afternoon, we had our hardwoods resealed for the second time, so that meant we needed to be out of the house for several hours.  What better place to kill some time but at the zoo!  We met our friends there and the kids had a blast seeing all the animals, sharing snacks and trying to stay cool on this hot day.  

  

 The Lions were napping in the shade & that gave us an opportunity to see these cats up close & personal.

 Amelia & Carter posing by a lizard.  

 These two first-borns were adamant about having maps to "see where we were going".

 Riding in an authentic Tuk Tuk--so cool!

 (And for those of you who are keeping track, this is officially date #2 for Davis & Avery.)

 Learning about elephants with fake elephant trunks (dryer vents) on their arms. 

 Watching this monkey eat a banana with his feet...

 Having fun on the Carousel (Sadly, the train was out-of-service for the day).

 Davis insisted on riding the hippo.  

Davis, Amelia & Carter in the penguin house.