Big Wednesday!

The Twins: Brando and cousin, Zach. Somehow, Kat and I always dress them in same colors, etc....and it's not even planned....How cute are they? Going to see the Ghost of the Bayou!

We started our day by going to the zoo with Kat & her kids and Hillary and Abi. Grandma Renae kept LuLu for Hillary. We had a great time! The animals were fairly active today. One leopard paced in front of a viewing window right in front of the kids. Amanda got face to face with the big cat and that scared Sydney. Brando just followed along with the kids when they started screaming. Riding the train was also a highlight. We let the kids play at the zoo playground while Kat fed Makayla.

Playing on the playground! Below with Amanda: Hillary and Abi
That's the cutest turtle I've ever seen!
Waiting for the train to come by!

Then, BIG NEWS...we have a new cousin/niece! Aurora or Ari for short, was born yesterday evening in a big hurry. When Stacie & Danny arrived at the hospital, the nurses put Stacie in a prep room and sent her into the bathroom for a 'sample'...well, instead of a sample, they got a baby! Luckily, Danny was there to catch the little cutie and between Danny and a bunch of nurses, Ari arrived safely! We stopped by to see her (and her parents) before heading home. She is adorable! Tiny, tiny.....we are so happy she is here!

The kids (included Brandon who also loved her feet!) loved holding her. Welcome, Ari!

On the way home, Mike called and he is going to stay in Denver one more night. Things are too crazy at their office over there and 2 days wasn't enough time to finish. The kids and I hate it when he's gone. I'm so glad he doesn't have a majority traveling job. We did that once and hated it. I think I'll take a few days every few months. But, we still miss him!

Last night, I took the girls over to their new school to see the class lists. This new school is so exciting! It's beautiful! Sydney was seeming a little nervous, so she and I had a good talk, looked through the windows into her classroom and checked out the playground (imported from Sweden and unlike anything I've seen before...I'll have to post a picture in the future). She told me she felt better about going to school and was just a little worried about bullies, so we talked about that. I'm so glad that Amanda and Sydney are both on the same side of the school. The school has open 'pods' with classrooms off the common areas. So, out of 3 pods or halls, they ended up in the same pod. I've been so impressed with our new principal, also. Her enthusiasm is contagious! One week to go!