Monday, April 7, 2008

This does not look like the Zoo...

Cam had this past week off for spring break and we wore him out really well. We all had a great time each day doing fun stuff as a family like vacuuming, dishes, wash ect.-No-I'm kidding I did that stufff and we still had fun as a family. One day we flew Grant and Claire's mini kites at a park-Cam and I had a ball because we could actually keep the kites in the air. Claire rode her trike most of the time and Grant just pouted becuase he couldn't keep his kite up but he didn't want help either. On Tuesday we went to the Natural History Museum it was a really neat place, we had not been before. All Claire wanted to do was see the dinosaurs, so she didn't really care about all the other cool stuff there. Grant on the other hand could have spent a week there and still not wanted to leave. Wednesday, we decided to take a trip to the Columbus Zoo we had been once before and really liked it. One cool thing is they have a Manatee there. After dropping off our Mazda to get a new muffler and coming home to pick up about 6 things we had left including the DIRECTIONS, we were on our way. Life was good, the kids all did really well on the way down. Cam and I made it past the dreaded town of Wooster-what a name-that's the only reason we don't like the town! It takes a little over 2 hours to get there. We got to our final exit and were trying to orient ourselves nothing we saw looked familiar. We continued to follow the directions and they led us through a quaint little neighborhood. The last direction said turn right on Riverfront Road (or something like that) and then right again and you are there. There we were in a muddy alley that as Cam described could barely fit our van with the river right next to us. There was only one small problem NO ZOO!! HELLO! Thanks for nothin' Google Maps!! We had to think quick becuase someone was behind us (maybe they were trying to go to the zoo too!) So we got out of the not so quaint alley and headed for a more populated location as to hopefully piggy-back on someones unsecure wireless computer connection. We found our way thanks to a unsecure connection and a call to my sister Jackie, we were on the road again-to the Zoo this time. We made it and had a really good time. It is a really clean zoo with tons of different animals,imagine tha a zoo has animals! They had just opened their Asian exhibit which was cool. We saw the Manatee which was cool, Claire was more excited about the lettuce floating in the water that they eat then the actual Manatee itself! Brig was parked right up to the glass so he would try and touch the fish and sting rays as they floated by him. For some reason the ONLY animal Grant really wanted to see was the Buffalo. North America was our last stop and by this time the Zoo was almost closing and Cam and I were DONE. If I had to feed anoter fish cracker to Claire or Brig I might have turned into a cracker myself!Cam had carried Brig in a pack on his back the whole way and I had pushed the stroller. The Zoo is like 80 acres-it's a ways to walk. It's a good thing I have been doing Tae Bo! We saw all the North American animals and were headed down to see the Buffalo-but no-the ONLY one they had was WAY FAR FAR FAR AWAY on a hill and only Cam was tall enough to see it! Maybe they need to ask Yellowstone for a few more!? Grant was quite bummed, he just kept saying all I wanted to see was a buffalo! Cam and I tried to remind him of the time he was 1 1/2 years old in Yellowstone and he got to see them but he didn't believe us. Poor kid. We made it out of the Zoo but we didn't have directions home-here we go. We stopped by Wendies for fast (make you sick)food and asked for directions. We went the way we were told for a while but then got lost in a gated community. With our really LOUD rattly van we chased down these two walkers in this very nice community and had them tell us the way to the freeway. We made it home with only half a cup of Wendies lemonade spilled in the back seat and garbage including but not limited to fruit snacks, french fries, paper, wrappers, candy and lemonade soaked books. Dosen't it sound like fun! Any one up for a Zoo day-we have a pass.

9 comments:

Lisha said...

All I can say is WOW! I was tired after reading your day adventure to the zoo! I'm glad you had fun, sorry about all the unknown obstacles and setbacks! Also glad you had a good bday even if you did celebrate it with cops and dumb fighting teenagers!

Danielle said...

you are so much braver than Matt and I. I have to drag Matt kicking and screaming, yes I did say Matt, to do the zoo or anything that isn't the lego store. Ha ha. Your kids will appreciate it later. Its like camping, lots of work for you, but lots of memories for the kiddos.

H.Cook said...

I LOVE the Columbus Zoo! So much better than Cleveland's.

H.Cook said...

P.S. We recently got lost on the way to the zoo too, they built a lot of new roads and such... much nicer, but google maps needs to get on the ball!

Alisa said...

How hilarious... you and Cam tell a story in a very similar language... a trip with the fam will never be complete without food and garbage on the floor of the vehicle, it's true. That reminds me of when Goldfish crackers spilled in the van when we all went to Oregon together and there weren't even kids in the picture at that point! Someday an Oregon Coast trip again would be the best.

thekerrclan said...

Sounds like quite an adventure!

Sherrie said...

LOL, you just crack me up. :) Seriously...do you want to go to the zoo next week? Cleveland though, I'm not up for a drive down to Columbus. :) Still laughing Audrey!!!!! Thanks!

Lexie said...

Audrey,
Just found your blog, it's SO FUN! I love your zoo story, we went last May and I thought it was a great zoo, too bad about the buffalo and the directions though, at least it makes the trip memorable, right?

Anonymous said...

You could've call me I know the Zoo. It was my summer home when we we lived in Columbus. But so you know, freeways in Columbus are crazy. I think they moved and change daily. You can get lost very easy. But at the end It looks like you had fun.


Cuyahoga Valley Hike

Grant and Claire

Grant and Claire
Grant and Claire at "Ice Box" Cave

How does your garden grow?

How does your garden grow?
The sign next to Brig reads, "Smell This Plant"....maybe later.

3 Amigos

3 Amigos
They look innocent...

Pump It!

Pump It!
Brig was having a ball with the water spout

Water Girl

Water Girl
Claire at the Botanical Garden

Yuck!

Yuck!
This is why 1 year olds aren't allowed in the kitchen. They would make nasty hot dog and peanut butter sandwiches and eat them!

Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens
Grant and Claire in Madagascar Biome.

Claire's Birthday

Claire's Birthday
Claire's B-day was May 27th but it was freezing cold. We did it in a park but everyone was bundled b/c the wind was blowing so much. Needless to say it was a short party, and the ice cream didn't melt.

Princess Claire

Princess Claire
A dress up she got for her birthday.

Mommy Claire

Mommy Claire
Claire has a great imagination. She will make anything into play stuff. shel loves to be the mom. In this pic. she pulled up her stroller and was reading her baby a book. The different color rings on the stroller are boy and girl rings. The ones on the left are girls and the ones on the left are boys. Claire gets really into her books. Cam said yesterday sometimes he can't tell if she is just reading/pretending or if she is really crying! She is her own person for sure.

After the Egg Hunt

After the Egg Hunt
Enjoying the spoils after the Easter egg hunt. Brig will shake and egg and if there is something in it he will give it to us to open. He's a smart cookie with a sweet tooth!

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Lawnmowing in March
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Variations on Winter

Variations on Winter
We got a suit for Claire at Old Navy and as all girls are, she couldn't wait to get it on. Mind you it's like 25 outside. To make it even better, Grant was headed ouside to play in the mounds of snow we got, I had to get a pic of them together!

Claire's mishap

Claire's mishap
Let's explain why Claire looks so freaky!! O.K. so we were having a fun family night together a few Sundays ago. We were tossing the kids up in the blanket and instead of Claire landing back in the blanket she landed on her head on the floor. We took her to the ER and a few hours later found out she had a hair-line fracture on her skull right above her eye and this is what she looked like the next day. We made sure to tell Grant not to say anything to her about her eye, as to not make her too upset. He said o.k. so a little while later he thought I was out of earshot and he said your eye is so gross, I can't stand to look at it anymore. Then he walked away!! She is our cute Claire now and has healed great!!!.

BeckList


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True Love

True Love
We celebrated 8 great years on February 17th, 2008! To many more!

Big Rig Brig

Big Rig Brig
Dimple Doodle Dandy!

"Sun on Moss" By Audrey Beck circa 2008

"Sun on Moss" By Audrey Beck circa 2008
Cool place in Cuyahoga Valley

You are my sunshine!

You are my sunshine!
This is what happens when you try to give a man a fun birthday present. It turns into a prop!

Hog Wild

Hog Wild
Grant and Brig...In our dirt pile full of mud! They loved it!

Goo!

Goo!
Brig has a Goose fetish. He calls them Goo's and loves seeing them!!

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
At the Ledges

Brig at the Case Farm

Brig at the Case Farm

White Earth Nation

White Earth Nation
Cam in Minnesota on the White Earth Reservation.

Fries with that?

Fries with that?
Zorbaz Fiesta Platter in Detroit Lakes MN, need we say more?

New Zealand

New Zealand
We got a scavenger hunt map from granny and grandpa and had fun finding different places on the map they collected their shells and rocks from.

Grant

Grant
Grant takes after his dad in so many ways.....

Fence

Fence
This is a fence in a really cool place in Ohio called Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We really like to visit there, and I have a weird addiction to taking pics of fences!

Blast From the Past

Blast From the Past
Cam Grant and Claire in the kitchen making cookies!

Our Awesome House

Our Awesome House
I love our house so much, and will miss it a ton when we leave Cleveland

Bubble Girl

Bubble Girl

Claire and Brig at the park

Claire and Brig at the park

camping in the backyard

camping in the backyard
Tyler, Grant and Claire are roasting marshmallows over thier fire

Claire and Mom

Claire and Mom

My Magnolia Tree

My Magnolia Tree
One of the things I will really miss about Cleveland and our great house is the Mangolia tree outside one of our front room windows. It is a huge beautiful tree with delicate blossoms that only last a short time. I love it!

Going Camping

Going Camping
Claire and her friend Halle today decided they were going to go "camping" like their brothers Grant and Tyler. I wonder who will last in the wilderness the longest. Grant and Tyler with a backpack full of food, bandaids, matches ect. or Claire and Halle with a backpack full of fluffy shoes and stuffed animals!

The Chair

The Chair
Here is a pic of the chairs that I have,sorry I can't figure out how to rotate it on the blog!

As if Brig wasn't big enough...

As if Brig wasn't big enough...
Brig decided to see how the bike pump tasted. Grant went over and gave him some air! Brig would laugh and laugh-he really had a good time.

Easter Dinner

Easter Dinner

This is Your Brain on Tube

This is Your Brain on Tube
Claire was watching a show the other day and had put her shirt over her head and we thought it was pretty funny! TV may not be as safe as we previously thought.

Hi!

Hi!
Brig discovering the phone. He loves to say hi and play on the phone any chance he gets. In this picture he is saying hi to Nan and Grandpa.

Easter Morning

Easter Morning
Claire was really excited to find the goodies left by the Easter bunny and started devouring the contents of the eggs she found.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day
Here are the kids in their green with our neighbors Spence and Matthew

Food Man

Food Man
Brig could eat all day if we let him. He really loves food, maybe we need to stop feeding him so his belly won't be so big so he can walk!! He knows when the fridge is open and makes a crawl for it as fast as he can. He will reach for our candy cupboard too. The little stinker!

Dentists in training

Dentists in training
This past wash day the kids and I were sorting out all the dirty clothes in Brig's room (man were there a lot of them) Anyway, I had gone downstaris to put a load of wash in and when I started to come back up I could hear Grant and Claire laughing. I stood on the steps to listen for a minute but couldn't figure out what they were doing. I went up and they were dressed up in Cam's scrubs! They were having a ball being dental students together so I had to get a pic!