Northwest Trek

The day after the 4th of July we took Uncle Josh and the kids out to Northwest Trek to see the animals and check out their zipline course.  Here is my handsome boy ready to explore!    

First we rode the tram around and got to see a lot of animals.  Many of them were right up close to us.

We loved this baby goat.  

We saw some awesome rams (go CSU!).

And some Bison (not to be mistaken with Buffalo - boo CU!)

We even saw a moose from a distance.

 And last of all some elk playing in the water.

After the tram, we walked around and got a snack and got to see some bald eagles which Jack and I both love!

At last it was time for ziplining.  There is a kids course that is good for kids 5 & older.  So I fudged Jack's age a bit and sent them on their way!  Well not really, Dave had to accompany him and Josh went along as well.  So they were supervised, although Kate didn't need it.  I think she could have done it backwards with her eyes closed.  She has no fear!  

Here they are getting their harnesses on:

All geared up and ready to go!

And Kate is off!

And now Jack (with Dave's help).

Josh showing off his agility skills.

The course was a bit small for Josh.  He had to duck down a lot and hold his legs up so they didn't drag on the zipline at the end.

So brave!

Such a fun time!

4th of July

My brother Josh kept up his annual tradition of flying out to visit us for the 4th of July.  We are always so excited for him to come.  We had great weather so the day started out with some whiffle ball in the back yard.

Our annual block party was much smaller this year.  Lots of neighbors took advantage of the 3 day weekend and headed out of town.  So it was much quieter on our block than usual.  But Noah and his dad came over and we barbecued and set off lots of fireworks.  A great time as always!

The kids decked out in their red, white & blue.  

Kate wearing Noah's helmet.

Sparklers!

Uncle Josh doing sparklers with Jack and Noah

As you can see, Jack is a typical boy - loves fire, explosions, flame-shooting swords, etc.  

4th of July is a long night in Washington because it stays light until close to 10:00 PM.  So it can be hard for little ones to stay awake, even with loud fireworks going off.  Kate decided she couldn't stay awake any longer and went to bed in the middle of the garage. 

Jack's Field Trip to the Zoo

To close out the school year in Jack's pre-Kindergarten class, they got to go on a field trip to the Point Defiance Zoo.  I was able to take the day off of work to chaperone and Kate got to go too!

Climbing with his class at the entrance to the zoo

Sliding with Penny

Goofing around on the playground

Making a friend

Kate and her best friend, Flannery

Touching sea creatures

Exploring with Riley

Flannery, Kate, Jack & Penny - crazy kids

Dominik & Jack checking out the tiger

Jack with the penguins

After the zoo, we got to attend a party at Round Table Pizza where the kids all received awards for learning their ABCs.  I'm not sure Jack actually learned all of his letters, but they still gave him an award :).  

Mrs. Gannon giving Jack his ABC medal

This has been our favorite class that Jack has participated in so far.  His two teachers were so wonderful, he made lots of great friends and he learned a lot.  We were really sad when it came time to move on to the next room.  But now it is time for Junior Kindergarten!