Hogle Zoo

We joined our friends and neighbors on an outing to Hogle Zoo!

 

Where I got to try my panoramic photo feature on my iPhone that I didn't know about...heh

 The kids had a ton of fun!

 



Ella, Porter, and Tommy

 

And, most of the animals were actually awake and playing!

 

I think the kids (including the big ones) were the most entertained by this globe near the entrance.

Locating the golden continents

And, I had the most fun getting to hang out with this girl...

 

Laura and me

 

Us redheads gotta stick together!

 

We had a great time!

The Final Day

The last day my family was here was a little bittersweet.

I had spent so much time with them that it felt a little strange to see them leave.

I know they were ready to get back home, though.

My mom said, "we're not as young as you."

I guess that's a reasonable excuse to want to go home.

We had such a fun time with them!!

Our final destination was:



The zoo!

Seth and I haven't been back since they added the Predators.

It was very fascinating to see the lions so close!



Porter thought they were "awesome."

He also enjoyed the eagles!



I think he wanted to be one!



After we saw birds, he did this on the way to every new place.

"Flying!"



The Polar Bears are usually quite the site.

That day, though they were a bit more religious...

When the day was over, we were all pretty tired.



But, we still got some pictures!

Thanks so much for coming!!!

We love visitors!!

On the way back to the car, Porter was pretty adament about pushing his own stroller.

It's a serious business.

Zoo Lights

One of the great things about living close to the city...



We bundled up for the freezing night, but enjoyed the walk and the twinkly lights! I'd definitely suggest it as a must see while you're here!

Porter said every light was purple and he was excited to see the penguin lights so much that every time we passed it, he would shout penguin!

...I think I might be rubbing off on him.

$2 Tuesday

Seth, Ty, Sasha (Ty's sister), Porter, and I decided to brave the crowds for the last $2 Tuesday at the Oregon Zoo!

We left super early...8:40 am...to make sure we got parking.

No problem, surprisingly.

There was a very long line of cars going out to the freeway when we arrived.

Porter enjoyed making animal sounds he knew and trying out new ones he'd never heard before.

His animal sound vocabulary is quite impressive, now!

It was really fun to see his reactions to the animals...which was mostly staring and then trying to make the sounds.

It was not so fun trying to get past the millions of strollers with our stroller to get closer to the animals.

I stayed behind with it most of the time...out of the way.

It was a very nice day outside, which made the whole experience very pleasant.

I didn't take pictures this time...

...even though I took my camera.

Most of the time I wasn't close enough to be able to get a good one anyway.

My favorite animal was Porter-pottamus

There were more people there when we left than when we arrived, and they just kept coming!

The car line went into the freeway.

I would not want to be trying to travel into Portland on a $2 Tuesday in the summer...

I wonder if it's always like that

The Rest of the Week's Events

Last week should have been a really good week. It was pretty good. Pretty stressful, but it had some good parts. You already know about Porter and what happened with him up till the doctor's visit on Wednesday. What you don' t know is, I missed going on four outings with friends because of what happened. Granted, there was a very good reason why, and they all understood, but I was really looking forward to al of them.

Wednesday night, we got to go to dinner at the Miller's house. We had a great meal, and were so glad we got to get to know them better! Alex and I plan on many playdates to follow :)

Thursday morning, I missed another outing because I couldn't get Porter's splint back on his leg and I was freaking out because he was crying and complaining. There was no way I could've gone in the state we were both in.

Thursday afternoon, Ty, Seth's friend, came into town. He had an interview for a dental school in Portland, and we offered to have him stay with us so he could save some money. Seth was really glad to have him here...even though I'm sure I spent more time with him because of Seth's schooling.

Thursday night, we went bowling with a bunch of friends to celebrate Eric Johansen's birthday! It was a good turn-out, and a lot of fun. I got a score of 108...or something like that. Seth and Ty creamed me, but whatever. I'm getting better!

Saturday, Ty, Seth, Porter, and I went to the Oregon Zoo! This is the first time I think I've ever been to one...truly! If I've been to one before, I don't remember. Either way, it was pretty fun...but it was FREEZING! It even snowed while we were there. None of us were prepared for that and by the time we were done we were numb in places.

I really enjoyed seeing all the animals and this zoo had a VERY good variety! It's very big!

I have to say, my favorite part of the zoo was the penguins. That shouldn't surprise those who know me. There was a cute little penguin who swam up the the window a couple times where I was and I just died. SO cute.

Ty took us out to dinner to Poor Richards after, and then left to Kennewick, WA to meet a girl he met online. I think he needs a wife, so we were fine with him leaving us a day earlier than originally planned.

I have a lot of pictures of the zoo, but they're mostly animals because it was so cold no one wanted to pose. So, I think I'll spare you this time.

Things Porter has picked up this week: spitting; mimicking coughs, noises, and sneezes; and rubbing his hands together like he's trying to get something off of them.