Fun at the School Playground

Ainsley, her dad, and I spent a fun afternoon at a nearby school playground. She loved checking out all the playground equipment and talking about how someday when she goes to this school, she will play here at recess!

John had been telling me how great Ainsley was at kicking a soccer ball. Seeing is believing! Unfortunately, my video/blogging skills need to be improved because this little video is only about half-way uploaded! She was pretty amazing!

This was NOT a happy ending to our afternoon! John was kicking the ball to Ainsley, and he kicked it so hard that it bounced on the sidewalk and onto the roof of the school....where it will remain until the next hurricane hits Houston! When I was taking the video, we thought it ALMOST landed on the roof, but in actuality, it DID!! If only I had continued with the recording to see Ainsley's reaction! She was a very unhappy little girl and cried for a long time! Dad promised he'd buy her a new one, however, so the tears dried up!

Monkeying Around at the Houston Zoo

It was the perfect day for a trip to the Houston Zoo with Ainsley. She is the perfect age (3) to be very curious and interested in the different animals. One of our favorite things to do was ride the carousel and we managed to do it twice! She loved waving to all the people on the side.

She called this one a "reindeer." I guess since it was February, Christmas was still on her mind!

We saw ELEPHANTS! Even a baby, although he was hard to get a picture of!

This one was a little tamer!

What is she looking at?

I don't remember the name of this animal, but they are kin to giraffes (look at their head) and they have legs like a zebra!

Acting like a monkey, for the monkeys!

Look at me, Mr. Lion!!! But Mr. Lion had other ideas! Zzzzz.......

An early lunch stop to beat the crowds. No straws or lids on the drinks "for animal safety."

We loved the giraffes! Look, there's a baby!

A beautiful yellow parrot

Gorgeous fish!

After about three hours, both Ainsley and I were wearing down. The Houston Zoo is very large! We didn't begin to see it all, but we had lots of fun and there's always a "next time." As we were walking to the car, she began holding up her arms to me and saying, "Up-a, up-a," which has been her signal for "Pick me up, please," since she was very little. It used to be so much fun to pick her up, but now at almost 40 pounds, she is just too heavy for me to lift, so I kept encouraging her by saying, "We're almost at the car, just keep walking." Oh, what I would have given for VALET PARKING at the zoo about this time!!! We made it, however, and before I got out of the parking lot, the little monkey was sound asleep in her car seat!