Monkeys at the Zoo

Last week was a whirlwind of activity here at our house...

Sunday, while also shopping for the jogging stroller, we picked up our nephew at the airport. The kids were thrilled to see him, and also all the big airplanes!

I was very nostalgic being back at ATL International Airport - I have spent much of my life there, (or, going to and from there I should say!) and it is a bit of a heartbreak to not have my ID anymore. Silly, I know, but true nonetheless... even the old familiar smell of jet fuel is always strangely refreshing. What we flight attendants and pilots say is true (even us former flight attendants!) - flying gets in your blood. Even though you may hear them complaining about being overworked/underpayed, piggy-backed, and short called, many wouldn't give it up for the world. Some of us only considered it for the best opportunity ever - being a stay at home Mommy. And, to be honest, some days you may still hear me complain about being overworked and short called, but never "underpayed".

On Tuesday Nana flew in from Seattle. She really lives in Charleston, SC, but was helping family in Seattle with newborn twins, and their 18 month old brother! (Talk about a Mommy being a bit stressed - though I hear she is taking on the task like a champ!)



So, on Wednesday we all loaded up to go to the Atlanta Zoo. Geoff, Nana, EJ, Cub, Jeffrey and I... It was a lot of fun - and the kids really enjoyed seeing the animals. EJ had been about a year ago with Nana when Cub was in The Children's Hospital with a bad bout of rotavirus, which is a long story in itself. And even though I believe Jeffrey has been to many zoos, he was as excited as Cub, who loved his very first trip to see the animals he sees in the books we read at night.



Especially the monkeys, and this gorilla! We watched them for a long time, and all the kids enjoyed seeing the baby monkeys play. This Daddy was taking a nice siesta when one of the babies came over to mess with him... in the blink of an eye the daddy Gorilla shot up and tried to grab that baby monkey for interrupting his nap. But, before that even happened, Mommy monkey jumped in between them and pulled the baby to safety. She held him tight and smoothed his hair down, trying to calm the little scared thing, all the while giving Daddy gorilla quite a look. Anyone else see how funny this is?!

We had church that evening, and then EJ had a play date after school on Thursday. Jeffrey came back over to play, as everyone else was cleaning and getting ready for a family wedding on Saturday night. The wedding was beautiful, even though it was supposed to be outside, and it had been raining for two whole days. They had a tent for the reception, and moved the ceremony underneath it as well.

Through it all, I have neglected the house and laundry... so, today is catch up day for as much as I can do!

As I used to say a thousand times a day on the plane, at the boarding door when everyone was leaving... (just for old times sake, you know?!)....

Bye Bye, Goodbye, Bye Bye, Thank you, Bye Bye!