The Dallas Zoo - Jungle Critters

Let's head on into the rainforest! This group was a little more stand-offish, turning their backs to us so we couldn't get pictures of their faces, or just plain going about their business, too busy to give us homo-sapiens the time-of-day.  That is, everyone except this colorful fellow, Mr. Mandrill, who was not so much stand-offish, as show-offish.  I didn't realize just how "out-there" Mr. Mandrill was when I was photographing him...I promise.  It wasn't until I got home and downloaded a large version of the photo on my computer screen that - BAM! - there he was in all his glory.  So I covered him up a smidge.  This is a family blog, after all.


Granny Nell noticed this gorilla was behaving like any typical male would on a Sunday afternoon: laying around, scratching, wallowing in general laziness.  The only thing missing was a tv with some random sport being played on it.


This guy had a friend or sibling with him and they were having fun wrestling with each other, which included some biting and hay-throwing.  You can see the jeans and shoes reflection of another zoo-goer in the window.  We were close to these guys and their antics were making me a little nervous.  About ten years ago a gorilla escaped from the Dallas Zoo and just recently one of these guys threw a rock at one of the viewing windows, cracking at least the inside pane.  That's all a little to "wild" for me...




                                                                              Chimpanzee!


Tortoise.  Needless to say, these guys didn't do much.


Crocodile!!


A small rainforest deer - the kiplinger!


Meerkat!


Mr. Tiger, heading off into the jungle for a little rest.




This tortoise was slightly more entertaining. 
Some random kid was trying to feed him some bamboo and I got to capture a piece of the "action"


Anteater!


This monkey really showed off his swinging skills for us!


Oh no!  Not you AGAIN!  Sheesh!

Happy 2nd Birthday! (posted 3/26)

Boy, did this guy have fun at his party!

He got lots of great presents and had a ball being the center of attention! The highlights of the party - - big turtle, little turtle and "Aunt Bail" (Aunt Bell). He's mentioned her name almost every day since. Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated our little boy's birthday, and a special thanks to Gram who saved all of my Sesame Street toys all these years. It made decorating for this party very easy - and very retro!!

              Waiting, waiting, waiting for Granny...                         Finally!  They're here!!

Pinch, pinch, pinch!

Enjoying birthday snacks with Gram

                               Great-Grandma                                  Having a blast being the center of attention!

Cowboy Sam made an appearance, much to the delight of the Grannies and Grandpas

He liked his cake this year!

               Helping Mommy put the finishing touches on the birthday cupcakes before our guests arrived!

                                             Our Sesame Street friends helped us celebrate!

Happy Birthday Sam!

A Picnic and a Dip



Sam had his first picnic last Sunday. Daddy found a nice Audubon park just a few minutes from Granny's house and it turned out to be a great place for a picnic. Sam sat at the picnic bench like a big boy and we all enjoyed a nice lunch. We blew lots of bubbles then took walk through the butterfly garden.

By the time we'd finished our walk we were all hot and sweaty, so we went back for a dip in Granny's pool! We weren't planning on swimming so Mama and Daddy had to borrow swimming suits and Sam just swam in his diaper. Boy did it get heavy! But Sam seemed to enjoy the water, for the most part.













A Picnic and a Dip from Sara Straka on Vimeo.

Lunch on the Patio

Granny Nell came over for a Happy Birthday/Happy Mother's Day lunch a couple of weeks ago. We ate outside under what Daddy called our "Starbucks" umbrella. We all ate Mama's chicken salad, even Sam, and then enjoyed some ice cream, of course! Sam showed Granny how he helps mow the lawn and water our herbs, then we blew some bubbles which were so tiny and sticky that they stayed on the walls for days!









Family Dinner


Sam sat at the head of the table - a very loooong table. We all got together at a big pre-Easter dinner Saturday night at a barbeque restaurant in Duncanvillle.  Sam had lots of fun with his family - he met Danielle for the first time, fed him dinner and kept him entertained with multiple drinking straws.  Hollie rubbed his head (he likes that), he and Uncle Bill exchanged kisses, and then Sam and Aunt Bell fed each other Cheerios.  And, of course, both of his aunties gave him money for his piggy bank - lucky duck!

Uncle Randy!

Sam had a special visitor at our house this Christmas.

Uncle Randy.


Sam and Randy quickly became friends.

 

We had so much fun.


And Randy took lots of pictures.  Sam's good at posing for pictures.


We played and played.


He brought cool toys, too.


He stayed at our house for lunch and dinner!


And then, lucky us, we visited Uncle Randy again two days later.



Granny Nell was there, too.



Sam liked Uncle Randy a lot - we think he reminded Sam of his Daddy.




We read stories, played and had a nice chili supper.




Then we had to go. 
It was hard saying goodbye. 
It made us all a little sad.
But we know we'll see Randy again soon.

Thanks for visiting, Uncle Randy.  You made our Christmas special!

Christmas, Part I of II



We had a very nice Christmas celebration at Granny Nell's house last night. We had a nice steak dinner, opened presents, and played with Baby Sam. He got lots of neat presents; I'd tell you what his favorite one is if I knew - I think they're all his favorite! If I had to pick, I'd say the Noisy Car book (it makes noise) and the Gymboree musical instruments. Those were cool!

Sam did really good, considering he can't take a nap there.  After our dinner he took a quick snooze on Daddy's lap, but woke up again in time for a little more playtime with Granny.

 











Christmas with Nell and Vic 2009 from Sara Straka on Vimeo.

Facebook Friends


Sam recently met his Uncle Jeff. They became friends right away. He brought Sam a neat-o Mickey Mouse Halloween book that has cool sound effects.
Dell came over, too, and we all had a nice time, spending the day together, playing toys, reading books and eating good food. The boys watched sports while the ladies chatted and played with Sam. Sam was really good, and didn't have a meltdown until the very end of the night, when it got pretty late. Since there were quite a few pics from the night, I made a collage for easier viewing. Enjoy!

He Looks-a Short of Sveedish

We made a trip to downtown McKinney last week. We took Granny Nell to lunch at a cafe on the square. Our server was part Iranian, part Swedish (wow!) and Samuel's fair skin and blonde hair really caught her eye. He did look particularly cute that day and boy oh boy was he good while we ate.

Tack så mycket, Sam!

That's "thank you very much" in Swedish.

(yeah, I Googled it...)