Day at the Evergreen State Fair

Auntie went to the fair too! First stop - pony rides! My pony's name is Honey. It looks wet out, but it didn't rain all day!

We stopped at the Home Depot booth and I made a tile. It's a purple and blue unicorn. Mommy is displaying the tile on the window sill in the kitchen.
Snack time! Cotton candy for me (purple cotton candy) and a scone for Auntie. Mommy got a coffee.
I liked this baby cow and took a picture. I took lots of pictures of cows, pigs, and goats. I liked the little goats that had playgrounds.
I rode a green tractor and a red tractor.
And I went on 2 rides!!! I went on this swing ride by myself and on the bug coaster with Lisa from Auntie's library. Mommy says next year I'll be big enough for the big roller coaster and lots of other rides - I can't wait!Love, Elena

NW Trek

On an August Sunday, the whole family went to NW Trek.

NW Trek is a wildlife park that is the home for animals native to the northwest. We saw a porcupine, badger, beavers, otters, and skunk in their individual habitats before boarding the tram that took us through a large, shared habitat.
On the tram we learned about the history of the land, saw lots of animals including moose, elk, and bison, and witnessed some beautiful views.

After the tram ride, we went to view the carnivores - bears, coyotes, foxes, and big cats. Elena loved every bit of NW Trek but found the tram ride a little too long (thank goodness for snacks!). On the trails, she was unhappy with the stinky smell caused either by a nervous fox or a skunk. She enjoyed the art projects and amphibians in the interpretive center, especially the silly looking salamanders!

Attention all Montage readers:

Sorry for the slow posting... We had an overload of things going on and updating the blog was low priority. We've gone to the fair, NW Trek, whale watching, and Nevada - prepare yourself for all the pictures and videos we'll be posting before September is over! Elena and Zachary are in a box because we've moved (another reason the blog hasn't been updated)! Change of address etc. notifications have gone out, but if you haven't received one let us know.

another Zoo

This time we went to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

Elena learned that she is as tall as a polar bear cub. She loved the belugas and got a mommy and baby figurine to play with. When we went to the underwater viewing, we could hear them talking to us. Elena says they were welcoming us to the zoo.
We caught 3 shows - fish feeding, wild wonders, and belugas. The wild wonders show was amazing with birds flying low right over our heads. Elena thought the wild wonders show was really funny and the beluga show was good.
We also saw penguins, reindeer, a stinky muskox, polar bears, meercats, and elephants. No bats though... Before leaving, she rode the carousel twice. Riding the mermaid horse was her favorite.

Here are a couple beluga videos we took.

Elena's great idea (she actually has a lot of "great ideas"...)

Let's sit on Daddy! Now let's sit on me!

Gymnastics at Sky Valley

Elena has Olympic fever! After watching the gymnastics events, Elena has decided she wants to give it a try. We signed her up for a trial class and she loved it! She wanted to stay past the hour and play some more. Now she is signed up for classes on Tuesday afternoon (right after preschool) starting in September. Here are some videos of her class - one of her following the warm-up course and one of her on the trampoline.

the Zoo

Grandma had a great idea - going to the Woodland Park Zoo! We took Zachary and Mommy too. It was a little wet, but I wore my raincoat. We saw the flamingo exhibit and can't wait to see the new penguin area next summer. My hand isn't as big as a hippo foot. Not even close. I liked seeing the hippos hiding in the water and the zebras and gazelles were fun too.
This little fox is the same color as Auntie Tracy's Gizmo! Isn't he cute?
I rode the carousel two times. The carousel ponies have names - I rode on Robbie and That's Our Boy. Mommy and Grandma took turns riding with me.
We saw the farm animals too. The cows were stinky! And the fat fat piggies!
My favorite was the night house and I went through 4 times to see the bats! I want to sit outside and look for bats at my house or at the River House. I also really liked looking at the map and deciding where we would go and how we would get there. I liked the gift shop and otters too, but didn't like it when I spilled hot chocolate on my legs...

Mommy says we can go back to the zoo soon since we didn't make it to the elephants or monkeys. Maybe Grandma can come then too.

Love, Elena