Sprinkler!

It's been so, so hot out. Our grass was in desperate need of water and the kids need to cool off/burn off some energy.
Waiting very patiently for the sprinkler to come on...
Running!
They were not such big fans...
So we retreated to the shade of the backyard to swing and run!

Home grown tomatoes

We harvested our first tomato today! There are two more that are just about ready as well. It made for an excellent accompaniment to our Sunday dinner...Caprese salad with our own basil and fresh mozzarella.

Behind the Scenes at the Zoo - The rest of the pictures!

Yes, I took way too many pictures, but it was such a fun day that I want to remember! :)

We saw the sharks and Brendan once again, LOVED getting to touch them. Then we got to see a dolphin show and sit on the stage during it. It was neat, but not the most relaxing experience...two tired, squirrelly kids and no railings on elevated stage! Also, the lighting is terrible in the dolphin pavillion, so most of the pictures did not turn out well.




Then to maintain tradition, we had lunch at Shapiro's Deli downtown. No pickles for Katelyn this year, but plenty of "pink meat", i.e. pastrami, chips, cottage cheese, and applesauce was enjoyed.

Behind the Scenes at the Zoo - New Tiger Exhibit

The next stop on our tour was the new Tiger exhibit and the 10am feeding of the tigers. So cool! Definitely something to check out...it seems that they only feed them (for the public viewing) once per day, at 10am. But they have these new chutes that they send "meatballs" down for the tigers, so they come right up to the glass!

Behind the Scenes at the Zoo - The Pengiuns!

Our next encounter was to see the penguins up close! Brendan loved this as well! He has always enjoyed watching them swim in their exhibit, but he was grinning ear to ear when he got to pet one!

Behind the Scenes at the Zoo - Part 2

While waiting for our next encounter, we walked by the Lion exhibit. It was still relatively cool out, so the lions were a little more active. One came pretty close. Brendan and Katelyn both roared at her. :) Well, Brendan more than Katelyn, but she definitely tried to mimmick him!


Then we saw the cheetahs. At one point, Katelyn walked up to the class to "touch" one of the cheetahs and he swatted at her! My heart stopped for a minute! Katelyn was deserveably startled and fell down on her bottom and cried. :(



But Katelyn recovered nicely and was so into looking at all the animals. Maybe we have a future vet in the family!


Little Bobby (well, he does out weigh his older cousin!) was such a good little man the whole day! He just took it all in! :)

Behind the Scenes at the Zoo - The Giraffes!

As part of our weekend, we once again got an early morning behind the scenes tour at the Indianapolis Zoo.

Our first stop was to feed the giraffes a morning snack!

Brendan got a huge kick out of feeding them sweet potatoes. Katelyn was a little more unsure, but she seemed to enjoy it too.

4th Annual Shoemaker Sheraton!

For the fourth year in a row, we have spent a weekend in July at Mamaw & GrandBob's house. Lots of good food, a trip to the zoo, and swimming in the pool.

The kids all got along wonderfully and enjoyed spending time with each other.
Chris enjoyed our seafood extravaganza on Friday night...various grilled fish, plus sushi!




Uncle Rob & Cousin Bobby with Bobby's favorite book...The Wheels on the Bus
Water golf...a new sport invented by Brendan!