Another Day, another Visit to the Zoo

The kids and I ventured to the zoo this morning, trying to beat the heat. It was their first tie to go on the monorail. We only visited the Wilds of Africa today, but everyone had lots of fun, fed the giraffes, and enjoyed the water sprayers.

Balrogs and Bricks

Katharine built the Balrog scene from 'The Lord of the Rings' out of spare Lego pieces today.

She saw the first movie last week, under our basic rule that if you read the book you can see the movie (within limits).

'The Two Towers' is next up in her book queue (because now she really wants to know what happens with Gollum).

Stripes and Stars

Lego Wars

Before...

One minute after...

And then there were 6 - Und dann waren es 6

Today was the day we finally got to pick up Anna from the airport. After months and weeks the wait was over. Of course, in true Doescher fashion, she was initiated into the craziness of our life IMMEDIATELY!

 Katharine had her eyes fixed on those sliding doors at the international terminal to make sure she'd be the first one to see Anna - and she was.

 The kids made a sign for Anna so she could find us easier.

 After what seemed like an eternity, she was finally here!

 Navigating back to the parking garage.

 I finally purchased a small pool for the backyard, and a slip and slide. 

 Every member of the circus had a blast outside - and the backyard is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitos now.

 Even Kassidy went down the very, very wet slide.