Out-of-Town Visitors, Part 1

My older brother and his family came in town at the end of July.  Patrick (my brother) and Ingrid (his wife) were here for the weekend and their three boys stayed with my parents for the rest of the week.  It was great to spend so much time with them.  We went to the zoo, and rode the train.

We stopped for a snack and the 6 grandsons sat on a bench and watched the giraffes as they ate.  At this point, Jim and I told everyone that we are EXPECTING a new baby in February!  Pretty exciting news at the Kelly house.

The zoo has a pretty new sea lion exhibit that is very cool.  We were able to watch the sea lions swim all around us!

On Sunday, my parents brought Jack on a float trip with my brother and his family.  I don't think Patrick or Charlie are quite old enough yet, so they stayed home with me and we met my friend Connie, who was in town from AZ, and went to Grant's Farm.

Our first stop after getting off the tram was the carousel.

Next, we fed the goats.  The goats tend to be a little aggressive, so I stayed out with Charlie while Connie went in with her daughter Alexa and Patrick.

If you are holding a milk bottle, the goats swarm to you.

We saw a bird show and part of an elephant show.  The kids also got to pet a huge snake.

After a snow cone, we got back on the tram to head for home.

A playgroup I am part of took a trip to see a helicopter.  My nephews got to come along.  Here is a blurry picture of the group (more people came later).

We looked at a few helicopters in "the shop" and then we went outside to watch a helicopter land.

Incoming!

It was windy and loud watching the helicopter land.

Once it landed, we all got to go inside.

All the boys had a chance to sit in the pilot's seat.  Adam:

Lukas:

Jack:

Patrick:

Ryan:

Charlie:

Nana and her grandsons:

The playgroup at the end (some had left earlier):