Kansas City Zoo (Take 5)

We recently took another trip to the Kansas City Zoo. This trip was really geared around Beckett (surprising, I know). If you are planning to take a visit to the zoo, here's what Beckett recommends you do not miss.

Beckett's top five:

5. The Australian Sheep

The KC Zoo has a fabulous Australian exhibit complete with dingos, wombats, tree kangaroos, and grey kangaroos.

Beckett preferred the sheep. They were soft and friendly, and he has a lot of experience with farm animals.

4. The Train

With Beckett's great love of trains you might think that riding the train would have been his favorite part of our zoo trip. That it wasn't is proof of the awesomeness of the KC Zoo. This was Beckett's first time actually riding a train. He liked it best when he could see the engine.

3. The Lion

We had a great view of the lionesses this trip. A few of them were lounging right next to the observation deck. Beckett got as close as possible.

2. The Polar Bear

The polar bear exhibit is pretty new. It's right at the front of the zoo. Nate had never seen it before, and it was the first thing we went to see. The polar bear is very active. He swims around the enclosure and then pushes off the glass like a backstroker. Beckett came face to face with the great white bear.

And Beckett's top pick for the Kansas City Zoo (drum roll please) ...

1. The Asian River Otters

The Asian river otters live in the rain forest building. They were quite active, running around, swimming, sniffing their monkey housemate. 

Beckett watched the river otter for a long time. Then he did a loop around the rain forest and came back to watch the otters some more. He thought they looked like cats and kept saying "eeeee."  ("Eeeee" is apparently what our cat sounds like.)

Cousins

These two are well on their way to becoming best buds. Beckett and his cousin get along so well. And everyone says they look alike too.

We went to Utah to visit my sister earlier this month. The entire time we were there we couldn't get over how much the boys enjoyed one another.

These slides were a huge hit. The two ran around laughing and chasing each other.

Nate got to see some of his cousins while we were in Utah too. Here's Isaac, Nate, Cameron, and Ben.

Beckett's behind in the this picture, but he ended up beating all the big cousins home.

Beckett's Current Obsession

Beckett has a deep and abiding love for trains. Consequently, we are learning a lot about Thomas the Tank Engine and being a Really Useful Engine. We found Beckett this train table on Craig's List. He is very focused and serious about those trains.

PhD

KU graduated 400 doctoral candidates last weekend including JoLee and three of her classmates. The hooding ceremony was a proud moment, concluding seven years of research and writing. Her committee chair, Dr Eldridge, presented the hood. Afterward, we went to his house for a party, where he said, "If it takes a village to raise a child then it takes a universe to graduate a scholar." We know that JoLee's success was made possible by all the friends and family who supported her through these years in Kansas. I want to say to all, in whole-hearted sincerity, thank you!

Hiking

Beckett is such a good hiker. He always stays on the path. He never asks to be carried. I am amazed at how far and how fast he can go and at how much he loves to run.

Spring has come to Kansas. Look at all the lovely green at the nature center.

I love the Kansas Redbuds.

Beckett's favorite part of this hike is the bridge. I always let him walk over it as many times as he wants to, usually about 5 or 6.

On this particular hike we saw some other hikers/nature enthusiasts. They were impressed with Beckett's hiking skills. He waved "bye-bye" to them as he zoomed by.

Easter

Beckett enjoyed Easter this year. The only thing he didn't really like was getting his picture taken. Still, he looked awfully cute in his Easter outfit.

After church Beckett got a look at his Easter basket. He really liked that it had trains and trucks on it. (Pointing to the train Beckett says, "na na  na na." Like chugga, chugga.) My mom had the fabulous idea of using these interlocking toys as eggs. They can be arranged in lots of different shapes. Both Beckett and Nate think they are pretty cool.

Beckett got a bunch of new cars for Easter.

He read the cards his grandparents sent.

Happy Easter. This is the one picture we have with anything resembling a smile.

That evening we went to a friend's house for dinner. Beckett loved running in and out with all the big kids. He also loved Nick's hamsters. He stood at the cage squeaking at them.

This morning, the day after Easter, Beckett gathered up all his new cars and parked them on the Bungalow book.

Then he clapped for himself.

Open for business

Mom snagged this photo that perfectly captured the moment last week when we went to the farm and fed the baby goats.

Defense Prep

10 days and counting.

A Walk in the Woods

Beckett and Nate went for a walk in the wide, wide world.

A Few of Beckett's Favorite Things

Puzzles. They are a real hit right now. I bought Beckett a new puzzle that makes sounds when each piece is put in its place. He was so amazed the first time he tried it.

Climbing. He can climb this ladder all by himself. He is already playing on the 4th and 5th grade playground. He's going to be so over it by the time he gets to elementary school much less 5th grade.

 

Juice Boxes. Mostly because the straw is awesome. Apparently it's also awesome to push the straw into the juice box even if that means you can't have any more juice.

Shoes. Beckett brings us his shoes so that we'll put them on him and then leave the house. Sometimes if he can't find his shoes he'll bring us our shoes.

Cars. Recently cars have become all the rage over here. Beckett crawls on the ground and pushes them around. He drives them on his head.

Helping. If it's a chore that includes taking something out of something else or putting something into something else I can usually convince Beckett to help. He's already pitching in with the laundry.

Super Why! His love for the Super Readers is undiminished.He especially likes to sit at the desk to watch it. Sometimes pushing the mute button on and off.

Being a Daredevil. The kid is fearless and fast. We must watch him like a hawk.

Thanks for peeking.

Sometimes I think Tyra* reads YA Fiction

* or at least someone on the ANTM staff.

First they did a vampire photo shoot. Maybe with this 2010 shoot ANTM was a little late jumping onto the vampire bandwagon, but vampires are still plenty popular. So much so that I'm not even going to bother to list any of the plethora of YA vampire novels.
The next season they did a fallen angels photo shoot.
It made me think of all the bazillion angel novels out there of which Alexandra Andornetto's Halo Series and Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush Series are just two examples.

I haven't read either series, by the way, but I do think Ann's photo would make a nice cover for a YA angel book.

Then this season on ANTM they did this crazy walking-in-a-bubble runway show.

Matched anyone?