Happy Birthday, Daddy!

To celebrate daddy's birthday we went to the zoo. It is usually too hot at this time of year but we had a perfect day. We got out there early [for us] and decided to head straight to the back and work our way back to the front. The weather was so nice that we got to see many of the animals out and roaming. We took the boat ride for the first time and that was fun. Benjamin's favorite part was making friends with a lady on board that had a bag of chips stashed in her purse. He'd make his way over, hold out his hands, and say, "THANK YOU!!" She thought he was adorable. And he did manage to share with his brother, amazingly. We did get to see elephants this visit - thank goodness! Noah was more interested in finding the stage that he had played on one time, but Benjamin sure was excited! He does love elephants! And here is his best elephant impersonation:
After a nice long nap, we decided to hit the pool later that evening. While going right after dinner might not be everyone's idea of a good time, we sure have had luck with it. The pool is usually cleared out and so far the weather has been perfect. Daddy thinks the air is a little too cool sometimes but if he had gone for swimming lessons earlier in the day, I bet he would not complain. Benjamin has become quite the little daredevil on the dolphin slide. He makes his way right to the top amongst the big kids and shoots himself right down. (Please note Noah only started going on this slide this summer...) This particular night, he did not have his swimming shirt on and he went a little quicker than normal. He did not appear bothered by this in the least. And, yes, he has his red crocs on. He pretty much refuses to take them off anymore.
Noah also had a big night. He and daddy went on the BIG slide in the BIG pool. They could not go down together but they had a lifeguard stationed at the bottom to catch him. Daddy set him on the slide and explained that he had to lean back and go and off he went. Benj and I watched from the baby pool but only saw him splash in to the pool at the bottom. Daddy said he saw him go around the first curve. He was spread eagle with his eyes big as saucers. (Wish we had a picture of that...) He was not crying when daddy came down, which we thought was good. And a little later in the night he asked to go on it again, although he did change his mind when they got to the top. But I am okay with that. We are still proud of him for trying it if only once. All in all, I'd say it was a good day. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. Now that's the way birthdays should be.