farewell to summer

on monday, we forewent going to the apple orchard in lieu of something more summery to celebrate the season's last few joyous days. indeed, it was summer. after leaving the zoo, my sister-in-law alyssa called to tell me that her thermometer in her van read 90. the jeep's said 87, so apparently it's a lot hotter in her chrysler town and country. just another thing to add to the con list of getting a mini van.

finn loved it. it being the zoo, not the van, though he loves its dvd player immensely. he talks constantly about the animals and of wanting to see the ostrich, elephant, giraffe, hippo, and ... the list could go on forever. this boy knows animals. it's crazy. it's like his vocabulary went from 10 words total to including every species of mammal in two months flat. so now, when he wakes up in the morning and after his nap, he lists the animals that he wishes he could see and then cries out for aunt "syssa" to come get him to take him to the zoo. thanks for letting us in as your guests! love a free zoo trip!

pre-zoo, we got a visit from aunt diane, one of indianapolis' finest. macy and finn gave her a double-take when she walked in uniform-clad and gun in holster. sweet little macy kept saying, "you look different." let's just say that she is the most unintimidating woman in the world when attired in her normal fashion-forward clothing and accessories, but man, you give her a walky talky and a gun and she means business. i laugh just thinking of her yelling at bad guys and throwing them to the ground. she's a woman of many hats, none of which you can see in this photo. she the one with her hand on the steering wheel. thanks for taking time out of your busy day to visit!