The 4th That Was

It was a great 4th...with parades, zoo time, dinner eaten outside on a nice patio (as you do) and some time at the lake. 

How do you know you live in Iowa and you've gone to a small town for a parade???...horses, tractors and you get popsicles thrown at you to cool off. And it was great. 

She's the only one that would let me take their picture with the statues at the zoo. He was to distracted holding on for dear life on the carousel to notice the picture. 

At the lake to wrap up the weekend. It was hot and sunny and the boat watching was pretty good. Payton is turning all golden from being outside. I started calling her my little baked potato which she isn't too sure about yet. 

Parker spent time digging in the sand but also he went into the water. Let me repeat...Parker went into the water. In. Up to his armpits. In water. (Victory!)

He was also overheard saying after a boy made a comment about his g-button "he doesn't know it's hard for me sometimes and I have to practice". (Victory!)

And for a minute, right before he had a meltdown, he did good. (You can't win them all)

Dream Night 2014

We got lucky and were able to attend Dream Night at the zoo Friday night (thanks Bridget for getting us the info to get signed up in time!)

The zoo for this special night gives kids who have special needs, challenges, etc. and their families a chance to experience the zoo without the normal crowds and the chance to take as long as need to and try new things. It is completely amazing. And for a kid like Parker who has some serious sensory issues, it is a pretty big deal. 

We got to picnic outside with every possible kind of treat we'd want - cotton candy, popcorn, ice cream, hot dogs and hamburgers, apples with carmel, cookies. Yum! (You can see the line behind them for dinner...glad we did that first!)

Running full steam towards the sting-ray fountain (notice how there is only one other person the entire way down the hill??)

We got to go behind the scenes at the aquarium. We went upstairs and took a tour of all the tanks from the top and got to look down in. We got to see one of the sea turtles pop his head out on top of the shark tunnel. Soooo cool!!!

 They LOVE the aquarium!

Parker put his hands in water in the touch tank and touched a star fish, an anemone, and a crab. He put his hands in the water. More than once. This was so huge! Water is a major source of issues for him, and add in the different textures of the animals...HUGE!!!

Shark tunnel all to ourselves. Seriously....who gets that??? We actually got to see and take all the time in the world we wanted. 

One of our turtles swimming in the tunnel with a shark hanging out behind him. 

They got to pick a painting that an zoo animal had done, and then add their own flair to it. Then we got to bring it home. We are now the proud owners of art created by an alligator and them. 

 Face painting!!!

Parker got his face painted. He actually let them do his cheek and not his hand or arm. He let the lady paint a turtle on his cheek. BIG HUGE SUCCESS!!!

And not to be outdone, she wanted to be a giraffe. 

Bubbles before our behind the scenes tour of the animal hospital.

Omaha Street Percussion played in the plaza. They are so fun. It turned into a little dance party and they let some of the kids even jump in and play. 

Fun times playing games for prizes. 

We got to pet this snake. Payton, wearing her newly won bling, isn't having anything to do with it. You can see Parker's hand in the touching it without any issues. 

The dessert turtle was a whole other story. 

The sky as we left was gorgeous. With all the goodies they gave us, having the best time on a perfect night, ran into some friends while we were there and got a couple of wins at the same time, it was awesome. 

Henry Doorly Zoo...you rock! Thank you so much for providing so many families with a perfect evening. If these two have been talking about it for days, I can only imagine that all the kids that were there have been doing the same thing. 

And here is a little video of the band playing. If you ever have a chance, go see them. They are so much fun. 

Dream Night 2013

Friday night we were so lucky to be able to go to the zoo again for Dream Night. Dream Night is where the zoo closes to the public and people who attend have full access to the zoo for 3 hours without the crowds. We also got some super special surprises. We saw a few of my friends there, a few of our friends from respite care, perfect weather (which has been in short supply around here)...all around a great night!

 We started our night eating on the patio. I could have seriously sat there all night. Omaha Steaks burgers, hot dogs and chips. Even Parker did great eating his burger!

 We were able to go behind the scenes with the giraffes. We got to go on the walk behind the indoor area and see them. Amazing! The twins were a little nervous being that close to them but did really well. These pics aren't zoomed in at all. Were were literally nose to nose with them while they ate. So cool!

 Then we got to go behind the scenes at the aquarium too! We were able to go upstairs (who knew there was an upstairs!) and see all the workings of the tanks. We got to stand at the top of the giant tunnel that's part of the aquarium and look down.

 While we were standing up there talking with one of the volunteers, we were greeted by one of the tiger sharks that kept swimming by and one of the giant sea turtles that live there. We love the turtles so that was a huge hit! We were also able to see some of the giant stingrays hanging out near the top.

We spent alot of time in the regular part of the aquarium. It is always so crowded, that we don't always have a good chance to look at things easily. The twins were able to get up and look around, run from tank to tank. Payton loved it but Parker was over the moon. He ran from tank to tank finding every fish, counting how many he saw, how many creatures he knew the names of, what colors they were, etc. Most the pictures are action shots and a little blurry because it was constant on the go, but it definitely explains the excitement.

We also got to do the touch tank for the first time. Payton touched all the animals, Parker decided he didn't want to but was willing to look at them.

 After the aquarium we were able to meet and pet a penguin. I'm pretty sure I want to bring one home :)

 Thank you Omaha Zoo! Not only did you give a lot of families a night out, you helped so many kids get the chance to really explore the zoo and animals that they might not otherwise get to. Thank you providing the kids an amazing opportunity.