what a zoo

this weekend we made our now annual trip to the cities to meet up with the harms' for a twins game and miles was pumped to see his friend "E-E" (a.k.a. ethan). now that we both have little boys, we had to plan something fun for them to do as well. so we headed to como zoo on saturday morning along with a million other people. it was crowded, but that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves. the weather was gorgeous! we made it there just in time to catch the sparky the sea lion show. I do recall this being one of the highlights of the zoo for me when I was little. however, I also think it lasted longer than six minutes, but who knows?! miles thought it was spectacular and it was probably just long enough for his 14 month old attention span. ethan, scott, and anna joined us after the show for some lunch and then we took off to ogle at the animals. the fish were definitely the highlight for ethan and miles really enjoyed the monkeys.

check out the baby orangutan on the platform!
this was before miles saw the gorilla behind him
ethan LOVED the gorilla

we stopped for a quick ice cream break (for both the prego mamas and the babies) and then ventured into como town.
this area of the zoo is actually a really cute amusement park. it's relatively cheap and very clean - a nice change from the carnies working the county fair! miles embarked on his very first ride. the classic cars were a hit and he was just as amused by the train and the 2nd car ride with ethan. the daddies REALLY loved squeezing into the trains :)

check out that concentration - must take after his mommy

ethan was ready for a joyride!

both the boys were exhausted and glad that they were able to spend the night with their grandma and grandpas!
it was miles' FIRST overnight while mommy & daddy relaxed at the twins game with the harms'. this too became quite the adventure when we decided to park at the mall of america and take the light rail downtown. we were lucky enough to land ourselves a seat on the train - the poor souls standing up were getting to know each other a little more than they had planned. eew.

glad to have a seat!

kyle was in charge of getting us some tickets, but ran into some stubborn sales people on the street. lo and behold, we ended up sitting in the 17th row of the upper deck. nearly close enough to touch the dome at our last twins game in the dome. how ironic!

anna gets a medal for climbing this high while 7 mo pregnant!

say bye-bye to the narrow concourses packed with people

the game was terrible - but we had a great time in spite of the loss. the guys enjoyed a couple of beers while anna and I tagged along for some interesting people watching. we were glad to get back to the hotel and sleep in on sunday morning.

scott enjoying some snacks back at the hotel

I'm a little sad to report that miles refused to come to me when we got back to town to pick him up. a mini guilt trip for mommy I guess :(