AN EVEN BUSIER DAY

Saturday started off quiet enough, with some pretend boating in the backyard.

Then we went over to cousin Whitney's hair salon for a touch-up for James and a haircut for me!

Then it was back to Cheehaw, where James braved the BMX dirt track with his balance bike.

(It was super cool, but the fun didn't last long. James thought that "The hills are TOO big!", so he walked off the course about halfway through, while Daddy carried the bike back.)

There was just enough energy left in Cora for a picnic and another trip through the playground...

...before she passed out in the Beco. I LOVE that my kids still like to be carried - nothing feels better than having your babies close to your heart!

Cora napped for an hour while we waited for the rest of the gang to show up, and James and his Daddy sat with the conductor, which James thought was too cool! Then we rode the train, of course.

(James nearly fell asleep on the train. Another minute and he'd have been a goner, but the whistle blew as we headed back into the station and he was ready to explore the zoo!

We were quite the motley crew. I've never been to the zoo with such a large group of people before. Not counting daycare field trips, of course. And to think, it was all family. I think there were 21 of us there!

Cora thought the alligators were interesting, and she wasn't the least bit scared. I was though. I swear that platform didn't seem nearly high enough, especially with a group of big grumpy gators hanging out below!

We took an awesome family photo on the gator pier, but I'll have to grab that from Whitney when she posts it. She was head photographer on zoo day. I'm betting she got lots of cute shots of her adorable second cousins too!

And wouldn't you know it, Mister Non-napper made it all the way back to the car, then fell asleep in Daddy's arms in the parking lot...