Tag: janie

Zoolight Safari 2013

We love going to the zoo for Zoolight Safari.  It’s usually pretty cold, but we bundle up and tough it out.  New this year, they brought in a large Christmas tree and have a nightly tree lighting.

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The girls love visiting Santa here.  I thought Samantha might be over her fear of Santa, but no.  She likes Santa at the zoo, but when Santa came to school for breakfast a few days earlier, she wanted nothing to do with him.  Ellie was thrilled to be able to share her wish.  The girls each told Santa one thing.  I was impressed that it was only one each.  Samantha asked for a Rainbow Loom, and Ellie asked for a trunk full of princess dresses.  We’ll see if they’ve been good.

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And of course, we had to take a ride on the Candy Cane Express.  A trip to Zoolight Safari would not be complete without it.

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FLASHBACK:

I have fond memories of Samantha in this pink coat.  In fact, here is one of my favorite pictures from Zoolight Safari 2010.  Brown Baby is posing as an elf.

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Just Dance

We went out on a limb and got Samantha another video game for her birthday.  She loves to play Mario Kart Wii, but I’d rather she not sit and play video games all afternoon.  Mario Kart, by the way, is what brought this recent obsession with everything Mario.  Brian suggested the game Just Dance.

Oh boy.

Words cannot describe how she squealed with delight at the first time she danced alongside the game.  I can’t say I’m too thrilled about her dancing to K$sha, Nicki Minaj, or (I can’t believe) her favorite, Psy.  She loves to play, and I love that it gets her moving.  It’s a win-win.

The first night we played, we all had to get some of that action.  The best song for all 4 of us to dance with is Ghostbusters.  That’s better.  🙂

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I can’t play with the family too often.  I always win.  I’m good like that.

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Grand Canyon

It was certainly a whirlwind trip, but well worth it.

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We saw LOTS of elk.  Lots.  Most of the time, like this one below, we accidentally walked up to them without realizing it.  This one was at the Visitor’s Center just as we got off the shuttle bus.  Otherwise, we saw a lot of Abert’s squirrels, a couple of families of mule deer, butterflies, ravens, and vultures.  I was hoping to see condors, but no luck.

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View from Mather Point:

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On the Bright Angel Trail at the 2nd tunnel:

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On the Bright Angel Trail at the 1.5 mile resthouse (1.5 mile hike down, with 1100′ elevation change):

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We also hiked the South Kaibab Trail almost down to Ooh-Aah Point.  This picture was right before the many switchbacks near the head of the trail.

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Sunset from Pima Point:

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Harvest moon rise on the Fall Equinox from Pima Point:

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I’d love to post a video with a time lapse shot of the moon rising.  It was very awesome.  Maybe Brian can work on it in his spare time.

UPDATE:  Here is the time lapse video of the moon rise!

I think my favorite spot to view was Yaki Point because you could see the many trails, and had a great panoramic view of the canyon.  Pima Point was good to see and hear the rapids below, but the water was very dirty from all the flooding in Colorado.