dylan, spring break, and the zoo!

the kids' cousin, dylan was here visiting from virginia last week for his spring break and to celebrate his 16th birthday. the kids began their spring break last thursday and since dylan was scheduled to leave on saturday, we decided to take him to the zoo that day. it had been a while since we last went to the zoo so it was a nice treat, and we had so much fun. the weather was hot at first but we stayed until closing time and it cooled down towards the end of the day. the kids got to feed the giraffe which was an awesome experience and we also enjoyed the new dinosaur exhibit they currently have set up. while we were eating lunch at the restaurant, the black jaguar came right up to our window and started pacing back and forth over and over again. he put on a nice show for us, but we were glad that there was a nice thick piece of glass separating us because he sure did look hungry!

here are some of my favorite pics from our trip to the zoo.

unfortunataely, while dylan was here all four of us were sick with a cold virus. it started with little russell who, because of his cough, had to start back on his albuterol treatments (which we ran out of on a sunday, of all days, and had to take a trip to an urgent care center for a new prescription); then I caught the bug and fought off all of the nasty cold/cough symptoms in addition to a fever; natalie has had a mild cold throughout; and lastly, russ is fighting off [hopefully] the last of his cold virus. despite all of the sickness, we somehow managed to have a great time with dylan, and did our very best to keep him entertained.

for dylan's last night, on friday we all ate at carrabbas to officially celebrate his birthday. we were all very sad to see him go but i think we'll be seeing him again for his annual summer trip to florida.