Essie & Chloe Go to the Zoo

A chilly, overcast Tuesday afternoon after school has started is the perfect time to visit the Louisville Zoo, about an hour and a half from our house. No crowds, and the animals were great. Here is some of what we saw:

You can see the real rhinos in the background.

The baby elephant was the girls' favorite of the day, because he danced and kicked and trumpeted and tossed a log around. They said, "He silly."

Kind of ironic that our little Ethiopian girls had to come all the way to Kentucky to see their first elephant.

The lions were situated teasingly close to the giraffes - which is why they are staring longingly, licking their chops.

The world's ugliest goat.

Chloe petting a goat. Not sure that the goat petting area enclosed in an "authentic African boma" was much of a novelty to our girls.

Pygmy hippopotamus

Wallaby

Watching the flamingo pool

Watching the penguins play

This Sumatran Tiger was very cool. He even gave us a few roars.

Up close and personal with the tiger

Tortoise ride

Riding the carousel

US Citizens [Update: Or Not]

The girls became US Citizens today as we finalized their adoption at our county courthouse. The proceedings were uneventful but it's nice to have everything recognized by the US courts. We also got the girls' names officially changed and can now file for KY birth certificates. We spent the rest of the day at the Louisville Zoo, which was way more exciting to the girls than our court appointment. We'll post pictures tomorrow.

[Update: Sooooooo...they're not US Citizens yet. Have to get the birth certificates then apply for citizenship and social security cards. Boo. We are learning as we go!]

Fall is here!

The girls and I decided to enjoy the very fall weather by taking Caesar to the dog park in NichVegas. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures because there were 2 enormous Rottweilers who got a little rough with Caesar and I ended up breaking up a dog fight. We salvaged the morning by heading over to the people park. This was a new park for the girls and it is much bigger than our parks in Wilmore. They loved it, to say the least.

Hint-Essie is in the pink jacket and Chloe is in the blue jacket.

I forgot to add the picture of them going down on their bellies and blogspot is having issues with allowing us to move photos around once they are posted. So this is why they are on the ground, on their faces in this picture.

Prodigies?

As I mentioned before, I went to a consignment sale last Thursday. Two of my "big bargains" were a guitar and keyboard. The girls are SO into music so for $3 ea., I couldn't pass these bargains up. After this session, the new rule of the house is musical instruments must be played in their room with the door closed. =)

Chloe on keys

Essie on the guitar

On...on...U of K...

Mommy couldn't resist going to another consignment sale this week. The 45 minute wait to check-out was worth it (I guess) for the UK cheerleading outfits I found. Hopefully it will bring the Cats some much needed luck this weekend against Florida. GO CATS!

Lunch with Princesses

Not everyone gets to eat lunch with princesses. I think the orange headband is a nice touch by Essie.

On Wednesday, the girls enjoyed painting at storytime at the library. Here they are showing off their work.

Ababa turns 30!

Today was Ababa's big day and yes, I married a younger man (by 3 months). Because Matt is not a big party guy, we celebrated with dinner at Red R*bin with Matt's parents and the girls. I also have to brag on myself for improvising a chocolate chip cake and making frosting from scratch (with a little help via the phone call to my sister Jen) after I ran out of the store bought version. Matt can attest to the fact that I am not the world's greatest cook, but he even gave me props today.

The girls were a big help making Ababa's cake.

love the concentration

Licking the beaters is the best part of baking.

Chloe, Ababa, Essie

Camping with Ababa

Last night ababa and the girls got out our tent (that had sat unused for three years) and had a little campout in the backyard. The girls did great and had a lot of fun. Ababa's a bit tired and sore, but it was good times.

These boots are made for walking

*Warning to my sister Jen-Don't let Hunter read this post.*

The girls discovered some rain boots in the closet this morning and haven't taken them off since. The white pair I bought on-line, but accidently only ordered 1 pair. I was lamenting this to my sister Jen, who reminded me that I had given her a pair (in the size I needed) that I bought at a consignment sale last year for Hunter to wear. Hunter deemed them his "barn boots" and wore them as often as he could. He has since outgrown them but was still very upset at the idea of not being able to wear them anymore. Jen snuck them out of the house and brought them down to us when they came for the girls birthday. I think they go great with shorts, don't you?

Essie & Chloe

Saturdays with Ababa

With me at home on Saturdays, Amy often takes that opportunity to do some out-of-town home visits for her job. This means fun and bonding for the girls and ababa. Last Saturday, we went to a nearby nature preserve for a little hiking:

The girls loved climbing on the big rocks

Taking a picture break while crossing a foot bridge

About two-thirds of the way through our 2.5-mile hike, we needed to stop for a rest.

A yummy picnic lunch in the back of the car for some very hungry hikers

Six Months Home

This September is an important month for our girls. Not only is it their birthday month (Sept. 4th), it also marks six months that they've been in their new home (Sept. 13th). It is also special in that it was a year ago that we first heard of the twins and received our first pictures of them in their village in Ethiopia. That seems like a lifetime ago now. How blessed we are to have Essie and Chloe in our family.