Zoo Reunion!

On Saturday we took the kiddos to the zoo! I had made plans to meet up with two friends from graduate school and their children. I hadn't seen Erinn since graduation in 2002, and I hadn't seen Amy in about 3 1/2 years! So, it was time to catch up!! I was really looking forward to meeting Amy's son, Nicholas, and Erinn's two cuties, Ellie and Jack! We were lucky enough to have known Amy's twins, Maddie and Alina, since they were about two weeks old!! And, of course, we were happy to introduce Colin and Gillian, as well! (So, that's 5 adults and 7 kids under 7 at the zoo!)

It was a beautiful, beautiful fall day in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Actually, it was reminiscent of the actual 9/11. It was fitting to be with Amy and Erinn on 9/11 since, in 2001, we were all together at Penn State starting our second year of graduate school. I remember huddling in Moore Building with these ladies all day, listening to the radio (we didn't have a tv) and scrambling for information, like most of the country. What a scary day, but at least we had each other.

So, our zoo day! I will just say, that Colin had the time of his life!! He just seemed to love it all. He really looked at all the animals, what they were doing, and telling us all about it!
He was impressed with the elephants apparently:


And the koi:

(And isn't he just the cutest in he Penn State jersey??)

Gillian's favorites were the African Painted Dogs. They were right up close to the glass wall, sleeping, and she thought they were pretty cool:


Both kiddos were super excited to see the BIG FISH in the aquarium tanks! Also, they really enjoyed the penguins swimming around like nutballs (like penguins are want to do). Colin was just giggling and giggling at those silly birds.

Colin loving the fishies!


G getting up close and personal with the tank:


One together!


Gillian's other favorite part of the zoo was this kayak near the sea otters:

If you remember from the beach, she is really into boats!

Colin took a different approach:


Oh, yeah, another highlight from Colin's day...WORLD'S BIGGEST FAN!


So, Gillian was none too pleased to have to leave her kayak, so we took that as a clue that it was time to head home (it was already 1:45 and WAY past naptime). Before we left, we wanted a picture of the ladies and kiddos together.

So, chaos:


Then we settled into semi-chaos:


Look at those lovely ladies, and those adorable kiddos!

It was so nice to see old friends, and meet those awesome kids. We are going to try to plan a whole class reunion in State College for next summer. I can't wait!