quotes of the day

if my current life could be summed up in quotes i think these would be near the top...

"Sometimes the pattern of life seems a little monotonous -- and discouraging. It is like climbing a mountain and, after reaching the top, getting knocked back down to the bottom to climb it again; but I guess the fun is in climbing and not in arriving. I hope so!"

"I couldn't possibly have understood this when I was young like I do now. When we look back on decades of life we see that the seemingly insignificant things we do over and over actually weave the pattern of our lives. And if those small and simple things are good, we will end up having lived a fulfilling life -- and that is a great thing!"

"We each do the best we can. My best may not be as good as your best, but it's my best. The fact is that we know when we are doing our best and when we are not. If we are not doing our best, it leaves us with a gnawing hunger and frustration. But when we do our level best, we experience a peace."

all of these came from sister hinckley. i think they are so wise and dead-on, especially for young mothers. i hope you think so too...

denver zoo

Yesterday we went to the Denver zoo. Since we have been to the National Zoo {part of the Smithsonian group} in DC a few times, I wasn’t expecting to be wowed. But I was! It could have been the great weather and happy kids that made it so enjoyable, but the zoo is also very nice. The first thing we did was a beeline straight to the sea lion show. We got there just as started, and mclayne {and ryan} were pretty into it.
after the show




then the polar bears. i like that the enclosures seem to put you closer to the animals than other zoos we have been to.











about half way, we stopped and had lunch. next time we will either bring our own or go to the "restaurant" on the other end.
after lunch we headed to the primates. we were watching the gorillas with a few other people. eventually they left, and then something amazing happened. the gorilla walked from the far side of his area right up to the window! they just stared at each other and had a long bonding moment...it was awesome. maybe that's what's wrong her...she's part gorilla!











this was what mclayne looked like for most of the day. she would climb up to see the animals, talk to them, and if she really liked them name them. while we were at the hippos she told ryan, "this is baubis and beabis. do you know them?" what a riot...we'll definitely going back next october.