Kyle's monkeys

Miko and Albert are Kyle's monkeys. They are his prized monkeys. It used to just be Miko. Then Albert came along from Grandma Sondra and Auntie Judy and broke into the inner circle. Other monkeys had tried, but Albert has been the only monkey that has successfully become part of Kyle's inner circle of monkey(s). Each morning, he brings them downstairs as he starts his day. They eat breakfast with him. Before leaving for school, he sometimes sets them up for the day. Here is how they were left today. On the couch, with a blanket and a remote. And notice that Albert's tail is wrapped around the back of Miko. What love. 

Rock climbing

Emily has been taking rock climbing after school for several months now. Emily wanted to go to an open gym time to climb with us. Kyle and Aaron were super excited to try it out as well. Everyone had a blast. They even make a full body harness for little guys like Aaron. Aaron was thrilled to climb and couldn't get enough of it. 

Aaron climbing

Emily climbing

Kyle & Emily climbing

Zoo finale, San Diego finale

Today the packers arrived. That meant we had to get out of the house. I needed to get out of the house for my own sanity and emotional well-being. Nothing like a bunch of strangers putting everything into boxes and clearing out your house to make a move get very real. 

So we went to the zoo. A place I have always loved. And it was on my San Diego bucket list to visit before we left. So we hit our favorite spots - the Skyfari (Kyle used to be terrified of this), the meerkats and the spider monkeys. 

Aaron had been asking to ride the train outside the zoo for some time. Today seemed like a perfect day for that. :-) So we rode the train. And Aaron loved it. Check one off Aaron's San Diego bucket list. 

Aaron had also been asking to ride the carousel near the zoo. Again, what better time to check one off his San Diego bucket list than 2 days before we left. 

Yea, then there's the move... it's still emotional seeing these pictures nearly 3 months later. I know this is just stuff, but the "here's your life in boxes and a home that holds so many memories" part is what gets me. 

That evening, Emily's best friend Haiden invited us over for dinner. They made a delicious meal for us all to eat together and the kids got to swim together for a long time. It was a welcome distraction to the move (on our last night sleeping at our house) and a wonderful time with wonderful people. 

Bear and orangutans

Little Bear and I went to the zoo today to check out the animals. Like his big brother, he had a great time at the orangutans. They came right up to the glass so Aaron and the orang could check one another out. Aaron was so matter of fact with them. In the video below, Aaron very astutely points out the orangutans nose. And moves on. No big deal. 

Nose!

Zoo

Aaron and I have been making the most of our zoo membership. And we found where the squirrel monkeys were relocated to. We have been searching for them since they started (and completed) the construction over by the koalas. These playful little guys are now over in the Children's Zoo area. The first time we saw them, they weren't as active as we've seen them. Instead, they were huddled under a heat lamp because it had rained and was a bit chilly (see Aaron's monkey hat). 

The next time I took Aaron to the zoo, we went into the petting zoo part and he was so tickled to pet a goat. The goat wasn't that interested, but Aaron was beyond happy.

He also loved the play area in the Children's Zoo area as well. And the most recent time we went, Aaron rode the skyfari with me. The first time I took Kyle and Emily on there with Grandma, Kyle completely freaked out. Screamed and cried the whole time and was just inconsolable. Aaron actually sat on my lap for the ride. He's not a sit still kind of kid. But he sat on my lap and checked things out. Then decided he wanted to sit on the other side. So we did. And we made it without tears!