Our final summer fling

The kids went back to school yesterday. I can hardly believe it. It happened so fast that I don't know whether to feel happy or sad. One morning the kids were PJ-clad at 10am, building forts in the basement...and the next they were dressed and fed at 8am, ready to make the five minute walk to school.

Such is life; I guess all I can do is embrace it.

So, the day before this happened...



...I decided to celebrate the last day of summer break with a zoo outing. Somehow our family had never "done the zoo" in Des Moines. We heard it was nothing spectacular, and having been spoiled with high-caliber NYC zoos (snobby, I know), we weren't overly anxious to get to our local zoo. But when we finally did, we were pleasantly surprised.

They had some big cats, and giraffes...







...and plenty of interactive exhibits for kids.











A tortoise this size is always impressive.



We had a fun, leisurely time...running on no one's schedule but our own. Days like this--just me and my 4 kids--are priceless to me.



And now it's back to school for half of them...