I am posting a belated happy earth day post this morning and a bit of a weekend wrap up as well. But it all seems to flow pretty well I think so here goes.
On Saturday, we decided to make an last minute jaunt to the city. Chicago that is, to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo. The boys have been asking to go all winter, but this was the first nice weekend where schedules and weather matched for a great zoo day. We took some friends with us that are new to the area. They have three kiddos as well, but slightly older. Their youngest is the same age as our older two. So Danielle (the other mama) gushed over Wyatt and I marveled at her older boys and how they are somewhat calm and follow directions.
Here is my favorite photo of the day and you can see the whole set here on flickr. I have such mixed feelings about zoos. In college, I was a biology major. And after seeing the humpback whales in the wild off the coast of Rhode Island, I swore up and down that zoos were a travesty and the ONLY way to see animals was in the wild. (Yes, I was a little on the left side.) But after becoming a mama and seeing my boys eyes light up at the largeness of a REAL polar bear, or the quiet moment shared by a mother gorilla and her baby, I see things quite differently. Logistics, finances, yada, yada, yada prevent us from whisking the boys away to the African delta to get an up close view of crocodiles. and zebras. (What was I thinking?) I still come away from a trip to the zoo with a feeling of sadness in some ways. Watching the polar bear doing circle after circle in the water of sheer boredom makes me want to cry. And seeing how small the rhino enclosure is, makes me want to scream. 
However, on the flip side, taking our kids to the zoo provided a great opportunity for conversation. We talked all day about habitat protection, feeding habits, (and other biological habits *wink*), about respecting a wild animal's space, about animal's body language, and on, and on, and on. The boys kept asking if each of the animals were good animals or bad animals and if they were "mean guys" or not. I think after trying to explaining this concept a hundred different ways, they "got it". That animals aren't really mean because they eat another animal, but that is just how nature is set up. It is such a hard thing to explain to little ones who are wrestling with the whole good guy/bad guy concept in their heads. But I am grateful for the opportunity to talk about it all...every single part of it, and on such a special day as Earth Day.
Sunday, was a leisurely day around here of mowing the lawn for the first time this year. Bessie, our old school lawnmower was up to the task. S, sharpened her blades a little and she was ready to go. Our neighbors think we are nuts, the fact that we mow our lawn with this little beauty is only ONE of the reasons they refer to us as "those people from the East coast". I got the rest of my garden planting done (more on that later in the week). And we showed the house again! Hopefully this is a sign that the nicer weather is making people think about making a move. Let's hope. Oh, and we went to the lake and flew S's parafoil kite. Actually we spent an hour and a half getting the lines untangled and then 20 minutes flying the kite. By that time it was getting to be dinner and the wind off the lake was getting a little chilly. So we headed back home to watch Happy Feet - a most perfect Earth Day movie indeed.
More sewing in the forecast for this week...promise! Have a great week all.