Our Visit to Michigan

 Hi all!  My sisters and I were in Michigan two weeks ago for fall break.  We were all so glad for a break from school (we started on August 3!) and had a great time with our grandparents.  Dad and Elizabeth pretty much lived in the library, Georgia and Mom watched Pride and Prejudice (the 6 hour BBC version), and I hung out with Grandma and Grandpa.  My uncle, aunt and cousins (Victoria, McKenna, and Kit) flew up for the second weekend, and on Saturday my grandparents took us to the Toledo Zoo.  They have membership there, so Elizabeth, Georgia, McKenna, and I got in for free.

 At a pumpkin farm that we visit every year, they have this lovely pumpkin carriage.  Sadly this one doesn't have Cinderella inside.  :^)

While we were waiting to get in the zoo, we noticed that the zoo was having what they called "Little Boo" where, for a price, you could go trick-or-treating in the zoo. 

Once we got in, our first stop was the "Arctic Encounter".

"I wonder how many girls there are dressed up as Elsa or Anna." McKenna pondered as two sisters dressed up as the queen and princess passed us.

"Let's keep track."

"Chrissa, I really think you should take off that cape." Georgia gazed disapprovingly.

"But it's awesome!" I replied.  "Besides, I've seen lots of costumes around."

"On children."

Elizabeth, watching us carefully, changed the subject.  "Look!  There's a seal now."

 "Aw!  It's so cute!" McKenna exclaimed.

"I can't wait to see the otters." I sighed.  Last year, when we visited, we had lots of fun watching the otters.

"Me too!" Georgia agreed. "Seals and otters are so cute."

"Look, girls, that polar bear is right next to the glass!" Grandma said.

"Cool!" I said. "I want to see the gray wolves now."  We all walked over, but we didn't see any of the wolves.  Maybe they taking an afternoon nap.

The Africa exhibit was closed for upgrades, so we stared walking to the bridge.

"I'm really excited to see the new aquarium." Elizabeth commented. "It sounds fascinating."

"We are too." Grandpa agreed. "Your Grandma and I haven't been to the zoo since it opened."

I watched the cars pass underneath us as we crossed the bridge.

"Oo!  Penguins!" Georgia pointed to an enclosure next to the aquarium.  "Let's go take a look."

"Two more Elsas and an Anna." McKenna  ticked off on her fingers. "That brings us up to 6 Anna costumes, and 9 Elsa ones."

"It's strange how popular Frozen still is, you know?" I said. "It came out in 2013!"

"I love seeing all the cute costumes." Elizabeth smiled. "I wish I had a Belle gown like that little girl's."

"I'm happy with my cape." I twirled on the concrete outside the aquarium.

"Shall we go in?" Grandma asked.

We oo-ed and ah-ed over all the aquatic creatures.  I thought these jellyfish looked like underwater moons.

I have to admit, the Toledo zoo's aquarium was really cool!  They had all kinds of different animals, fish, and plants.  The building was a lot bigger than I expected, and was happy to have benches to sit on.  ;^)

"Chrissa!  Look at these, um. interesting fish!" McKenna called.

"Oh!  Well, this is a very interesting fish." I said. "He doesn't look very happy, does he?"

"Indeed not." Elizabeth agreed.

After the aquarium, we walked on the "Tembo Trail".

"We're almost to the otters!"

"YAY!!!" I dragged everyone along with me. "Hurry!"

"We're coming, Chrissa!" Elizabeth laughed.  "Goodness!"

Someone said something about a hippo, so I paused for a moment to snap a picture before racing on to see those otters.

"They're so cute!" I was following the otter's every move with the camera.

"Whew!  It doesn't smell to good in here."

"Way to ruin the moment, Georgia!" I said, not looking up from the camera.

"I just love otters." I said.

"I never would have guessed, Chrissa."

"Look!" I exclaimed, camera firing rapidly.  "It's eating a pumpkin!  That's so cute!"

"Do you think otters like pumpkin pie?" Grandma asked.

"Probably not." Elizabeth said.

"On the contrary, my dear, I think they would." I retorted.

Elizabeth turned to face me. "How could they eat it?"

"With their adorable paws, of course!" I stated, placing my hands on my hips.

Everyone laughed.

"Was it something I said?"

From there, we saw elephants, 

caramels (I'm thinking of my Halloween candy I want to eat) camels, 

 . . . and tigers.  Georgia said she liked his coat.  I said I liked his smile.  We all laughed.

All in all, we had a great visit to Michigan.

If you could travel anywhere (for free!), where would you go?

P.S. In case you're wondering, we saw a total of

Elsa - 11

Anna - 7

Nebraska, Here We Come!

 Hi all!  Yesterday, for Christmas, we flew into Nebraska to stay with our Nana and Papa.  Early yesterday morning, we packed up the car and drove to the St. Augustine Airport, and caught our first flight to Chicago.

 Because it's her favorite spot to sit, Elizabeth took a seat next to the window.  This flight (two hours) was longer than our second connecting flight (forty-five minutes), so my sister read a book while I watched a movie.

 Landing in Chicago, we were surprised to see the ground covered in snow.  My family grabbed lunch at McDonald's, then headed for out gate, which we arrived at with time to spare.

After boarding, I listened to music and wrote in my journal.

After landing, Mom, Dad, Elizabeth and I walked to baggage claim and picked up our checked bags, which we then carried to our Nana's car.  I was so happy to see her!  Sadly, Papa couldn't come along.

Coming in for the last bags, I spotted none other than my cousin McKenna! 

"McKenna!" I called, running up to give her a hug.

"Chrissa!" she cried when she saw me.

When we had finished, Elizabeth gave McKenna a hug, which was cut short with a "Come on, McKenna! We have to go!" from her mom.  We all ran outside, going our different paths.  It wasn't really "Goodbye", because we knew that we would see her again for Christmas.

The sun set just as we were leaving the airport, ...

... so I snapped this cool picture of Elizabeth.  We had a light dinner at Nana's house, then headed to bed, exhausted.

Are you going anywhere for Christmas?