A winter outing to the zoo includes a visit to the snow leopards with fellow zoo volunteers, Kim and Joan.
This may be the season's worst photo (in more ways than one) but it documents an outing that Zoe still talks about - wine making! During the bottling of our latest batch of wine, Zoe participated fully. Her favourite task was corking the bottles even if she did need a little help pulling the lever. Howard, the wine shop owner (Zoe calls him "the wine guy") snapped a photo that begs to be shared. 
MARCH BREAK! Many friends and neighbours headed to various points south to enjoy sunshine and warmth for March break. Not to be left out, Zoe and I (Sara) also headed south for an overnight outing in Niagara Falls. It wasn't as warm or sunny as Florida, Cuba or other favoured Caribbean destinations. But it was still fun! The view of Horseshoe Falls was marred by the large cloud of mist for the duration of our stay. However, our "falls view" hotel room afforded a beautiful view nonetheless.
After dark the falls are lit for an equally spectacular view. Sitting by the window and enjoying the view was my entertainment after Zoe went to bed. Here is the American falls with Niagara Falls, USA in the background.
Directly across from our window was the Canadian falls (a.k.a. Horseshoe Falls) still partially obscured by the cloud of mist.
Upon checking into the hotel room, Zoe explored every closet and drawer. At one point she hollered excitedly, "Mom! Come look!" She was pointing at the Bible inside an open drawer. "Look! They have an adventure and romance book!!" For some unknown reason, she claimed the dense, pictureless Bible in our Finnish hotel room last summer as her book of romance and adventure. We're not sure where she picked up the romance and adventure phrase (though princess books are suspect) let alone why she chose to apply it to the Bible. We got a kick out of it at the time then promptly forgot about it. Until March Break in Niagara Falls. Zoe once again claimed the Bible as her own and parked herself in a comfy chair to recite romance and adventure stories aloud while I unpacked.
Our favourite Niagara outing was to the Butterfly Conservatory.
Hundreds of butterflies of varying size and colour made for an awe inspiring visit.
Even better is when they land on you!
The visitor's centre hosted a special reptile exhibit just for March break. Zoe was most intrigued by the snakes and asked permission to hold one. The first was a bull snake that was almost too heavy for Zoe.
After parting ways with the bull snake, our little ophiophilist spotted a beautifully marked corn snake and made a beeline for it, asking once again to hold it. This one was more her size.
On our drive into town, Zoe spotted the "rides" and kept asking to go on them. In reality there is only one ride, the Niagara SkyWheel. For the record, I have no problem with snakes, lizards, mice, bats and most other critters. But the thought of dangling 175 ft above the ground in a glass gondola is almost more than I can handle. And that is just the mere thought of it! I tried every excuse in the book (short of actually admitting my phobia to Zoe) to avoid going on it, but the SkyWheel won in the end. Yes, the view was spectacular (for a gray winter day) with the American falls behind Zoe on the left and the Canadian falls on the far right. But now that I've seen it, I never have to do it again. Ever.
March break also included lots of fun activities and outings with friends. In spite of all of the fun, Zoe would wake most mornings and ask if it was time to go back to school. We would say no to which she would whine and moan in response. As we were putting her to bed after her first day back to school, she exclaimed how happy she was that March break was finally over! This is one girl who LOVES preschool!
We enrolled Zoe in a theatre arts class which she adores!! They recently performed their second play of the year, Cinderella. Zoe played one of the evil stepsisters. Cast photo following the performance.
And so concludes our winter activities. Happy Spring!
After dark the falls are lit for an equally spectacular view. Sitting by the window and enjoying the view was my entertainment after Zoe went to bed. Here is the American falls with Niagara Falls, USA in the background.
Directly across from our window was the Canadian falls (a.k.a. Horseshoe Falls) still partially obscured by the cloud of mist. 
Upon checking into the hotel room, Zoe explored every closet and drawer. At one point she hollered excitedly, "Mom! Come look!" She was pointing at the Bible inside an open drawer. "Look! They have an adventure and romance book!!" For some unknown reason, she claimed the dense, pictureless Bible in our Finnish hotel room last summer as her book of romance and adventure. We're not sure where she picked up the romance and adventure phrase (though princess books are suspect) let alone why she chose to apply it to the Bible. We got a kick out of it at the time then promptly forgot about it. Until March Break in Niagara Falls. Zoe once again claimed the Bible as her own and parked herself in a comfy chair to recite romance and adventure stories aloud while I unpacked. 
Our favourite Niagara outing was to the Butterfly Conservatory. 
Hundreds of butterflies of varying size and colour made for an awe inspiring visit. 
Even better is when they land on you! 
The visitor's centre hosted a special reptile exhibit just for March break. Zoe was most intrigued by the snakes and asked permission to hold one. The first was a bull snake that was almost too heavy for Zoe.
After parting ways with the bull snake, our little ophiophilist spotted a beautifully marked corn snake and made a beeline for it, asking once again to hold it. This one was more her size. 
On our drive into town, Zoe spotted the "rides" and kept asking to go on them. In reality there is only one ride, the Niagara SkyWheel. For the record, I have no problem with snakes, lizards, mice, bats and most other critters. But the thought of dangling 175 ft above the ground in a glass gondola is almost more than I can handle. And that is just the mere thought of it! I tried every excuse in the book (short of actually admitting my phobia to Zoe) to avoid going on it, but the SkyWheel won in the end. Yes, the view was spectacular (for a gray winter day) with the American falls behind Zoe on the left and the Canadian falls on the far right. But now that I've seen it, I never have to do it again. Ever. 
March break also included lots of fun activities and outings with friends. In spite of all of the fun, Zoe would wake most mornings and ask if it was time to go back to school. We would say no to which she would whine and moan in response. As we were putting her to bed after her first day back to school, she exclaimed how happy she was that March break was finally over! This is one girl who LOVES preschool! A few primates hanging out at the zoo.
Zoe loves looking at photos on the computer. She can scroll through them unassisted and even perform minor navigational tasks.
Zoe loves looking at photos on the computer. She can scroll through them unassisted and even perform minor navigational tasks.
We enrolled Zoe in a theatre arts class which she adores!! They recently performed their second play of the year, Cinderella. Zoe played one of the evil stepsisters. Cast photo following the performance. 
And so concludes our winter activities. Happy Spring!
5 comments:
I think you picked a perfect destination! I love your side of the falls. My daughters, a niece and I went a few years ago and watched fireworks from the Minolta tower-it was terrific. And the gardens and butterflies-what could be better? Sun is overrated, anyway.
Ruby
Zoe gets more beautiful with each post! I can't believe she held a snake! What a brave girl she is :-) Happy Spring! Erin (Mom to Hannie, 20 mos, adopted from Shymkent, K-stan, March 2010)
Looks like you've been having a blast! Happy April! Can't wait to hear about what you are up to in Spring and Summer!
It's a toss up of what would freak me out more....the snake or the Skywheel, kudos to you for doing both!!!
I'm with you on the "it's April?!!", I have no idea where the time has gone either, so if you find out please let me know.
I love the wine bottling, what a great learning experience for Zoe :-), hey they might as well learn young, perhaps they will be less inclined when the teenage years arrive.
great to see you all at Nauryz, hope to see you soon.
Great pictures as always! Looks like you are having a great time and it's nice to see a picture of the three of you together. For me, I'd rather go up in the gondola than touch the snake, snakes creep me out, Zoe is a brave girl!
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