Fort Worth has Talent

Sam and Nate have always loved music, and Sam has been singing a lot for the last couple of months. In typical twin fashion, Nate did not want to be left out of the action. Seemingly out of nowhere, he started singing complete songs. I should mention that Nate was the first one to sing at all. He used to sing the "rocky, rocky" song when he was about a year old, but then he kind of lost interest in singing. That is, until he saw the movie Annie. Now he sings "Tomorrow," over and over again. We captured some footage of both boys singing so you can see for yourself.

Pomp and Circumstance

Well, this was actually the exact opposite of graduation. A couple of weeks ago we all went to TCU for the Chancellor's Address to the incoming class of Freshmen (for any of you UVA folks, think "First Years"). During this event, the frosh parade from one part of campus to the basketball arena (Daniel-Meyer Coliseum), followed by the faculty dressed in their regalia. As the newbie in her department, Gina got to not only attend but was appointed to carry the banner for the Harris College of Nursing and Health Science. Sam, Nate and I watched from the stands for some of the speeches, then we took a stroll around campus to see some of the buildings. Here are some photos from the event.

School Daze

The boys successfully completed their first two days of school on Tuesday and Thursday of this week. We had been anticipating this day for a long time, and we were both eager to get their school clothes, lunches and nap mats ready for the big day. After a big breakfast, I took them to school and introduced them to their teacher, Miss Val. She is a college student who has been teaching at Pebbles all summer. Neither of the boys wanted to go into the classroom at first, but Sam eventually succumbed to the temptation to play with a Noah's Ark toy. Nate, on the other hand, was not going to take the bait. He began to cry when he realized what was going on, and he was clutching me with a death grip. Miss Val began holding him, and I made a quick exit.

Needless to say, I kept my cell phone handy the entire time I was in Denton, and I was just sure I would get a call. Well, the phone never rang and when I went to pick them up they were both sound asleep on their nap mats. I had to wake them up to take them home, and they both popped up and started talking about what they did at school. At first I was relieved that they liked school, but that emotion quickly turned to joy as I consumed their broken speech trying to describe all they had done. I was able to extract "music," "playground," and "big boys." I could also see their lunch all over their shirts, so they obviously enjoyed all the yummies their mommy packed for them.

I am pretty sure the school experience will become a regular theme on the blog, so I will wrap this up. We feel blessed to have found a good school, and I am excited to see all that the boys will learn. By the way, the picture above was taken just before the boys left for their first day at school.

Rocky Mountain High

On Saturday, July 24, we woke up early and left for a two-week visit to Casper. After a fairly easy trip, we got to Casper on Sunday afternoon and the boys have been going non-stop ever since.

Our first adventure took place in the Big Horn Mountains, on a ranch about 15 miles west of Kaycee, WY. My dad and I have been going to this place to camp since I was about 9, and it has always been a dream to take my boys camping there as well. Dad and I went out on Monday and set up camp. After a delicious dinner of steak, hominy and baked beans (all cooked over an open fire), we sat around the campfire talking until well after the sun had set. We spend Tuesday and Wednesday hiking and relaxing until the rest of the gang showed up on Wednesday afternoon. I wasn't sure how the boys would respond to the great outdoors, but they took to it like fish to water. Sam loved throwing rocks in the river, and Nate just loved running around. They also discovered that they could climb in the back of PaPa's pickup and play around in there. Gina, GiGi and the boys spent the night in a motel in Kaycee, then came out the next morning for more outdoor fun. This time they got to play in the river, which was a lot of fun and very refreshing on a hot day. We packed up camp and headed back to Casper about 3:00, and after we unloaded all the camping gear we went to Johnny J's Diner for hamburgers and milkshakes.

On Friday, we just kind of hung around the house resting from the camping trip. I also had to grade final projects and submit final grades for my online class. Fun. On Saturday, we attended a retirement reception for Tom Empey, our family friend and former theater director at Casper College. There were several alumni from the program that I got to visit with, and it was nice to hear so many people talk about the impact he made in their lives. That night we went to Mr. Empey's final production, Sunday in the Park with George. I had never seen this musical before, and I was totally blown away. The cast was excellent, and the message told through the story is quite powerful. If you have not seen this show before, you should definitely try to see it someday.

On Sunday, we went to church at Boyd Avenue Baptist Church, enjoyed a delicious lunch at Guadalajara, and spent the rest of the day resting. We went to a Casper Ghosts (yes, that is really the name of the team) baseball game, where former MLB All-Star Todd Helton was rehabbing from an injury. The boys loved their first-ever (but definitely not last) sporting event, especially the yummy snacks from the concession stand.

This week has been a lot of fun, as well, with trips to the park down the street, the Casper Aquatic Center, GiGi and PaPa's cabin on the mountain (twice!), the Audubon Center and the outdoor City Band concert. They have also gotten to play with some new friends and have thrown more rocks in different rivers and creeks than I could have ever imagined. Needless to say, they have gone to bed at each nap and nighttime exhausted, but they have always seemed to wake up ready for more.

Tonight Gina and I are going to my 20th high school reunion, then again tomorrow for some more activities. I am looking forward to seeing old friends and getting to introduce them to my beautiful wife and boys. We head back to Texas on Sunday morning so we can jump into the craziness of work and preschool on Tuesday. It should be quite a shock, but I think we are ready for it. Overall, this has been a great visit to Wyoming, and we have started what will surely become several special traditions. We are already looking forward to our next visit.

More Pictures Here ...

Miss Murray goes to Washington

Well, actually Miss Murrary (our neice Ella) lives in Washington, so she didn't have to travel far to attend a special panel at the U.S. Senate on rare and neglected pediatric diseases, such as EB. The purpose of this panel was to urge lawmakers to help fund research relating to these diseases, and Alex Silver spoke on behalf of EB children and their families. His testimony is embedded below, or you can watch the full committee hearing (Mr. Silver's portion goes from about the 103-108 minute mark). The video below contains a couple of shots of Ella with my sister Katie.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to have Mr. Silver speak before the Senate about this devastating disease. Only when there is more awareness about its effects and what life is like for EB families will there be more funding put toward researching more effective treatments and ultimately, a cure. Please pass this on to other people you know, and if you would like to know more about EB and getting involved, you can visit debRA. You can read my sister's first hand account on her blog: teamjoella.blogspot.com.

Where's Sam?

Tonight when I went in to check on the boys, I immediately noticed Sam wasn't in his bed. I suddenly froze because he has been known to sleep on the floor. I looked around to make sure I wasn't about to step on him, but he wasn't on the floor either. When I looked in Nate's bed, this is what I saw ...

This was a first for Gina and I. We knew they get into each other's beds when they were waking up, but this is the first time I have seen them asleep in the same bed. It was pretty darn cute, and I hope they actually sleep all night like that. Nate is a notorious for squirming and kicking, so Sam may end up back into his peaceful bed where he won't get kicked.

Independence Day, Texas style

I meant to give this update much earlier (actually closer to the day it occurred), but I got sidetracked with other projects and am just now getting to it. We had a fun 4th of July weekend, and rather than going into too much detail, I will let the pictures tell the story.

Some of the pictures at the end of the slideshow are not from the 4th of July, but I just left them in there anyway.

Seeing Double

This afternoon we all went to a picnic sponsored by the Forth Worth Parents of Multiples club. I don't know if that is the exact name or not, but you get the gist. Gina has been involved in similar clubs in Charlottesville and Springfield, and it looks like the Fort Worth club will be the most active, largest and most organized of them all. This event was held at one of the member's homes, and they have a huge backyard capable of hosting so many people. This was not my first twin event, but it is still funny seeing all these little sets of matching children running around. Most of them have matching or coordinating (we opted for coordinating this time) outfits, and most of the younger sets of twins and triplets stick pretty close to each other. Sam and Nate were no exception. Even with so many other kids to play with, they pretty much played with each other the entire time. I guess there is some comfort in familiarity.

I have included some pictures of the different activities they had for the kids to do.

The best part of the whole event was the reaction we got in the car when we asked Sam and Nate if they had fun at the picnic. I'll let you judge for yourself.

Playin' in the rain

Our first full week in Texas was filled with many thunder storms. Sam, Nate and I went onto the front stoop to watch the biggest of these storms, and they couldn't resist the temptation to play in the rain. Gina joined us, and we had a lot of fun splashing in the rain coming through the gutter. We didn't let the boys venture too far out, but they still had a pretty excellent time. Here is some video I captured of the event ...

Unpacked and online

About a week ago we all arrived safely in Fort Worth. The driving was a little harder this time than it has been in the past because a) I was driving a 26-foot moving truck (which wasn't all that bad) and b) we had a caravan of 3 cars. In most cases, this wasn't a big deal but it did make me nervous in the bigger cities. The last 50-mile stretch across the DFW metroplex was the most intense for me, but we made it through with no problems and arrived at our new home about 5 p.m. Gina had called Don and Karen as we were approaching Dallas, and they pulled up within minutes of our arrival. The last week has been very busy as we unpacked our boxes and found a place for all of our stuff. And let me tell you, we have a lot of stuff. That being said, we have found a place for almost everything and our house is now starting to look like a home. With all the activity and changes, I have not really been motivated to blog much, but that will change in the near future.

The boys have adjusted to the move pretty well. In fact, Sam has adjusted a bit too well. He has become so comfortable in his new surroundings that he started climbing out of the crib. Gina and I were both surprised that it took either of the boys this long to start climbing out, and on Friday night the era of "captive babies" came to an end. Thankfully, we were prepared for this event and had already purchased bed rails, which are now installed on their cribs in place of the front gate. So far, they have been going to sleep with minimal resistance, but we'll see if this holds up.

We are grateful to finally be here and are especially thankful that my parents (Ron and Gale) were able to make the trip with us and help with various stages of the move. They are swinging back through town tonight and there will be no work for them to do. This should be a nice break from the last couple of weeks. Thank you to all of you have been praying for our safe move and travels.

Back and Packing

We arrived home on Sunday from our trip, and we have been packing our house ever since. The drive back was pretty uneventful, but the boys did continue their fixation with the movie Cars. I think we watched it at least 5 times on the drive home, not to mention the 7-8 times we watched it in Florida. On the upside, we have yet to watch it since we got back home. Other than that, we stayed safe and made good time on the interstate. When we walked into our house, things really got interesting. For one, we are used to coming home to a clean house because we always make sure things are in order before we leave. When we left for this trip, we were in a hurry and had boxes stacked everywhere. I wouldn't say the house was a complete disaster, but it was quite cluttered with boxes and items waiting to be packed. We had a hard time finding a place to put our bags and other things from the trip. I had turned off the AC while we were gone because the temperature had not been all that hot before we left. It was still relatively cool when we came back but the house was very stuffy and humid. I also detected a slight musty smell. That's when I discovered the major surprise ...

When I went into the basement (which is VERY unfinished) everything looked fine. But I noticed that some trash cans were toppled over and there was an abnormal amount of debris in the drain in the floor. Well, after some investigating it was clear the basement had flooded while were gone. I have no idea how much water was in there, but I am thinking between 2-3 inches, at least. Everything that was on the floor was obviously ruined or completely soaked. Thankfully, it had flooded (just a slight trickle) right before we left and we had moved most of the stuff upstairs. We had to discard a few items, but most of the stuff was saved. Anyway, it was at this time that I realized how done I am with basements. Don't get me wrong, if the basement is sealed up and taken care of, like my parent's and sister's house, it is a great thing. I loved my basement in my house in Casper. But this basement has been a real headache for us. Besides the fact that it looks like a 18th Century dungeon and has almost no lighting, it is dirty and cold, leaks water and smells like an old storm cellar. I can't wait until we have moved everything out of there and can close the door for good.

We also came home to an AC unit that wasn't working. So, in the midst of dealing with the basement crisis, the upstairs felt like a sauna. I was able to call the AC guy who works for our landlord, and he fixed it right away. Apparently it was an easy fix because we had a cool house again by Monday night. Even so, it was one more thing to think about and keep us from doing the packing we needed to do.

Despite the setbacks, the packing and planning for the move is going well. My parents show up today to help with the final details, then we all depart for Fort Worth on Saturday morning. Thankfully, we feel rested from our vacation in Florida, and we have actually been sleeping better since we got home. You know how it is with toddlers and their sleep patterns when they travel. I have actually found some time to write this before the rest of the family is awake, which couldn't have happened on our trip. So, the next time I update this blog it will be from Texas. In the meantime, I have some more boxes to pack.

Lost and Found

I had a really interesting experience on Wednesday of our vacation. Gina and I left the boys with Granny and Granddad so we could swim in the ocean for a little while. We took our stuff down to the beach and left it under the tent we had set up. I had noticed during my last couple of times to swim in the ocean that my wedding ring felt kind of loose on my finger. I decided to take it off and placed it in my hat. After we were done swimming, I dried off and put my hat back on without even thinking about my ring. In fact, I didn't even notice that I wasn't wearing it until we had been in the beach house about 30 minutes. I rushed back to the beach without telling anyone why I was going and searched furiously in the sand for about 30 minutes. It became clear to me that this was going to be really hard to find. I came back to the house and broke the news to Gina about what I'd done. She was understanding, but she wanted to go back down to look for it. We recruited a few others to come with us, but after quite awhile we became convinced that the ring was gone. Later that day, I looked out the window and saw Don by our tent. I had this sudden thought, if I don't go back and look while the tent is still up (which gives me at least a general idea where the ring might be) I will definitely not find it again. So, I went down there one more time and began sifting through the sand. After several minutes, I saw in the sand the faint outline of a circle. I dropped down and dug around it, and as the sand fell from my hands, a small silver ring -- my wedding ring -- appeared. I was so excited that I ran back to the beach house without even telling Don, Kendall or Zach, who were on the beach with me, that I found the ring. I also forgot to put my shoes back on and I stubbed my bare toe on the boardwalk pretty badly. I ran into the house, tracking blood the whole way, ascended the stairs and just stood in front of everyone. Gina could tell immediately what had happened. It was a really cool experience.

If you are familiar at all with the two stories Jesus tells about people who found something  they thought was lost (the widow and her lost coin and the father of the prodigal son), you know that both people ran with joy. I don't think this detail was randomly added to these stories. After finding my ring, my first response was to run back home and tell people what happened because I was convinced the ring was gone forever. I think Jesus included this detail on purpose to illustrate the emotions God feels when we choose Him over ourselves, the world or thousands of other things competing for our attention. Pure joy and elation, the natural reaction to which is running toward the lost object in order to end the lostness as soon as possible.

Florida Time

Gina, the boys and I have been in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida for the past few days with her parents, her brother and his family. So far, everyone is having a great time and we have really been soaking up the sunshine and cool (and sometimes hot) ocean breezes. The condo we rented for the week is pretty much right on the beach, so we can go swimming or for a stroll anytime we want. There is also a pool next to the condo, and we have really enjoyed going over there. The twins were quite slow to warm up to the beach; in fact, Sam still pretty much screams to go home every time we're out there. Nate finally let us take him in the ocean this morning, and he loved it. He actually screamed when we told him it was time to go home and eat lunch. They both love the pool (they call it "blue water") and have been quite the independent pair with their floatie Speedo swimming suits. Wearing a Speedo definitely has a different connotation now than when I was a kid. The best part of the vacation is that everyone is relaxed, which Gina and I will need when we get back to Illinois and pack up to move to Texas. We're looking forward to the rest of the week and the fun adventures we will have at the beach. We just hope those adventures don't include dodging oil slicks. So far, it's been all clear.

Times they are a changin'

Gina, Sam and Nate and I have been in Texas for the last week. As many of you know, we are will be moving to Fort Worth this summer to start new jobs in the Fall. Gina will be a nursing professor at Texas Christian University, and I will be splitting my time between the University of North Texas and Good Shepherd Episcopal School. I know if this is the first time you are reading this news, it may seem like it's coming out of nowhere. Actually, this decision has been a long time in the making with a lot of hard decisions and steps of faith along the way. In early January, I received word that my university was in pretty bad financial shape, and in order to make payroll they would need to mandate furlough days and possibly lay people off. Our first response was to look to see what the state of the job market was in case my position got cut. We found nothing for me, but there was a position for Gina at TCU that looked like it had been written for her. She applied, they liked what they saw and she was ultimately offered the job. My journey was not as clear cut, and I won't go into detail about how I landed my job, but God was definitely in the middle of it and I am looking forward to what I will be doing.

So, we came to Texas to find a house and get some things set up before we move down in mid-June. My cousin Amy was able to help us find a house on our first day of looking, and we are really happy with what we found. Here are some pictures of the new pad.

The boys will also be starting preschool in the Fall, and though we are a bit nervous thinking about how they will do, I know this will be good for them. Overall, this is a good move for us and we think it will be good to live close to family. We are certain that this is what God wanted for us, and we are eager to see how he will use us while we are here. In addition to reconnecting with our friends from when we lived here before, we have learned that some of our friends from Virginia are moving here as well. So, God is already opening up some doors for us.

So, that is the latest with us. After a vacation in Florida with Gina's family, we get to head back and pack up our stuff for the move. I have already packed a lot of our stuff, but we still have a long way to go. As usual, it will be a challenge, offer plenty of opportunities to learn and grow and be an exciting adventure.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

My mom recently sent me this photo ...

I asked Sam and Nate who this was a picture of, and they both said, "Sam!" Actually, it is a picture of me when I was 2. Below is a picture of Sam. Can you see the resemblance?

Chance meeting at the Old Capitol

Today we decided to make a trip to the Old Capitol Art Fair to see one of our friends, Ken Pease. He is a local folk artist, and my office is right next to his wife's. We wanted to see some of his pieces and maybe buy something for the boys' rooms. Well, we found two paintings we really liked, and I wanted to put them in the car (it had been drizzling all morning). This is where the story takes a few twists and turns. To put this in context, let me say that I am pretty predictable, to put it lightly. For example, if I buy tickets to a baseball game in the nose-bleed section, I will stay in those seats for the whole game. Even if I can see better seats that are closer to the action and obviously are not being used, I am not a rule breaker. I will stay in my crappy seats and watch the game from a million feet away. I am only saying this to point out the fact that what I did next was highly uncharacteristic of me. As I was walking to the car, I passed a car leaving a VERY (very, as in, too good to let someone else have) good parking spot. It was about a block closer to the art fair, and I was pretty sure I could run to my car and jump into that spot before anyone else noticed it was empty. All was going as planned until the Mercedes Benz in front of me took that spot. OK. No problem. I can run back to my old spot before anyone takes it. Not so fast, my friend. By the time I got back to my old spot, it was taken too, and apparently the art fair had suddenly become the most popular event in the history of Springfield because there was nowhere to park within four blocks of the art fair. So, I gave up a free parking spot two blocks from the art fair in order to steal a free spot one block away, and now I was going to be about 4 blocks away. Yeah, Gina was going to love that. Remember, it's raining and the boys are nearing that witching hour when chaos can erupt at any moment.  Well, after driving around the block a couple of times and brushing up on my 4-letter words, a car pulled out just as I got there and I secured a parking space about half-way between the original and the hoped-for parking spots. I jumped out of the car and ran back to the art fair. Had this been a sit-com or a movie, I would have locked my keys in the car, but I didn't. When I got back to Ken's tent, I noticed Gina talking to someone. Who was it? No less than Ken Hughes, a good family friend from when I lived in Arkansas (back in 1978!).

Ken and his wife Helen, and another couple, the Corleys, were traveling around looking at some of the different presidential museums, and they made a stop in Springfield for the Abraham Lincoln museum (which is fantastic, by the way).  Helen and the Corleys were at the museum, but Ken had seen it before and decided to walk around the art fair instead. As it would turn out, Ken saw Gina while I was driving around looking for a new parking spot. Had I been predictable (which I am 99.99% of the time), this chance encounter would never have happened. We were able to visit for a few minutes, and Ken got to see one of Nate's epic temper tantrums. We exchanged numbers and were able to meet tonight for dinner. We took them to the Dublin Pub for one of Springfield's infamous Horseshoe Sandwiches. It was a lot of fun catching up with the Hughes and Corley families, and there is a chance we will see them again next week when we travel to Fort Worth. It's funny what God will do in the midst of our harebrained ideas ... or maybe they aren't so harebrained after all, and perhaps He even orchestrates them. That's what I believe. Here are few more pictures from our dinner and time at the art fair. The last one is my favorite, which I annotated for your entertainment.

Storytime

One of my favorite times each day is when we are settling down to put the boys to bed. This tradition started when the boys were about 6 months old or so, and it has morphed into what it is today. We start by reading two or three books (and even more some days), singing a couple of songs, saying prayers and giving night-night hugs and kisses. The funny thing about the stories is that we have literally read (note the redundancy) the same books dozens of times. For almost an entire year, we would read Time for Bed, by Mem Fox and Jane Dyer. The boys had the entire thing memorized, and each page had a little ritual (such as pointing to the moon or making a fish face). This book eventually was replaced by Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd, and Jamberry, by Bruce Degen. These two books didn't stay on the playlist nearly as long as Time for Bed, but they will definitely go into the Hall of Fame. From there we progressed to the Seals on the Bus, by Lenny Hort and G. Brian Karas, which still gets limited play time when the boys are sitting on the potty. We have now moved on to a collection of books that we rotate through: If You Give a Pig a Pancake and If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond, Pigsty by Mark Teague and The Leprechaun's Gold by Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole (which I read in a very bad Irish accent). The boys also like to sing along to My Country, 'Tis of Thee and America the Beautiful (sorry, no link for this one). A lot of these books I acquired when I was a teacher, either as gifts from students or I used bonus points to buy them. We have read each of these books so much that Sam and Nate have them memorized, which you can see below. This video is a little on the long side (approximately 5 min.) but well worth it.

Worth far more than rubies

On Sunday, Sam, Nate and I got to honor Gina for her third Mother's Day. Of course, we don't wait until the second weekend each May to honor Gina, but this is a day we get to lay it on pretty thick. We started the day off with fresh blueberry muffins and eggs, which Sam and Nate kind of helped me make. By help I mean they stood in the kitchen and screamed "Wuff-wim!" until they were ready. While we were eating our breakfast, we also gave Gina her Mother's Day cards and presents. I gave her a copy of our book, which I recently created from our Virginia Blog. I know, you book purists out there consider it a stretch to call this a "book," but by definition it is bound and follows a consistent theme. It's not bad for a rookie effort. Anyway, the boys got Gina a new bike helmet, which she is wearing in the picture above. She had been asking for one, and since we have been riding bikes quite a bit lately Sam and Nate thought this would be perfect.

After breakfast we went to church, then we had lunch at Chipotle. We went home to take naps (and I got to vacuum the car), then we went on a long bike ride that ended at the park. There were a lot of other families there enjoying the nice weather, which was a lot of fun. The boys especially loved riding on the see-saw with Gina and I. We made it go really high, which caused a lot of squeals and giggles. The day ended with us playing in the backyard, having sandwiches for dinner and taking a bath.

There isn't enough room on this blog for Sam, Nate and I to express our love and appreciation for Gina. She is an unbelievably wonderful mommy, and we are so blessed that God put her in our lives. In Proverbs 31, the author goes into great detail about the characteristics of a noble and godly wife. Verse 28-29 states, "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.'" Gina truly is amazing in the way she loves and cares for the boys (and her overgrown boy), and she does it with grace and patience. She has definitely made me a better man, and the boys will look back on their lives and see how richly God blessed them through their beautiful mother. Sam sums it up pretty well with this smile:

Roller Kings

Gina and I recently remembered that the boys had some Christmas money from Big Mama that they hadn't used, so we began thinking hard about something that would have thrilled her to get the boys. After much thinking, and a little clue from Fun Shop, we decided to get the boys roller skates. No, correct that ... Spiderman Roller Skates! They are still getting used to them, and they are nowhere near ready to fly solo, but I think Big Mama would have definitely approved of this gift. As many of you know, I broke my arm roller skating at my 8th birthday party. I am hoping Sam and Nate are a little more cautious than I was (if not a little more skilled at roller skating).

Day at the Zoo

Today we spent the morning at the Springfield Zoo. Even though this zoo is on the small side, it turned out perfect for us. We were able to run around and see all the animals in about 2 hours,which proved to be plenty of time for the boys. Sam and Nate really liked all the animals, especially the monkeys and lemurs. They also liked hearing the lar gibbons and peacocks screech and squeal. In addition to seeing the animals, the boys got to feed the animals! (Note: This was done WITH the zookeeper's permission AND food supply---raisins--- we wouldn't have done it otherwise.  Another plus is that they actually had sinks and soap for hand washing!) Actually, we should clarify that Nate got to feed the animals. Sam would have nothing to do with it. He stayed on the perimeter and watched while Nate fed goats, sheep and even a lemur (see the video below). The whole experience was everything Gina and I wanted it to be, and it proved to be even better when the boys got to feed animals.We just hope that the next time we visit a zoo Sam will warm up to the animals a little bit. Sam and Nate were exhausted by the time we got in the car to go home, so much so that they didn't even want to eat lunch. They just went straight to bed for their naps. That's the sign of a good day.