Okay, okay. I hear you.

You may not comment on the blog, but I know you are out there. If I don't post for several days I start getting e-mails and phone calls asking if everything is okay. We are fine. Really. It has just been busy going back to work and trying to manage everything again. Don't worry. We will be back in a routine soon. And, maybe then you can count on one or two posts each week. I have something planned for next weekend, so if all goes well you will see some cute pictures and maybe even a video. Until then, here are the few pictures that survived my editing from our visit to the Cleveland Metroparks zoo earlier this month.

The Cleveland Zoo is much bigger than Akron and I wanted to go up there because I felt like we were missing something by not visiting. They have more animals overall and more of the "exotic" animals like gorillas, giraffes, wolves, lots of monkeys, kangaroos, etc. What I didn't like is that it is so spread out that you had to walk pretty far between animal exhibits. That is not great when you have a toddler that demands non-stop action. She wasn't too patient on the paths leading from one animal habitat to the next. So, there was no way we could see the entire zoo. That part I anticipated so I did some research ahead of time and knew what I really wanted to see and we hit just those. But, for some reason, I really just wanted to enjoy the experience and despite carrying the big camera I didn't take many inspiring photos.

My favorites included these tortoise photos:and this one of Grace and Kyle in front of the giraffes.The trip was worth it just for the giraffes because before this day Grace had no idea what a giraffe was. Now she points them out in books and on television calling them "gaffe". Grace also loved the monkeys at this zoo. There were so many different kinds but what was most amazing was one who was right up by the glass. Its hand was on the window and Grace put hers up in the same place on her side of the glass. We looked together and talked about how their fingers looked so similar. Amazing.

My favorites were the cheetahs and the giraffes on this trip but I was in awe of the gorillas. It was crowded near their enclosure so I couldn't stay look at them for long and I certainly didn't get any worthwhile photos. But my friend, Aimee, took some amazing shots (on another day) that are worth looking at here.