on tuesday, the kids and i went to the dallas zoo with our friends. it was a little breezy, but the sun kept us warm. we got to pet the stingrays; i was so surprised by how they felt! they are super smooth and silky. micah got to touch two of them. she was apprehensive at first, but the handler held some shrimp at the surface of the water so the stingrays would swim up close, and she stuck her little hand down in there and petted them. she was so thrilled! if you want to check out the stingrays, you better hurry - the attraction ends november 30th! we were there around 10:45 am, and we were the only ones in the stingray pavilion. we got a personalized lecture about the different stingray species, what they eat, etc. i didn't get any pictures of the kids petting the rays (but we're going again on saturday, i will definitely remedy this...), but i did get some cute pictures of micah and her friends checking out the penguins and playing on the rocks:

here's micah with her best bud, isaac

and here's what micah did as soon as we got home on tuesday :)

yesterday morning, we joined our friends again at the south garland branch library for the preschool storytime. this program is so much fun! first of all, the room where the kids meet is great; there is only one door in and out, so it's easy to keep the kids contained, and the wall outside the room is made to look like a little village. it's adorable. the program begins with a couple of songs, then two books are read. after the reading, a big, nylon parachute is brought out and the kids gather around it in a circle and each take hold of the edge. they sing songs, walk in a circle, and some air-filled balls are tossed in the middle of the parachute for the kids to pop and shake around. then they sing the goodbye song, and everyone heads to the craft tables. the craft usually relates in some way to the stories that were read. for example, yesterday the stories had to do with putting on clothes, zipping zippers, buttoning buttons, etc., so the kids got to glue little buttons and other decorations to a paper picture frame! i love the crafts in this program, because they are simple and use inexpensive materials. they'd be so easy to duplicate at home. i don't think of things like this on my own, so it's nice to have some inspiration! micah is really into stuff like this lately, anything she can make herself and use is very intriguing.

and now it's time to go wake micah up from her nap. i'm hoping to gradually change our waking and bedtime schedule so that the kids are both asleep by 9 pm, and josh and i can have some time together! i could also use the time to clean the kitchen, scoop the litter box, and a number of other chores that i can't seem to get done while they're awake.