Baltimore Orioles v. Colorado Rockies

As part of our plan for fun this summer, we had selected tickets for the Orioles v. Rockies game on July 27, 2016.

On our way out to get Jackson some cotton candy, we found an amazing surprise, the Oriole bird.  He was apparently stopping by to get the crowd excited.  Apparently, I gasped/shrieked so loudly in shock that our whole section knew he had arrived.  He was so kind to play with Jackson and wait to take a picture with both of the boys.

After a picture with the bird, Connor was ready to get his promised snack, popcorn.

Despite Manny's home run, the Orioles fell to the Rockies 3-1.  Our Machado fans were happy to see him hit the homerun but really want the O's to get their offense back on track!!!

Summer Movie Series : Norm of the North

We were really excited to go to Cinemark for the Summer Movie Series and see Norm of the North. The boys had never seen it and we were looking forward to our movie/lunch date. 

We were introduced to Norm who lived in the artic and wasn't your typical polar bear.  He didn't like to hunt and was shunned by the rest of the polar bears for his ability to speak to humans, which he inherited from his grandfather.  Norm's grandfather had gone missing and soon after tourists were trying to build houses in his home.

Norm was selected from all the polar bears to represent the building company and use him to sell more and more condos in the arctic. He eventually realizes what is going on but not before delivering a great dance called the Arctic Shake to disco music.

With the help of his friend, Socrates, and a large group of lemmings, Norm develops a plan to escape from the developer, Mr. Greene, and find his grandfather who had been taken by the developer and hidden from everyone once he voiced his opposition to helping with the development.

After the movie, I took the boys out to lunch at BJ's.  It was a great morning and a good alternative to going to the pool.

MD Zoo in Baltimore : July 20, 2016

With Connor still in recovery mode after the stitches, we opted to go to the zoo today as the temperatures weren't supposed to be unbearable.  

We moved quickly past the penguin exhibit knowing that during feeding time, there isn't a lot of activity in the penguin education center, which in our opinion is the best place to observe them.  But, we were able to get a great pic of the pelicans waiting their turn to be fed.

Every time we go to the zoo, we take a picture of the flamingos and send a message to Michael as they are his favorite.

It took us a while to find the situanga but once we did, we followed him for awhile as we've changed up our route in favor of heading to the Chimpanzee forest.  We've noticed that if we check in on the chimpanzees early, it is less crowded and we can spend more time there without a lot of people.

And, there was a lot to see today!!

After the excitement of our time with the chimps, we moved on to see what the siafakas and lemurs were up to and they didn't disappoint either.

I'm so happy that I always have my camera ready because no words to describe this picture. Amazing....  I was also able to get a lot of great videos to remind us of how active that all of the primates were today.

After the excitement of the primates, we moved on to find a lion getting a surprise package.  Clearly, Zuri was happy about the pink box and it didn't take very long for her to demolish it.

After the excitement of the lion, we moved on to the giraffe overlook and had a snack while the giraffes snacked too.

The cheetahs were hiding in the tall grass but we eventually found the new brothers on display.  We had been looking for them and had no luck until now.

Clearly, we are consistent visitors to the Zoo and we've heard about the mating of the animals.  But, we have never seen this until this day.  The boys asked some questions and I described it as cuddling. I'm not quite ready to have that chat with Jackson and Connor just yet.

Celebrating National Ice Cream Day

We had a busy morning and the boys had swim lessons but we were not going to miss celebrating National Ice Cream day.  On the way to the pool because we don't really pay attention to the wait to swim after you eat, we stopped at Uncle Wiggly's in Mount Washington to indulge.

Jackson selected a sherbet and Connor was very excited about his chocolate chip cookie dough selection.  It was his first time with the cookie dough ice cream but Connor immediately picked up the need to eat the pieces of chocolate chip cookie dough first and was willing to share the ice cream after.

We are so happy that the boys have started to indulge in the goodness that is ice cream.  The boys decided that the selection at Mount Washington wasn't as good as the original location in Stoneleigh.

Secret Life of Pets

We had been waiting for the release of Secret Life of Pets after seeing a lot of good trailers.  After coordinating with Mary Elizabeth and sharing some of Bobby's french fries, we were at the movies.

The movie started off letting us see the loving relationship that Max had with his owner.  Their relationship was going great and while his owner at work, we were introduced to Max's friends.

Gidget, who had feelings for Max and would do anything for him and another pal, Chloe.

Max's world was turned upside down when his owner brought home Duke.  Duke was happy to be rescued but Max definitely wanted to keep his owner for himself.  Also, Duke was pushy and tried to take over the house that Max had shared with his owner.

The dogs end up getting loose and go through a series of adventures together eventually realizing (after an encounter with some alley cats and pets that don't like humans) that living together wouldn't be so bad.

Once Max's friends realize that he is gone, they are on a mission to find him.  This results in meeting more pets and the scenes provide more insight in what may or may not be going on at homes when the owners are gone all day.   The pets engage the help of a paralyzed dog for one last adventure and the scenes are hysterical.

Max help Duke realize that his prior owner didn't really leave him because he didn't like him anymore rather that he died.  After confirming this for Duke, the dogs are hungry and happen upon a sausage factory for a delicious meal.

After even more adventures, Max is reunited with Gidget, who is finally able to tell him how much she really likes him.

The dogs eventually get back to Katie and all is well.