I took these four on a little road trip this week, just for fun!
Adrianna, Mataya, Brenna, Joshua and I headed to the zoo in Minot.
(We missed Alexa! She had other plans for the day. I'm hoping to spend some time with her soon.)
The zoo in Minot is actually smaller than our zoo - but they have some animals that we do not have. Plus, a road trip is always a fun adventure.
Adrianna and Brenna are very close friends, along with being cousins.
I am thankful for their special relationship.
The giraffe was by far their favorite animal.
Brenna LOVED this big guy! I think the $5 I gave her so she could feed him was the wisest "waste" of money ever!
Joshua did not want to feed the giraffe. He chose cotton candy for his treat.
Little Mataya was a trooper. She did not fuss one bit all day long. She spent most of her time while at the zoo in the ring sling, while Joshua hogged the empty stroller. He sat in there while Adrianna pushed him around like he was the King of Africa or something. I should have taken a photo, he looked so funny!
One of my goals during my "underemployment" is to get to know my nieces better. I have come to realize that for many reasons, I do not really know them. Sure I see them fairly often - but always in a crowd of people. The kids go one direction, the men in another, and the ladies in another. Even when it is a smaller group, my sweet nieces tend to talk to my kids - but not much to me. And since some of my kids are older (not to mention noisier), I don't hear much from my nieces. I totally understand that. It is completely normal. Yet, I want to fight that a bit. My nieces are precious girls and I want to know them for real - for myself, rather than just through their parents and grandparents.
So, I am trying to grab some "alone" time with them when I can. True, it is not one on one time - but it is the best I can do for now! I am their only Aunt, and the time is coming that they may need a female adult friend who is not their mom. I would dearly love to one day be someone they name a friend.
