Detroit Zoo, IKEA Adventure, and Happy Memorial Day

This week was jam packed! We were able to get a lot of things done and have a great time. We had our first trip to the Detroit Zoo, as well as went to IKEA for a great deal, and my parents came to visit for Memorial Day. We had a bit of trouble with Soren not sleeping much this week, but hopefully it will pass soon, and Keira is now pacifier free, so she hasn't been sleeping quite as well either, but overall it was a great week.

Monday was a slow recovery day from the weekend which consisted mostly of a trip to see Nana and create a potted plant from flowers purchased earlier. I was able to get in a run while Ryan rode at Maybury.



Tuesday was Kindermusik, which was quite fun as always. We also did a lot of playing outside. Keira walked very far with her mower today, about a half mile.



Wednesday was a big day. We spent most of the day at the Detroit Zoo with Valerie, Katie, and Luke. It was a great time. Keira was very excited about most of it. She was very afraid of the animatronic dinosaur exhibit and the water fountain, but loved almost everything else. The highlight for me was the Giraffe Encounter, where we had the opportunity to feed a giraffe a wafer from a platform. It was very cool! Keira and Katie both didn't want to do the actual feeding, so Val and I gladly stepped up and did it for them.




As if we had not yet done enough, once Ryan got home, we went to Lakeshore Park. Ryan did a lap on his mountain bike and I played with Keira and Soren on the playground. Everyone had a great time, and I was able to squeeze in a run after we got back.
Soren LOVED the swings. He is just like his big sister in that way.

Thursday was another big outdoor day for us. I had arranged to go biking with Kristel and Cristina at Maybury after Ryan got home from work. They were shocked when everyone showed up with both bikes, but Ryan took Keira and Soren for some errands while I rode, and then I played with them on the playground while he rode. It worked out great, and we will probably continue this arrangement on days where we can start early enough to ride in sequence. These are just a few pictures from inside, and one from Maybury.



Friday was our last library storytime for the school year. It was fun, and not too crowded so Keira and Soren both really enjoyed it. We are looking forward to some of the different activities that they have planned for the summer. Keira is practicing her twirling/jumping below.
Soren is trying to give the camera a hug while we wait for the storytime to start.
Soren was really in to this storytime. He had to have his own book to look at and got mad when we had to give it back.

We also received a call from Nana offering to watch Keira and Soren at Maybury. I jumped on this opportunity and turned my fastest lap time yet! This was my first time riding 2 days in a row, but I couldn't pass it up and was so glad I didn't. Thanks so much for letting me get in such an awesome ride.


On Saturday, we had our big IKEA adventure while Ryan rode 65 MILES with the Wolverines. Ryan felt strong as he finished, and was able to track his progress with his Garmin bike computer and heart rate monitor (early father's day present). We had received a flyer in the mail earlier in the week about the IKEA Poang chair being on sale for $39 from $89. This is a great chair, and we had been wanting one for about as long as we have been married, so even though we weren't sure where to put it, I felt like we HAD to take advantage of this deal. A few minutes after Ryan left for his ride, I packed up Keira and Soren and headed to IKEA, about 45 minutes before they opened, even though it was just a 20min drive. I totally did not feel guilty about taking a close parking space in the "family" section, since it was practically empty as I was one of the few crazy enough to drag 2 little children to this sale. They were very well organized, and I promptly got into the "chair" line, which was moving better than it looked. I waited in line for my ticket for my chair and received tickets for the color combo that I had wanted, and had a few minutes before the store opened, so I got in line to go in the store. Then, once in the store, I got in yet another line to pick up my chair from the warehouse. The nice thing, was that once I got everything, there was no line at the cash register, and was done with the whole ordeal in just over an hour. Not bad! I promptly put the chair together once we got home, and Keira loves it. She thought it was her chair, and had to have Soren sit with her in it.

The other accomplishment of the day was we got our last plant in the ground, and I ran 6 miles.

On Sunday, we went to church and then met up with my parents at Ryan's parents house immediately after. Keira was so confused when Grandma came out the front door of Nana's house. We had a great dinner outside and lots of fun. Keira was also able to play with Becky's grandchildren who were also visiting next door.


Monday was Memorial Day. We had a super full day. We started by attending the Novi Memorial Day Parade, which goes right by our neighborhood. We just had to walk to the end of our street to see it, and we are the start of the parade, so there wasn't much waiting that we had to do.

After the parade, Ryan and I were able to ride at Maybury together, which has been rare lately, but very fun. My parents and Kris and Linda met us at Maybury while we rode. After that, we initially planned to take everyone road biking on Hines drive, but when we went home to switch bikes and feed Soren, he had conked out in the car. I stayed back with both Keira and Soren while everyone else biked. I was a bit unsure about having Soren ride in a bike seat/trailer due to his age, and it turned out that we didn't have a helmet small enough for him anyway unless he wore Keira's pink bunny helmet and Keira wore the larger neutral one. I was able to meet back up with everyone after the ride/nap for some dinner before my parents headed back to Ohio. It was such a fun day!


Up for next week, Keira has a yoga class at the library with Katie, and just a few other things planned. I am sure we will find some other interesting things to do as well.