Ohio & The Wilds

It's been two years since we were in Ohio for Thanksgiving.  Once again we drove up on Wednesday, did double Thanksgiving's on Thursday, lunch at our favorite German restaurant on Friday, massive family pizza party Friday night, then home on Saturday.  I didn't seem to take any pictures during any of our big family gatherings (drat), but guess that was ok since we were all too busy talking & catching up with people.  It was a whirlwind few days, but once again it is a blessing to come from these families.

Here's a taste of what we did.....

while we're up there, we stay at a hotel.  Gives a break between all the socializing & has an indoor pool.  Which the boys make good use of!

 Good times at our favorite German restaurant.

 A little black friday shopping....

 And more pool time:

 Then Friday night at the Pizza Party (yes it's capitalized & is legendary), we were talking to one of my cousins.  She works at The Wilds & offered to "show us" around on Saturday on our way home.
Of course we said yes!!!
The Wilds is a conservation park that one of my cousins & her husband work for (read all about The Wilds here ), so we got up & out Saturday morning & headed east on the highway.
The boys have talked all about it since then!
I mean, how many times can you pet a young rhino?

 Or talk to one up close & personal?

 Or feed them apples from your hand?

 Sweet, sweet rhinos!  To be so close, and to interact with them....priceless & unforgettable.

 Then we went out into the pasture area to check things out & saw some Grevy's Zebras.  They look a bit different from the Zebra's at our zoo.

 And these critters!  Sichuan Takin!  They live in the same area as the Giant Panda in China & are Kieran's new favorite animal to research.  They look like something out of Star Wars, can swim, & love the chilly weather.

 One of the Bactrian Camels mugging for the camera.  What a bunch of ornery goofballs.

 Przewalski's Wild Horses.  These have never been domesticated.  Never.

 The boys got a tour of the antler room....

 And met some giraffe...

 I mean how awesome is that?

Michele, I can't thank you enough.  The boys have talked non-stop about this, and want to come back.  Keenan was really bummed to take a shower last night & wash the giraffe slobber out of his hair.
What a blessing!