Lincoln Children's Zoo

We made our first trip to the zoo since July. We met my sister Laurie and my sister-in-law Aubrey and their kids that are not yet in school. Our trip was short. Unfortunately the window is short between when Ethan wakes up from his morning nap, lunch and afternoon naps. Our first stop was feeding the goats.

Ethan was mesmerized by the ducks.

The kids are so busy. It is nearly impossible to get a group picture of the kids. I always appreciate that they try but usually by the time one of them looks another looks away.

Noah, Ethan, Anderson, Evie, Isaiah and Clare. An afternoon with family - the best reason for living in Lincoln.

At the butterfly pavilion, Evie is patiently waiting for this butterfly come to her

Ethan of course is quickly in her space.

Evie holding a butterfly

The kids are lined up to get another spritz of nectar on their hands.

Ethan was so busy on the spiderweb. I think this is the picture I was taking when Evie fell off the high side of the web and bumped her head. It was almost lunch time and nap time so after her accident we started making our way to the exit and got lunch.

I was trying to take a picture of Ethan wearing Clare's shoes as he was lifting himself up on the web but as I snapped the picture the shoes fell off. I thought his little feet looked cute though.

Leo the paper eating lion is always a good stop to clean out my purse.

We grabbed lunch and met my sister Laurie at the Sunken Gardens. I learned something about the Sunken Gardens that I can't believe in all my years in Lincoln I didn't know - it was built on an abandoned dumpsite.

Here is the history: Built in 1930, the Sunken Gardens was a Depression-era project, built on a former abandoned neighborhood dumpsite. The 1.5 acres were originally donated by the Seacrests, the Faulkners and the Freys -- long time Lincoln families.As a part of a city program helping unemployed men to earn money, E.M. Bair hired crew members to work on this garden. The men worked eight-hour shifts, two days a week for a total of $6.40 per week.Lincoln's "Rock Garden" (as it was originally called) reflected the popular 1930's trend for rock gardens in progressive communities. Rocks were used for the garden's skeleton, structures like water fountains and retaining walls at different heights to create terraced levels.In 1931, the Gardens were in full bloom with 416 trees and shrubs. Final construction cost for the Sunken Gardens was $2,500.

Ethan trying hard to catch up with his big sister

The kids were so cute as they watched the fish.

Every few seconds Ethan would pop his little knee up on the wall like he was going in with the fish. I would say Ethan "no, no" and he would put his leg down. A few seconds later it was right back up there.

By the time Ethan and I got to the waterfall Evie already had her shoes off and her pants rolled up. As cute as she was I had to tell her she couldn't play in the water

Evie and her buddy Anderson chatting and waiting so nicely as we got the cars packed up.