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We were playing outside yesterday as it was a beautiful day. I jumped on the tramp with the kids for at least an hour. That is some good exercise, no wonder why kids are tired at the end of the day.

There is this book that we have that is about a mother cat and her 3 kittens. The mother cat keeps asking her kittens (in cat language :) why they are so tired at the end of the night. She doesn't think that they did that much to be that tired. She wants to find out why they are so tired at the end of the night, so she decides to follow them around and do everything they do. She does everything they do, like chase butterflies, chase bugs, play tag, climb into the hay loft, etc. After they have played and done these things for a long time, she tries to tell them that they need to take a nap - not because they are tired, but because she is. They take a nap for about 3 minutes, then they are ready to go again. They play and play some more. As the mother cat is playing and doing everything they do, she is realizing that they play so hard throughout the day and that is why they are so tired at the end of the night. The mother cat and her kittens get home and the mother cat can barely keep her eyes open. She lays down and tries to take care of her kittens, but can't. She falls asleep before they even do. Then the kittens lick her clean before they go to bed because that is what she always does when they are tired.

I love this book because I think that sometimes we don't realize that kids can be tired, just from playing outside or riding their bike around the block. I always think of this book when I am tired from my day or my kids are so tired from their day. We have such different experiences as adults and kids. It is a good thing to sometimes to find out why our kids are acting like they are. I admire the mother cat in this book, because she was willing to go and do everything the kittens did. I know that I would be tired if I did everything my kids did - especially jumping on the tramp for as long as Max does :) I guess I don't need to go to the gym anymore - there is the tramp in the backyard.

I was at the zoo today for Alysa's fieldtrip at school. I was in charge of 3 boys (Dawson, Isaac, Keegan) and Alysa. These kids were so excited to be there at the zoo and all of them wanted to tell me something about their last experience at the zoo. I listened and taught them the things on the signs. The most interesting thing I learned was that there once was an Aligator that was 19 feet 2 inches long. I was trying to explain how long this was to these kids and I am just not sure they understood. I had a good time and I am glad that I was able to go with Alysa. She was so excited to have me there. All she wanted to do was hold my hand :) I really loved it and am getting a little teary eyed, thinking of her climbing on the bus for her adventure. I love you Alysa!

This is a picture of the kids in the back of the car. I was cleaning it and this is where they thought their chairs would be the best. Look at Ryan's green candy teeth. The mail lady gives treats to the kids who come and meet her - we happened to be outside. Gross!