Happy 4th of July & Trip to the Louisville Zoo

I hope no one blew off any fingers over the 4th of July weekend. For the first time in six years, we didn't have our annual Rumble. If you go to the Rumble home page, you can still watch the videos of 2007 and 2006. There were just too many other priorities, with little Isabel in the house. Maybe that's why the rains came pouring down at dusk on the 4th this year. Lucky for us we had no plans for fireworks! But, the annual event may be back next year.
This weekend we had a quiet, casual visit from the in-laws. They brought lots of gifts for Isabel, who keeps developing a personality with each passing day. She's definitely a ham for the camera. Not that the weekend didn't have its downside. Seems Isabel is trying to cut her second tooth and has a little fluid buildup behind one eardrum. Thankfully, it's not infected.

Before the in-laws arrived, we took Isabel on her first trip to the Louisville Zoo. She loved all the animals. Of course, I had to try out our new camera and came home with some nice images. I was able to capture one of the Masai giraffes mugging for the camera.
Then I went toe-to-toe with a huge rhino.
Smaller, but just as impressive, was the striking head-dress of an East African Crowned Crane.
Isabel's favorites included the baby elephant.
Isabel even got to take her first elephant ride, sort of.
Late in the day, it was feeding time for many of the animals, including the gorillas, who snacked on red apples.

We stopped to snack on pizza, cotton candy, and ice cream. Afterwards, we were feeling as tired as the king of beasts.
With only an hour left before the zoo was closing for the day, the sky showed all the familiar signs that rain was nearly upon us.
A perfect ending to a wonderful day trip to the zoo with Isabel, we happened to see a Golden Rain Tree just outside the main entrance as we were leaving. We have been planning to find two of these to become the showpieces of a new landscape outside Isabel's bedroom window.
As she gets old enough to see out the window of her room, we hope she will marvel at the bright colors of these trees, and the many flowers that will surround them each year.
All the landscaping will have to wait for the rains to pass. But Isabel can still dream about it.