Yesterday I kept Mason since he started running a fever and complaining of a sore throat when he got home from school the day before.  We kept him on ibuprofen all day, and he mostly just laid around and rested, but he did feel up to helping take care of the beaters after I did more pound cake baking.

This Saturday is our big Fall Extravaganza at church, and every year I help bake pound cakes for the turkey dinner.  Clara and I got started Tuesday afternoon after I picked her up from school.  She is a good helper, even though this picture is so close you can’t really see that she’s adding the flour 🙂

Just a couple more from last night.  The first picture is of the rhinos that were part of the African Migration exhibit. Camels in the background. So cool.

The phoenix was actually outside the entrance – I’m hoping to get the kids by there while it’s there to at least see it, anyway.  Just such a fun night.

What an amazing evening Meg and I had last night, when she took me to Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden to the Lantern Festival, for an early birthday present.  We went early enough to walk through in the daytime to see the lanterns then, and then stayed to see them lit after dark.  It was amazing.  This dragon was the first lantern we saw when we went inside.  Wow.

The promenade is always one of my favorite places in the garden, and last night, with the jumping dolphins, was no exception.

The pond may have been my favorite exhibit – you can’t see the ducks’ heads moving in this picture, of course, but it was so beautiful.