Woodland Park Zoo

Our summer adventures started with a trip to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. In the spring, I had noticed an advertisement on the milk cartons for a new cheetah exhibit that zoo would be hosting, but only for the summer. Since Leila's FAVORITE animal is the cheetah, we KNEW we had to go! It is such a great zoo and there is so much to see! 

We were in the right spot at the right time when we passed the giraffes (my favorite animal!). The zookeepers were transitioning the giraffes from the outdoor viewing area to the barns, so we got to watch as all four of the giraffes walked RIGHT PAST us! Beautiful animals!

 Then it was onto the cheetahs. Leila was thrilled. We got to see both of the cheetahs. 

After walking the entire zoo, we hit a Starbucks, played at a nearby park while we waited for Seattle traffic to thin and then ended up having dinner at the Armory in the shadow of the Needle. It was a gorgeous Seattle day! 

Rainiers Baseball

 Grammy and Granddad came for a visit in late June to watch Leila's dance recital. Prior to the visit, Granddad discovered that the Rainiers were in town for a home game and better yet, the game was an early afternoon start time! 

The Rainiers won! After the game, Leila and Chris got to run the bases. 

Despite having to prod Leila to take a picture (pausing for pictures is not her favorite thing), she gave me a good smile... and this pic of her, Granddad and Grammy is one of my favorites! 

Dance Recital

 The weekend after school was out, Leila participated in her third dance recital. This year she studied ballet, tap and jazz in a combo class with Ms. Kristie. Leila has learned so much in three years! She is graceful, elegant and bright-eyed! She really does shine up there on the stage. 

Leila and Ms. Kristie. We will be sad to say good-bye to Ms. Kristie this fall when Leila starts a tap only class. Ms. Kristie stressed to us that Leila really needed to register for a single discipline dance class as she has outgrown the basic combo class' skill level. So, with a new class comes a new teacher. Thank you Ms. Kristie for being patient and kind!