FFF-Out!

As I was hopping on-line to do a quick post I noticed that today's Favorite Foto Friday theme was "Out". How serendipitous since most of my 'planned' post easily fits into the theme! For the entertainment benefits of those who are filling their sloooow work day by blog surfing I've made it a nice long post, okay? Yesterday was Julia's last day of school so she's now "OUT" for summer vacation! She just caught sight of me trying to sneak a snap of the skipping joy of a less than enthusiastic student sprung from her personal purgatory. Lucky for her that file she's holding contains a decent report card that ends with the line "Promoted to third grade." Wooo hoooo!!! She's also now "out" of her private school as she is enrolled in the public school for the fall. Mom now needs to go "out" shopping since that means no more uniforms!Wooo hooo for Mom! Note that on June 4th we are still needing jackets! It was only 48 degrees when she left for school and only 55 at dismissal.....but since it was only 10am and the weatherman was promising SUN all day and the hope of nearly making it to 70 we celebrated the last day of school with a trip "OUT"! Bet you'll never guess where we went by these next two pics! I just had to show all of you how very unique one our local landmarks is becoming.

A gift shop that features Dia del Muerte???? When you see where we went you will surely be surprised!! Now I know where to go for next year's Day of the Dead decor!

They soooooo never had these when I NEEDED low little potties!!! Given where we went it makes total sense that the establishment has installed banks of these in all their bathrooms. The warning is much needed because a Mom in a hurry could end up embarrassingly injured at the low height of the seat!! So you're wondering where we would go that would have skulls and tot pots?

Yep, we had some 'only child' bonding time at Brookfield Zoo!! Our family has a few of these 'traditional' picture moments in which we document the children and how they grow. Besides the 'big fish' picture down in Sarasota, we always pose the children on this lion that guards the entrance to the zoo. Julia felt very silly at first since she was the ONLY child for once but quickly beamed once she realized all the benefits! Tia Peggy inspired the trip and lucky for us she brought her camera along...as usual I should say. I'm the one hiding from the sun's lethal rays under Patrick's safari hat.

Tia Peggy spoiling her god daughter! One of the benefits of being an only child is the chance to get Dippin' Dots! At $4.50 for that little bowl, it's a treat not usually had when the whole gang is in tow! Note that Tia Peggy has shed her jacket! It did get 'warm' in the direct sun by the afternoon.

I love our zoo!! So many retired senior citizens volunteer as docents to give the children unique hands on learning moments making it more than just a run from exhibit to exhibit kind of outing. Here Julia gets to compare the same bone in an animal and a human...can you guess which bone from which animal?

The cervical vertebra of our FAVORITE animal! We love the Habitat Africa exhibit and the giraffe herd is majestic. While Julia and I did not get to see them using those long purple tongues rip leaves from the trees we did get to see last year's new baby out in the herd! That's her with another juvenile giraffe. Technically the giraffe is our MUTUAL favorite in Habitat Africa but actually Julia has a PERSONAL favorite...can you guess???

Duh??? Zebras....horses....close enough for her!!

Our resident walrus had to be moved to another zoo during the piniped habitat construction and was unable to be returned! So many children missed him that they commissioned this statue which has become another spot for picture taking. Those few minutes hatless had their cost! Not scalded but red enough to get comments at our "Night Out" event!

There are more pictures of the evenings "out"ing on Tia Peggy's camera since my lame model cannot zoom as close up as hers can! After dinner we headed off to Mari's school to be entertained by the 5th graders' big year end American Dreaming extravaganza!

There's my little colonist on the marquee 'out'side the auditorium. Since 6th grade is at the middle school in our community, this is the last big hurrah for the 5th graders at their grammar schools. Besides a big, costumed, musical production of the history of the United States the students had individual presentations. The audience was invited to move from the auditorium to the library to browse up and down the aisles where the students stood before their display boards and fielded questions.

Mari and her display board which covered the rigorous life for women during the colonial era. An era that Mari is very glad NOT to have been a member. This lady loves her creature comforts and bling! She is not "out' for summer until June 16th!! It'll be a very short summer vacation for her this year.

I've also pumped "out" a couple of patriotic outfits!

A little 2t halter and shorts set. I need to keep an eye out for a cheap 'baby' sized mannequin! Since I acquired the mannequins for my Irish costuming work there was really no need to have anything smaller than a size 5/6 as it is a rare child who was accomplished enough to be in competition before 4 or 5 years old. It was a struggle to get this 2t top on this mannequin!

I have to pin the bottoms on since it's too big! The shorts are an elastic waist denim to which I added a ruffle, applique, and a little back pocket.

Found an a-line pattern that I like better!! This is a little 3t dress that I appliqued some hearts on the front and back to go with the main print. I hope to have a couple more little dresses done by tonight so I can get them up on eBay by tomorrow. Sadly, I have a couple of Irish dance dresses that I need to get started on so as to keep the frantic stage moms at bay and will have to curtail my 'fun' sewing. I'm thinking I'll need to sneak one or two in between the dance dresses to keep my sanity :)