Horsey rides, the zoo, and the YMCA

Our days in Alabama have been filled with adventure. Well, usually about as much adventure as we can stand before noon when the heat becomes unbearable. Lucky for us, Ella B has been getting up at 4:30 (yeah, the whole time difference thing, that sucks), so we have been able to get out of the house as early as we want. On Tuesday, Ella B had her first ride on a horse! Here she is with our niece Madelyn, an avid horseback rider, and by herself on a pony.

On Wednesday, we took a lovely trip to the Montgomery Zoo where Ella B saw all her favorites: monkeys, elephants, lions, tigers, bears (oh my!) and many different kinds of birdies. She especially liked a giant toad in the reptile house and the water misters that she and Madelyn could run through. She fell asleep in the stroller and Maddie and I got to feed giraffes out of our hands.

Here she is looking a particularly friendly monkey.

And me feeding a giraffe!

Yesterday we took our adventure to the YMCA, something I thought only existed in the 70's, but is apparently live and well in the South. They have an awesome kid pool that gradually descends, so Ella could walk right in. She was obsessed with the slide and begged Michael to take her on it, much to my dismay. The fearless wonder that is my baby daughter thought it was great and would have spent the entire day sliding down that tube if we'd let her.

So, we're having a pretty good time so far. It's too bad I'm a pretty terrible live action photographer, but you get the idea.