Our Day With Quin

The woman who is watching all four of our kids when I go back to work, started last week. In order to give her time to get to know the babies, I have been trying to take Quin with me when possible. To help further this, Jason and I spent the entire day with Quin - just the three of us! What a wonderful treat. It was a wonderful opportunity to remind Quin how much we love her, value her and let her know that we haven't forgotten her. I try to spend as much quality time with Quin as possible - and what is better than the zoo and beach?!?!

It was a gorgeous day (which we haven't had too many of this summer). Quin was down right giddy in the car - she was too cute! We started out our morning at the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids. No visit is complete without a picture in front of the statue of John Ball himself. Quin didn't love it, but will hopefully grow to in the next few years.
Quin was a trouper! She walked for a good portion of our time at the zoo. She watched the animals intensely. Quin's favorite animal has always been a duck. In fact, she didn't even want to go into to the zoo because of the ducks near the entrance that were following her around the parking lot. She enjoyed every animal in the zoo, but spied every duck that found a spot in different exhibits. She loved looking at the animals in the petting area, but was very hesitant to touch them. She only did so once the worker held the animal at her level. I was very proud of her. She and Jason rode the camel! Quin loves things from afar (motorcycles, police cars, buses...) but tends to be very squeamish once she gets close. She did so well while riding around the entire two circles of the camel track.

We went to lunch at the local Big Boy. My thought was kid friendly and fast. I didn't think about the mini Big Boy that she was infatuated with. She even gave him a kiss good-bye :) Hey, whatever floats her boat, and keeps her occupied!

We ended our day at Millenium Park, a local man made lake. They also have an area called 'Splash Pad' that has a variety of fountains and kid water toys. Quin wanted nothing to do with the area. She walked cautiously three times around the outside and then demanded to go into the lake. At least she is a girl who knows what she wants :) She had a wonderful time playing in the sand and 'swimming' in the water.

I had a wonderful day and look forward to many more like this! I thought often about having individual special days with each of our children, as well as visiting both the zoo and park with all four children. I am sooo very blessed!