Saturday was dedicated mostly to one of two special trips for the Luals before it's time to go back to school. It was kind of funny, but when the kids voted on what trip they wanted to take, the split was strictly by age! None of the younger kids wanted to go to the beach because, as Deng said so eloquently, "We don't want to die." Well, I reassured them that although I was pretty sure they wouldn't die at the beach, that was OK because not everyone can fit in my car.
So what did the little kids want to do? Well, it was unanimous. Three things: Go to a movie, eat ice cream, and go to the Zoo. So that's what we did. I used my old video camera to record the day, so that's why these pictures are a bit grainy.
Duk, Adeng, Deng and Nyabol 
The Orangutans
A Giant Tortoise
The Sky Ride! This was my view of Deng and Nyabol from my chair with Adeng and Duk.
This is the view of Nyabol and Deng after they turned the corner and came towards us. This is one of the moments I most wished I had my good camera for, because the look on Deng's face is priceless. Bless his little 6 year old heart! He was SOOOO looking forward to this ride, but when he got on, every muscle in his body was clenched and he couldn't utter a word. After we got off I gave him a big hug and asked if he was glad he went. He thought about it for a minute, then said "Yes, but I do not want to do it again."
View of the Giraffes
Duk, Adeng and Deng feeding the camels through the big pipe that dumped the food into a box on the other end. It was fun, but the camel kept freaking out Adeng. If the kids waited too long between feedings, the camel would bang his head against the tube, which of course would jerk the kids on the other end. Every time he did it, she would look at me with her mouth in the shape of a big "O", like she was expecting me to punish the camel for being rude or something.
One of the Warthogs... peee-EEEEW!!
Nyabol feeding the cow. One of my favorite parts of the Richmond Zoo is that they have farm animals in addition to traditional zoo animals. The best part, though, is that you get to interact with so many of them!
Duk feeds one of the Giraffes.
The Rhinos
The Lions
This one's for Susan... the Lemmies (Lemurs)!
Some Chimps
After a ride on the carousel, I was finally able to drag everyone out of the zoo, and all of the kids fell asleep in the ride home. Very cute, I thought, but I really wanted to join them! No can do, because a) I was driving, and b) I had plans Saturday night!
After three cups of coffee, I showered and headed out at 10:30 to BOLLYWOOD NIGHT at Cous Cous with my friend Nicole. It was a BLAST - I had so much fun! Too much fun, because when I got home at 2 AM I was completely wired and couldn't sleep until 4. Not such a great move since ...
I was then up at 6 to head down to Lake Gaston! (I told you this was a magnificent weekend!)
Friends of our family have a couple of houses on the lake and had invited us to come. Christie, Matt and the munchkins stayed overnight on Saturday, but Aunt Crazy didn't make an appearance until Sunday. It was so much fun. What a great lifestyle down there!
Macy and Squirt (Kyla)
Pipsqueak (Lauren)
Noah with Oreo mouth
Jake ... he really is a good lookin' kid, all evidence to the contrary in this photo!
Amanda, Chief, Kyla and Lauren
The Dock!
Adam and Jake out on the jet ski. I don't know if you've ever jet skied before, but just in case you haven't, DO IT. It is one of life's best pleasures (and probably biggest environmental offenders!) in my opinion! My first time was with Jenni in High School ... but fortunately this day ended better than THAT one! :) I got to take Jake out for one run, where we got up to 65 miles per hour! Then later I took Noah, and finally, Noah and Jake. We had such a great time.
Shannon, Noah and Matt on the dock.
View of the houses from the dock.
Noah and Amanda on the raft.
I did take a group picture, but I guess that was with Matt and Christie's camera. Thank you Geyer / Fischbaughs! We had SUCH a wonderful day!!
