Finally Spring!

We've had a very long winter here in Wisconsin, and I think it was particularly hard for the boys...well, at least for Damien! He absolutely loves being outside, and his outside time was limited during the cold winter months. The last couple days here have been relatively warm, and I was off work, so I took advantage of the time and "heat" and took a couple afternoon field trips with the boys. We were able to get out of the house and enjoy the best of Madison! (The temperature is supposed to drop at least 20 degrees tomorrow, so we had to get out when we could!)

Henry Vilas Zoo (4/12/11)















Checking out the otters (above) and watching some swimming seals (below).
















Olbrich Botanical Gardens (4/13/11)

Damien liked petting the elephant in the Thai area of the gardens, and we watched a muskrat play in the water for awhile from the bridge. The boys were definitely interested in the bright Thai Pavilion, and I thought that it was neat that there were "Lenten Roses" (I saw red, white, pink and yellow), given that we are celebrating the last week of Lent before Holy Week. (I just discovered that those flowers are nicknamed "Lenten Roses" due to the fact that they bloom in the spring, typically during the season of Lent!)