July in Indiana

On July 4th weekend we hopped in the car and headed to South Bend, Indiana for a family gathering in honor of Anna Peltier's baptism. Because it is a five to six hour drive we decided to cut it in half by stopping at the Indianapolis Zoo and taking some time to enjoy the fine animals that live there. It was a hot day but we got there early and were ready to go.

We hadn't been to a zoo since last year, so Callie was excited to see all the animals, especially the monkeys. It probably shouldn't be too surprising based on our travels, but this was Callie's third zoo in her less than three years, and each one has been in a different state. Just a brief aside, it is a bit scary to us that Callie is going to be three years old in about two months. Oh my...



In any case, Callie was very happy to walk around the zoo and check everything out. We saw a dolphin show, watched an elephant get her daily bath, and attempted to run with the cheetahs. But the real highlight came when Sarah and Callie got to feed the giraffes. Check it out.



This was definitely better than the last time the two of them fed giraffes in Cincinnati. That time Sarah got too excited and Callie wasn't too sure how she felt about the whole thing. And it was very cool that it was a mother and baby giraffe who they got to feed.

Clearly we spent some time hanging out by the giraffes. There were quite a few of them and we watched them walk around and munch on the trees. All in all it was a very successful trip, especially since it tuckered Callie out so much that she slept the two and a half hours it took us to get from Indianapolis to South Bend.



Now we present the little girl of the hour, Anna, enjoying a South Bend afternoon with her parents, Dan and Carrie. The event was a great excuse for the extended Peltier clan to gather and get the new generation acquainted. For that weekend we had folks from Kansas, Minnesota, Kentucky, Vermont, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Not too shabby.




Let's take a look at the middle generation. From left to right we have Ted Peltier, John, Emily Malpino, and Dan Peltier. It's been a long time since these cousins have all been in the same place, so it's good to be able to take advantage of these opportunities. Although we weren't able to get Suzy, Katie, and Emily's brother James there for this gathering, hopefully all the cousins will be able to see each other soon.




While the above picture features some good looking folks, the picture below is truly the one that steals the show. It is the next generation of cousins, first, second, three times removed, who knows what the technical definition is. They are related and they are cute, end of story. From left to right we see Nathan Peltier (Ted's), Callie Bowes (John's), Claire Peltier (Ted's), and Lucy Peltier (Dan's).



The four kids spent a lot of time in the pool. And by that, we mean, they spent A LOT of time in the pool. It was great to see how much fun they had hanging out together.


Not only did Callie get to hang out with her cousins, but she also got to experience her first fireworks display. She wasn't too sure what to think of the snakes. However, she had a clear opinion about the colored smoke bombs - she jumped up and clapped her hands. We had to hit the road before the show was over, but we caught quite a few fireworks shows during the long drive back to Lexington. And once again, we lucked out because all the pool time meant that Callie slept the whole way.