Fun with Gamma and Gammpa

Today "Gamma" and "Gammpa" (as Chloe would say) took us all out to run some errands. We decided it would be fun to take a visit to McKee's pet store, because they have lots of animals to look at, including a free petting zoo. I've never taken Chloe to a zoo, so I figured this would be a good introduction. First we saw Chee-Chee the monkey, who has lived at McKees for over 25 years. According to the little story posted next to her room, she was rescued by the owners of McKees from being put to death after biting a kid. So now she lives in the pet store. Anyway, Chloe was really excited to see the monkey and she kept repeating "I see you! I see you, monkey!"

(I was supposed to have a picture of Chloe with the monkey here, but I guess I accidentally deleted it, and I don't want to wait for it to upload again)

Leyla liked the monkey, too. We looked at the kittens and puppies, and Chloe kept asking "open? open?" referring to the glass that separated her from the puppies. She wanted me to somehow open the glass so she could pet the puppies and kitties. So we then took her outside to see the petting zoo. As you can see, she fed the goats...

Looked at the ponies...

And chased some chickens.
Overall, it was a pretty nice trip to the petting zoo, enjoyed by all who attended.

Chloe and Leyla are doing very well here. They are both taking full advantage of all the attention that grandma and grandpa are graciously pouring all over them. However, it's so much fun that they never want to go to sleep. Grandma has a lot more patience getting them to sleep than I do. I just let them cry it out. She spends a lot time rocking them and singing to make sure that they don't have to cry to get to sleep. I guess I'm just impatient.

As for me, I'm having a pretty hard time getting acclimated here. I've been freezing since we got to my mom's house. They keep the house at around 68 degrees, whereas I get cold if my thermostat at home is set at 75. (It's not just me though. Chloe woke up shivering this morning, so we had to go buy her some sweaters and socks) And even worse for me is the altitude and dryness. I was so excited to get here so I could go running on my old route. I used to be able to run right up this mountain with no problem. Right before I moved to Texas, I could run 6 miles without stopping and walking, and none of it was on a level surface. I figured I could probably do a few miles since I have been working out on a regular basis for about 8 months now. However, I've been working out at sea level, in a really hot and humid environment. I think I ran about a quarter mile up the hill before it felt like my lungs were going to burst. My muscles were fine, but it hurt so bad to breathe. That was pretty disheartening. I was really looking forward to being able to run up and down real hills again (as opposed to fake hills on a treadmill). Today was a little better. I ran 3 miles on my mom's treadmill in 23 minutes, so that was good. And it didn't hurt my lungs too bad. I'm hoping I can get acclimated within a week because I want to run in the 5k at the Holmes reunion.

It's getting late, so I have to get to bed. And Miguel, if you're reading this, that means you have internet, and I forgot to ask you on the phone today whether or not you have internet access there in Virginia, so leave me a comment to let me know you've read this. That way I'll post a lot more pictures of the girls, because I know you'll want to see them. Ok, I'm going to bed now.