July started out with grand fun at the San Antonio Zoo. We were joined by our friends Andy and Nick, and we spent the day walking from shady spot to shady spot in an effort to beat the crazy heat. Fortunately, the old zoo has lots of shade from big trees.
I think I've been to this zoo more than any other -- I remember it from my childhood, in my teens, after college, and with the kids. It's changed a lot, but it's still nice to see the old buildings and various exhibits that remind me of years past. San Antonio is still committed to conservation and participates in breeding programs for several endangered species. And it still has more birds from all over the world than I've ever seen at another zoo.
We particularly enjoyed the feeding of the komodo dragon, feeding the lorikeets, visiting the butterfly exhibit. Nolan took lots of pictures of animal poop, too.
I posted many of the shots that Nolan and I took -- you can find them here. I left a bunch out (including most of the poop shots). I remember how many photos of zoo animals I took as I child and realized that it's just not the same going through thousands of animal photos later.
After the zoo, for the other reason we visited San Antonio, we stopped by Mission Cemetery to see the Edgley headstone. The headstone was a long time in creation, and it fills me with peace to know that Grandmother and Granddaddy's gravesites are so beautifully marked.
Throughout June and into July, Logan was on a summer swim team, Wells Branch Armada. His experience and size made him a valuable swimmer on the team, and he had great fun to boot.
On July 4, he joined the other Armada swimmers on a float in the Wells Branch parade. We love this community celebration and have joined in on the fun for several years now -- in fact, the first time we went, our beloved Gracie and Sammy walked in the parade with us. This year we just took Grover (Loki and Sheba went last year), and Jennifer, Stepan, and their daughters and dogs joined us.
We had a great time at the Wells Branch parade and July 4 festival -- they serve ice-cold watermelon that's always so yummy in the heat. Magda and Simone got to ride the little train, and the dogs got worn out.
And July 4 isn't complete without some fireworks. Our big group regrouped downtown that evening for dinner and the Zilker fireworks display. It was incredibly pleasant -- a nice breeze and no mosquitoes.
Here are a few more July 4 pictures. Enjoy!
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