Fun with animals

This weekend Trent did a lot to redeem himself of his recent behavior. We had a wonderful weekend together. Here are some highlights.
On Friday, which is date night, Trent and I went for a long walk while Brian went to play indoor soccer. I had been craving a burger all day so for our date we went to dinner at Red Robbin.

On Saturday, I took Trent for a long run while Brian did the yard work in the front of the house. Trent and I ran 11k! Then when we got home, Trent hung out in his exersaucer on the front lawn while Brian finished edging and I trimmed the bushes.
It was such a beautiful spring day so after lunch we went to the Austin zoo. It was our first time to go and while it's really small and not as well laid out as the larger zoos, all of the animals looked comfortable and well taken care of. All of their animals were rescued from people who think they can keep wild animals as pets, or from the circus. I feel such a conflict about zoos because I hate to see animals in cages, but I suppose it's better than them being euthanised or continuing to live in abusive conditions. And by paying to see these animals, it ensures that the zoo can continue to support them. And a zoo is really the only way that I would ever get to see these animals in person. It just makes me so sad, though, and I wish it could be different. Trent seemed to enjoy seeing all the animals. He also seemed to enjoy watching all the people. He especially likes children.
After the zoo, we went to Costco to pick up some essentials, then we went to Sears to buy a new water heater. Something we've been putting off for a year now but we think we're tempting fate to put it off any longer. Fortunately, we were able to pay for the water heater and installation with credit card points so it was pretty much free. After Sears we went home and spent some time on our new patio. Trent played on a blanket while Brian and I sipped on our wine/beer and enjoyed the tranquility of our back yard. We made a delicious dinner - pecan praline chicken, and after Trent went to bed we watched Spiderman 3. At least some of it. I managed to pass out on the couch about half way through the movie.
On Sunday, we all went out for a 7k run, then came back and did some work in the back yard. Brian cleaned the grill while I hammered in tree fertilizer spikes around all the trees. Then we ran errands for the remainder of the day, including yet another trip to Costoc, but this time it was for a hotdog! (ok, so we also picked up some things we needed that we didn't get on Saturday, too). Trent seemed very happy to be out and about. He had I minor fussing episode Sunday afternoon and it turns out he was just over tired because he didn't get any really good naps in during the day. While he napped we watched the rest of Spiderman 3. That evening we all went for a walk around the neighbourhood and listened to some country music, then we had family dinner time - chicken and asparagus with feta and bowtie pasta, then Trent had his bath and went to bed.
Brian and I then did something we've been dreading and putting off. Our taxes! We finally got them done. No refund for us, though :-(

In good news... the new porch swing arrives today. I can't wait to hang it!