Trouble...

I now have 3 full-fledged mess makers in the house now.  Awesome.  At least they are cute mess makers!

Birds of a feather

Since there was a holiday from work, I decided to take the family on another adventure. This time we went to Wildlife Zoo and Aquarium over on the west side of the valley. This involved a long drive to get there, and that always makes the crowd restless because the car is nobody's favorite place to hang out. Eventually we did get there and it was well worth the wait. This zoo had lots of hands on areas and different animals to see. It was a great adventure, but we could only handle the heat for so long (we had to leave when everyone was getting very cranky, around 2PM).

Allie liked watching the kangaroos jump around. 

We had never seen a kangaroo before!

They had lots of hands on areas where you could feed the animals. One of the favorites was feeding the lorakeets.  Everyone enjoyed seeing the bright colorful birds eating from their hands. Miles kept trying to pet them.

The girls were a little timid at first to let the birds land on their hands, but that fear was quickly resolved. Then Allie had one land on her head. She thought it was pretty cool. 

Hadley thought it was cool too, so we had to "help" one land on her head too. This was as brave as she could be while he was up there eating (she was still a little cautious, but wanted to be just like her big sister). 

We all got to feed some giraffes. You had to reach over the rail and drop the food onto their long tongues. They seemed very appreciative for the snack.

Miles didn't get to feed any animals, but he really enjoyed hanging out with all of us and especially liked the aquarium with all the fish.

Last day of Preschool

Allie's last day of preschool was a water day and she had so much fun.  She loved Shining Star Preschool and had lots of fun.  

 First day on the left, last day on the right.  She looks so much older!

This is what we did a lot... wait for Allie in the car.

Miles 8 months

Today marks 8 months, since Miles joined our family. He has been a great addition (most of the time). He has a great smile, and a strong desire for mischief. He likes to express himself vocally, and with his hands (which he uses to hit things repeatedly). So for today, here are a few pics of the little man in the family.

We decided to try outdoor pictures this month. Miles thought that was a great idea.

He made a straight shot for the flowers. It looked like he wanted to smell the roses...

instead he wanted to taste them.

He calmed down for a minute to suck his thumb (something he loves to do).

We ended on a happy note. 

8 months down, 208 more to go!

The rest of our Florida Trip

Before, between and after our trips to Disney World and the beach, we played at Grandma and Grandpa's house and boy did we have fun!  

 Grandma got to pull out her dress ups and the girls could not get enough!  There were many dance shows on the "stage" (fireplace) and many outfit changes.  So fun!

We also made a trip to UF campus to see lake Alice and find some alligators.  We had to hunt for a bit,  but then we found the mother load... literally.  We found a mamma gator with 5 baby gators who she was very protective of.  

The girls had to get a few pictures of them right next to an alligator to show proof that they saw some in real life!

There were some snapping turtles as well.

We also found a huge field of flowers by the bat house

Here is the mamma gator with her kids near by - and some on top of her.  We made sure to not get too close!

We also made a stop at the natural history museum

Most of all, we just enjoyed being around family and spending time together.