Dickerson Park Zoo

I thought this was a cool pic of the mountain lion.

Ella on the zoo train

Sam on the zoo train

Sam feeding the giraffe

The last three days Sam has been taking a class at our local zoo. Each day they go to the zoo and learn about the animals and see some behind the scenes things that everyday visitors do not get to see. He has really enjoyed himself. This afternoon he was a guide for Ella and me as we went around the zoo together.

Best Friend

The other night as I was getting Ella settled into bed to go to sleep she gives me this big hug and says, "Mommy you're my best friend." Now I'm not sure where she got that expression or how much she understands it but it still melted my heart to hear her say it.

Tracy visits!!!

Tracy, Sonya and me.

Ella, Sam, Connor and Liam

My friend, college roomie, and the one credited with fixing up John and me came to visit this last month. Tracy, her husband Alan, and her two adorable boys, Connor and Liam, stayed with us for two days. The unfortunate thing is the day before they arrived our air conditioner quit working. It was in the nineties outside, not the ideal time to have house guests. Luckily, the downstairs AC was still working so we all bunked in the basement.

The kids got along wonderfully and I enjoyed catching up with Tracy and visiting with she and Alan. The thing about great friends is you can always take up where you left off and it's like old times. I only wish that they lived closer.

Fourth of July

On the Fourth we headed to the Siegel's for their annual Fourth of July party. This year we also got to have a birthday party for Aiden who turned one! The big boys had a good time playing whiffle ball, basketball, and blowing up things. The kids enjoyed popsicles, playing and doing snap pops and sparklers. There was good food and good times had by all!

Destin Trip- Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Wednesday morning we had a delicious buffet breakfast at Fudpuckers. Sam got his money worth on the homemade waffles. The kids were able to touch an alligator which they thought was pretty cool. After that we did some shopping at the outlet mall by our condo.

Wednesday afternoon and Thursday were spent with a lot of time at the beach and the pool. Thursday night we drove to Ft. Walton beach for dinner at The Crab Shack. The younger kids enjoyed the playground on the beach and the older kids enjoyed the shops.

Friday morning we headed back to Springfield. We took Sarah with us to help make more room in Dana and Kevin's car but she was really a big help to us. She kept the kids entertained on the way home and the trip went fairly smoothly. We made it back to Springfield just in time to watch the fireworks display that a local church puts on every year near our house.

Destin Trip- Monday and Tuesday

Monday we spent quite a bit of time at the pool since the kids had a lot of the beach on Sunday. They were happy floating around and not having to worry about the waves and salt water. That night we went to The Back Porch for dinner. The food was yummy and we took advantage of the wait to get a few pictures on the beach while the little kids watched a movie in the car with Uncle Kevin.

Tuesday we went to a state park beach. It was less crowded and allowed for a fun game of frisbee in the ocean. That afternoon Hannah, Sarah, Dana, Dawn, Ellie and I went parasailing. It was an awesome experience. It was actually very peaceful up above the ocean, which surprised me being pulled by a boat. Hannah and I got to see a large sea turtle swimming below which was so cool and we also saw a dolphin on our way out to the larger boat.

Destin Trip- days 1 & 2

Ella and I enjoying the beach. Our condo was on the top floor of the building in the background.
John and Sam on the beach the first evening.
The view from our balcony.

We left Friday night June 27th for the long drive to Destin, Florida. Traveling with eleven people we had to make quite a few pit stops but the kids did very well along the way. Ella had a few crying fits wanting to go to "my house" but overall was great. Having her big cousins Hannah and Ellie in the back seat with her was a big help. She was so excited when we exited a tunnel in Mobile, Alabama and could see the ocean for the first time. She said, "Look it's my pond!"

We were pleased with our condo when we finally arrived. We had a great view of the ocean from the balconies where we spent a lot of time last week. Some of the kids, including Sam, hit the beach when we arrived and John, Sam and I did a walk on the beach that evening.

Sunday John and Kevin went golfing while the kids and moms did a beach day.