Our First trip to the Zoo!

We've been planning to take Maddy to the zoo and it was perfect timing since Jake & Lilly were here, so Saturday morning Brandon, Maddy and I drove over to my parents. The plan was to leave at 9:00 a.m.. Well, Mom had to wake Lilly up and she wasn't quite awake yet and was having issues with her boots. She will only wear cowgirl boots and she doesn't like wearing socks with them, which usually isn't an issue but since we planned to walk around the zoo all day Mom knew she would end up with blisters. While Mom ran up and down the stairs trying to find the thinnest pair of socks ever created, Jake didn't want to leave the computer and was upset that he hadn't yet eaten his macaroni and cheese breakfast. He said he was too old for the zoo and planned to just stay home. Mom then explained that this was a family outing and everyone was going and everyone needed to get in the car! So, Jake got in the car where he finished his macaroni and Lilly limped out the car and immediately pulled her shoes off of her feet.

Luckily, after the ride to the zoo everyone had a chance to completely wake up and get excited. Once we got inside, we had a really great time.

Here is a picture of us planning our route...

First stop: Sea Lions

As we left that exhibit we came across a snake on the loose!

My FAVORITE, and I think Maddy's too, was the Polar Bear. He would dive in the water from the rocks, then swim right up to the glass and practically rub his belly along it and then jump straight up and out of the water and fall back and do it all over again.

We took a break at the Kid Zone. Lilly wasn't interested in being photographed at the moment, she wanted to play.

The Otter was Granny's favorite. He was too cute. Most of the carrot he was eating would fall out of his mouth when he chewed.

A herd of buffalo...

You can barely see this grizzly bear. He never stood up, he was just laying down getting some sun. His claws were gigantic!

Another carousel ride...Jake & Lilly are behind Maddy and I.

Next stop: Gorillas

By this point, Lilly's feet hurt and Poppy's hip had popped out of joint so Granny and I took turns giving piggy back rides. Granny did most of the work though.

Lilly's two favorites were the zebra's and the giraffe's.

The elephants stayed pretty far away...

Jake & Lilly played in a helicopter...

Towards the end it was getting pretty hot so we tried a couple of times to skip a few things but Jake would look at his map and let us know that we were missing something and we ended seeing just about everything except the hippo and rhinos and that was only because we got lost. Jake and I walked down to the lions (which I couldn't get a good picture of) and on the way I asked if he was glad he came and he said he was having a great time. I guess you are never too old for the zoo.

Here are some picture of us waiting for the shuttle back to our cars. Notice Lilly is riding in Maddy's stroller!

Wednesday & Friday nights with Jake & Lilly

Every Wednesday night we go to dinner with both my parents and Brandon's. This past Wednesday, Jake and Lilly came along. We had dinner at Mi Casa. We tried for several minutes to get Lilly in the picture and we eventually gave up. I have a couple of pictures that look like a blur where she ran away in the middle of taking it. So, here is one of me, Jake and Maddy.

Check out how tall he is!

Friday night, we met my parents and Jake & Lilly at Chars for a quick dinner and ice cream.

Afterwards, we went back to Granny & Poppy's to play with Miss Pickles and the other horses.

Once it got dark, we went inside and hung out in the basement. Maddy and Lilly ran from one thing to the next but the funniest was when they started singing into the karaoke microphones. Lilly loves to sing and I had no idea Maddy even knew to sing into the mic!

Breathing Treatments

So, Maddy had her tubes put in two weeks ago and I had high hopes that once that was over with we would have fewer trips to the doctor. Unfortunately, things haven't quite worked out that way. I mentioned in an older post that she got a case of viral croup about a week before her surgery, well it came back about a week after the surgery. So, back to the doctor she goes. She came home with more steroids and a breathing machine. The machine itself looks like a panda bear and it has either a mask or a pacifier that attaches to it. You pour the medication in the machine and it creates steam that she breathes. She has to stay hooked up to this for a minimum of ten minutes before all the medicine is gone. It can be tricky to get her to keep it on the entire time but she really does a good job. We go back to the doctor in the morning for a follow up appointment. I am hoping she is all cleared up for the beach trip Saturday!

Why Buy Toys?!

Last week I was running around cleaning the house, going in and out of rooms. Maddy had been following me and I realized suddenly that she wasn't any longer. I heard some strange noises coming from the corner of our room and I kept calling her name but I couldn't see her. Check out where I found her...

Fourth of July Weekend

Our Fourth of July weekend started early...Thursday morning Maddy had tubes put in her ears. After we got home, you never would have known anything happened to her. She was running around playing and having fun.

Thursday evening Brandon and I went to the Winston Salem Dash minor league baseball game with Kyle, Stacey, Bailey and Tyler. After the game they had fireworks.

The next day we went to the mall and Maddy rode the carousel for the first time. You can see she isn't quite sure about it at first but as soon as it starts going around she realizes she loves it and she did not want to get off when the ride was over!

Later that night we went to Brandon's parents house for a cookout and Maddy played on the slide.

We went tubing down the New River in Virginia on Saturday and then went to the lake and road the boat to the firework show. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera along that day...

Sunday night my parents brought Jake and Lilly home. They didn't get home until about 8:00 p.m. after stopping to buy new boots and hats. The first thing they had to do was go to the barn and saddle up the horses so they could both ride before they went to bed. We didn't get to see them until we went over there Monday night. Here are a few pictures of the kids.

I will definitely try to get more pictures of the kids over the next couple of weeks. You won't believe what a young man Jake has turned into!

Basketball, Bubbles and Banks

Maddy playing basketball with Chevy, Colton and Daddy....

Blowing bubbles at the lake with Bailey...

And playing with Banks at the house...