Animal Fever

All three kiddos love animals, so a trip to the zoo was a must. It was extremely hot we were all a little exhausted, but still very enjoyable. My favorite zoo is still DFW, check out Barney's Zoo video and you can enjoy the awesome attractions, but our zoo is not to shabby.

I love watching the kids' excitement as they encounter each new species.

It always amazes me how simple things bring bright smiles to their faces. When do we lose that thrill for the life's simple pleasures? I also cherish that my kiddos love animals. I am not a duck squeezer by any stretch, but I find it heart warming that my kiddos have such a fondness for God's amazing creatures. Especially coming from a Daddy, who has no desire to deal with the hassle that man's best friend brings to life. The only animal we have been given the green light to bring into our home is a fish that requires no effort outside the occasional feeding.
The tiger gave us a show and walked right up to the glass the kids had their faces pressed against.

It was very exciting. 

Makaylee's facial expression tells it all. 

Totally shock and amazement!!

We had fun watching the seals and then doing a little photo shoot.

Which was farely successful thanks to the bribing method, highly recommended for influencing cooperation. The prize, a ride on the merry-go-round.

Summer Fun

IdleWild was having a buddy day while Attie was visiting, so we decided to take a trip out to enjoy the fun. We had a blast. Caleb and Attie loved the rollercoaster and the log ride. Makaylee had a rough time being too little for most everything that Caleb wanted to go on, but we all got to enjoy Whip-it. They road ponies, watched a Circus and got their faces painted. Side note, Sissy, does not like clowns, for the second time she was so scared she was shaking and wanted to get far, far away. After and eventful day they were all exhausted and fell asleep on the drive home.

Caleb wasn't so fond of the dragon staring back at him in the mirror after his nap. He freaked out and wanted it gone, but before the dreary confusion, he thought the dragon was super cool. The girls looked super cute as matching kitty kitties.

The next day we enjoyed more summer fun at the pool, where all three perfected their cannonball.

All smiles when our family is visiting.

Backyard Fun

Attie taught both the kids the joy of entertainment. They serenaded us with singing and dancing. Makaylee and Attie have always been very comfortable on center stage.

On the contrary this is not a place Caleb has historically thrived, but in the comfort of home he was a true entertainer and was quite willing to get his grove thing on.

Of course, it wasn't long before he was back where he feels most comfortable, hitting line drives.

Attie's swing is looking pretty good with Uncle Cory pitching.

They also enjoyed the fun playset, 

playing rescue the princess and slay the dragon. Such creative kiddos. I later went to the top loft of the playset to find that the dragon had laid eggs (round rocks) and left his babies behind.

Football weekend

Over the weekend I got the joy of not only having my sister, niece and Grandpa Cowboy in town, but my cousin Chelsea came to stay. It was nice visiting while the kids played. And sipping on wine on the deck after we put the kids down for the night, you can't beat that! The Steelers were scheduled to play the Lions for the first preseason game and Cory was able to get us all tickets for the big event. Normally, we would be 100% all in for the Steelers, but Caleb especially has become quite the fan of #57 of the Detroit Lions. We all meet up for breakfast in the city, which went amazingly well for a sit down meal with three little ones.

Attie, Chelsea, Caleb Jordon and Makaylee

After breakfast we did what girls do best and went and got pampered with pedicures. Then got decked out in our black and gold, scratch that, blue and silver for the big game.

 Me, Brittany (Chelsea's friend) Chelsea, and Kaycee

The game didn't go exactly as planned. Right after the second half began Jordon got injured and we didn't know exactly what happened. Then it started to lightening, so there was a delay. We had to wait to know Jordon's status. It was hot, the kids were tired and we were concerned.

At first, Chels was told it was a sprain, but it turned out it was the whole knee, ACL, PCL and MCL. Such a bummer!! Caleb asks every day about how Jordon is doing, what happened and if he is playing football again. Jordon has a great attitude about it and looks at the positive. He gets a season to let his body recover from the years of pounding.

Catch Up

I have totally dropped the ball on blogging, but it is so much easier to enjoy the present when I am not trying to keep up with documenting the past. However, to keep my loved ones posted and because someday I know my kiddos will thank me for this, I am going to try and press on. Okay, so to play some catch up from August. My beautiful sister and my lovely niece came to visit. We got to celebrate Attie turning 5. I can hardly believe it has been 5 years since I helped my sister with night duty, making sure that sweet little 5 pound baby was getting enough to eat every 3 hours.

She was feisty as a baby, but Attie is now probably the kindest, most considerate little girl I know. My sister is an amazing mommy. We had an awesome time and stayed extremely busy hanging out together for 9 days. Did I mention, I love that I got to share this time with my family. We explored the backyard and the kids found playing in the creek to be a blast.

This brought back such fond memories of making mud pies in the creek at the ranch in Thermopolis. While, it may not be a ranch with hundreds of acres. I am thankful my kids get to explore the outdoors right here at home. I love where we live. They definitely got decitified. At first, Caleb and Makaylee couldn't stand the slimy mud squishing in their toes or dirty hands, but with a little encouragement from their wilderness experienced, born and raised in the big WY cousin, they were having fun covered in dirt.