Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Family Fun Day

Monday we were all home and decided to hang out at home in the morning and then head out for lunch and a trip to the zoo once it started to warm up in the afternoon.

We hit up our favorite pizza place and had fun munching on their pretzels and playing cards while we waited for the pizza.


If you have a Mellow Mushroom close by you HAVE to try out the garlic Parmesan pretzels next time you go.


We got to the zoo a little after 1:00 and the kids were so excited to explore!


This was GG's first time at the zoo (or first time that we can remember... so if she's been before she was a baby) and she was so animated and enthusiastic about each exhibit.


I told you she was excited :) hahaha


There's my crew! ;)


We stopped and saw the lions and warthogs and then it was time to feed the giraffes. We bought our giraffe biscuits and made our way in.  This is where Griffin's skepticism set in...


She talked a big game, but when she saw the tongue she was out.


Luke took over and dove right in - props to him because the tongue on that thing was seriously crazy.


SEE!!!



Dave had to help GG out and she was so proud of herself.



The past times we've been the gorillas have been far off in the enclosure, but this time they were up really close.  The kids loved watching them and Luke was blown away by their hands.


Did y'all know that Griffin could DO IT MYSELF?!?!  Because everyone at the zoo that day found out in case they didn't :)  #missindependent



There are bronze statues all around the zoo, and when Griffin saw that this chimpanzee was holding a baby chimp she LOST HER MIND.  There were oooohs and aaaaahs and kisses and forehead stroking and then more kisses.
 (sidenote - check out Luke shaking the chimpanzees hand in the background)


One last hug.


Luke loves a map :)


And we picked a great day to visit because there was a big Lego exhibit on display.  There were about a dozen displays and they were amazing!


Excited about the anteater behind him :)

  

We ended the trip on a great note by hopping on the last carousel ride of the day.



Griffin's pre-carousel face was priceless!


She had so much fun riding and did NOT want to get off :) 
PLEASE ONE MORE TIME, DADDY!!!  PLEASE! ONE MORE TIME!
(It should be noted that she has great manners even while throwing a fit - hahaha)


That pout!


Mason on the way home pretty much summed up the day ;)


And here's a short little video :)  I'm making a point to take more videos of the kids (Lord knows I take enough pics - hahaha), but it's always so fun to look back on old home movies and I want to make sure they have some to look back on. I have a feeling that they'll all include at least a slo-mo video or two as my boys are obsessed :)  Too bad I didn't think to take any videos until about 30 minutes before we left.  OOOPS!


It's a rarity that we have an entire day together as a family without a single interruption or commitment and we absolutely made the most of our day together.

Happy Wednesday, Friends!

32 comments :

  1. G holding on to the carousel for dinner life!! Hahaha!!! I'm sure Dave didn't think it was crazy funny in the moment but it is now, right??

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    1. It was one of those moments where all you could do was laugh as you pry your crying child off the carousel :)

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  2. What a perfect day at the zoo! The weather was just right for you guys!!

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  3. Such s fun day!!!! Love the video...how did you do that?!!!

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  4. hahaha I love Griffin holding on for dear life on the carousel! Hilarious! And her outfit is super cute, too :)
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  5. I love griffin kissing the statue! Adorable

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  6. What a great day for the zoo!! So glad you had so much fun!! :)

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  7. Those pictures with the giraffe are so cool! Looks like you guys had a great MLK day!

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    1. Isn't that awesome?!?! It's one of our favorite parts.

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  8. How fun!!! I really wish there were zoos closer to where we live. Looks like you guys had a fabulous day!!

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    1. We have two great ones within about 90 minutes of us - it's awesome and something I think we take for granted. Thanks, Johannah!

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  9. This is not meant as a criticism or negative comment, and hopefully you won't take it that way, but have you ever considered speech therapy for your eldest son? It is obvious from your video that he has a pronounced lisp and cannot pronounce the letter "R" or "L" correctly. I have noticed this before in other videos you've posted. Given his age, and your teaching background, I sincerely hope you look into it.

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    1. Luke has regular evaluations and received speech therapy for a little over a year. We're currently working with him on those particular sounds at home with guidance from our school's licensed SLP. Thanks!

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    2. Just so you know "anonymous": my daughter has had a speech issue also, and if you were truly concerned, perhaps you should have sent her a private email instead of commenting publicly on a fun post she chose to share with her readers. I could only assume that a mother who so very clearly is a part of her children's lives and educations has this under control. I feel like your comment was not necessary. Next time you want to point out a concern you have for a child, I sincerely hope you contact the parent in a more tactful manner.

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    4. Sorry this sparked such outrage in you JillianLee. I don't have Andrea's email and did not know how else contact her. To be honest, she had to approve this comment and publish it, and she chose to. I'm not sure what your daughter's speech issue has to do with my comment other than the fact that you seem very defensive and resentful about the issue. I'm sorry for you. Two of my children and two nieces were similar to Andrea's son. I put my kids in speech therapy before they were three-years-old. My sister chose not to and her pre-teen daughters are now being bullied incessantly for the way they speak. It's tragic. I know a couple of other mothers who behaved similarly to my sister. Are they bad mothers? Of course not; quite the contrary. But for whatever reason - either denial or a feeling that their kids would outgrow it- they did nothing. I wasn't trying to be rude or tactless. I was trying to help. I never once had a problem with anyone pointing out the way my children talked (and believe me they did). Why? Because pretty much everyone that ever made mention of it was genuinely trying to help, regardless of their delivery. I always responded like Andrea did. If you took my comment to be anything other than concern, that's your issue.

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    5. My daughter was recently born and was born with tounge-tie. Which can cause speech problems as she learns to talk and gets older if it's not taken care of. It is genetic thing and she had a more than minor case. After we were told this in the hospital about it, it came to light that my husband had attended speech therapy as a child and had tounge-tie. He had a milder case than our daughter and has no speech issues now. The doctors told us it's quite common and sometimes the cause of speech issues and it's not always diagnosed. So I now always want to speak up and say... Hey check for tounge-tie. :) Your kids are adorable and I am so looking forward to going to the zoo with my daughter this summer!

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    6. Anonymous #1 ,you owe JillianLee an apology. Your response to her was a little out of line. A simple "I'm sorry, I only meant to help " would have sufficed without then crafting an attack on her for feeling the way she did. To say she was being 'defensive' or 'resentful' or expressing 'outrage' is a deflective hyperbole on your part and not at all helpful to suggest that this is 'her issue'. She was simply pointing out that you could have chosen to send a private email if this was coming from a genuine concern. See the top right hand corner of the blog? There's a link that very clearly states "contact me by e-mail". It's kind of hard to miss. Yes Andrea did choose to publish your comment - kudos to her for that - perhaps this didn't strike a chord of sensitivity with her in the same way it did with the reader, but for you to respond so egregiously in your follow up comment suggests that you yourself were not willing to consider another view or extend a word empathy to the feelings or suggestions of another mom who has some personal experience as well. A different approach in your follow up could have affirmed a much kinder and supportive message and left someone else's feelings in tact.
      Charlotte,NC

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  10. What a great day! Videos are also on my "to make" list - I adore getting out the VHS videos of my brothers and me as a kid and want to make sure my kiddos have the same fun! We just got back from a trip to NYC so an iMovie is in the works!

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  11. That picture of her holding on to the carasoul, priceless! Something my little would do.

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  12. Love the pics. G holding on for dear life. Bless her heart.

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  13. I loved everything about this. Yay for fun days with the entire family! I am not going to lie though - I am extremely jealous of your weather. It is so so so cold here...okay only 28 with a high of 43 today but still. It is too cold to go to the zoo. ha. I am moving to Texas. :)

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  14. So fun - ahhhh Miss Independent - don't you love that stage (or not)!!! What a sweet day!

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  15. Loved the photos with the giraffes! I wish our zoo had a giraffe area like that. Those moments will be cherished forever.

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  16. Videos are such great memories to look back on & to hear their voices. Every year we watch Chridtmas videos from Christmas morning past of my nephews when they were little. So adorable!! Glad you had a good day at the zoo!! Love Love GG's outfit!! 💞Denise

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  17. That picture of G hanging on to the carousel for dear life is hilarious! I about died when I saw that on Instagram this morning!

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  18. It looks like you had a great day with your sweet family! XOXO

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  19. I need that grey swing top and pom pom beanie in my life! Such cute pictures of your kiddos, especially the ones with Griffin and Dave :) Going to check out that book now, we need more Valentine's Books!

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