Zoo Day

On May 22nd, Leah and I loaded up our troops and headed for a day at the zoo.  We figured that we would go before it got too hot and before school got out for everyone else.  It ended up being such a fun day!  Our kids were all soooooo good and we were able to stay until the zoo closed at 5pm.  We shut the joint down!  No one melted down - even Sadie and Owen, who had missed their naps.  Leah and I were both shocked, amazed, and super impressed.  ;)

Our sweet little monkeys watching the monkeys

 "Wook!  Wook!"  I bet that we heard that a hundred times throughout the day from my O.  I love that he is old enough to notice the animals and get into the experience.  :)

 These three had the same favorite animal - the roly polys!  They spent a good 20 minutes digging in the dirt to find them.  Ha!

 

 I had to get O's picture with this little elephant statue.  I have the same picture of Clayton and Drew.

 Baby Clayton and Baby Drew

 Love this girl!  She is my partner is crime and the best friend I could ever dream of.  

I'm so grateful that I get to do life with her.

 Owen kicked back in the stroller, and I thought that he had fallen asleep.  When I went to take his picture, he flashed a big ole grin.  Playing possum...  ;)

 The birds are always a big hit with our kids.

 A sweet lady had coaxed a bird onto her hand, and she was kind to share him with Clayton.

 We decided to take the kids on a train ride, and they were all pumped.  Unfortunately, we made it about 10 yards before the train broke down on the tracks.  Wah-wah!  :(  We were worried that the kids would be super bummed.  But... they took it like champs and no one complained a bit.  Yay!

 We traded our train tickets for a merry go round ride.  This guy was happy as a clam!

 One last stop at the flamingos (Mags had been asking about them - she was so patient to wait til the last 10 minutes of the day) then we left just as they were shutting the zoo down.

We had such a fun day with the Hunt chicas!  It made me so excited for all of the adventures that this summer holds.  Bring it on!  :)

Drew's Last Day of Preschool for 2013

Drew's last day of preschool for the year was on May 16th.  Since Clayton's last day was the 13th, we were excited for Drew's last day to be our official start of summer.  :)

I can't believe how much he has changed!  Precious boy...

After our little before school photo shoot, he asked me to take "just one more picture."  He did this crazy pose.  Ninja?  Hot dog dance?  Cheer?  Who knows...  ;)

They had a popsicle party on the playground to celebrate the last day.

Then we went back inside for the moment that all of the Mamas had been waiting for...  Me Books!  We get a bound book of all of their handprint art from the year and the scrapbooks that the teachers make.  The scrapbook is called their "Me Book."  They are always tear jerkers and precious keepsakes.  I know that the teachers spend hours and hours on these books, and I appreciate each and every minute.  They are so special to me...

Here are a few of my favorite pages...

 The My Family page may be my very favorite.  "I wish my Daddy worked at Great Wolf Lodge."  "The best thing about my home is we have a Lego table."  Ha!

 Love 3 year old people drawings.  So cute!

 His handwriting has improved and he has grown so much!

 One last bear hug from Ms. Christi and Ms. Shanna.  They loved on each child when they got to the classroom and before they left the classroom.  They sincerely loved them - it was so obvious.  They were the type of teachers that I pray for all of my boys to experience.

My Drew had an extraordinary first school experience.  He went from hiding behind his big brother as Clayton introduced him to kids in his class, to giving chest bumps to each of the boys before we left.  He went from crying uncontrollably when I left on the first day, to walking in totally confident.  It has been so neat to see my shy boy come out of his shell and learn to love school.  On the last week of school, he asked me if he had school the next day.  The following day was a Wednesday, so I told him that he didn't.  He said, "Aw, man.  Preschool. is. epic!"  Ha ha!  I'm so grateful for the preschool staff, and especially his darling teachers, that worked soooo hard to make learning fun and loved on my boy like he was their very own.  What a great year it was for my Drew...