Manila Creek Park

This little pond is our spot. We first heard about it 2 1/2 weeks ago and we have gone 5 times. That's an average of twice per week. It is about 15 minutes from our house. It has swimming and sand. It is free. It is not too crowded.

Zoo Day, Hooray

The Sullivans have annual passes to the Hogle Zoo and they generously invited us to join them and get 2 of our entrance fees waived. The zoo has been undergoing massive renovations. They renovate about 1/3 of the zoo at a time. A huge exhibit with polar bears and sea lions has opened since the last time we went. 

The polar bear was the biggest show-off. He would dive under the water and swim towards the window, then push himself up on the window and dive backwards under the water. He did this continuously as long as there were people in the window. The girls screamed each time he pushed off the window. Claire was a little braver than Sadie and sat right where the bear would push off. 

Obligatory lion's head drinking fountain pictures.

We attended a bird show. The birds flew directly over our heads multiple times. I went into the show thinking I was getting a chance to rest my legs, and I left very impressed. There were a few loud birds (hence, the ear blocking), a few super colorful ones, and a few massive ones. Check out the owl flying below.

The carousel was empty after the show and we took advantage.

Our last few stops included the indoor exhibits with various reptiles, birds, and small monkeys.

By the end of the visit Elise was asking for her bed. And so was I. 

4 More Years

My girl Sadie Lady is 4 years old today. No biggie. She's feeling real cool in this awesome bean bag armchair she got from Nana and Papa. Check out the evolution of Sadie on her birthday since the day of her birth in 2009. I frequently forget just how chubby her cheeks were. Adorable.

 We celebrated Sadie's birthday on Saturday at the Highland splashpad, just like last year. Hosting birthday parties away from your house is the way to go. Sadie requested a Peter Pan princess cake. I asked her if pink frosting would make it "princess" and she said yes. Then the day before the party she said she wanted a Tiana birthday cake from Target. She has looked through Target's cake portfolio multiple times while waiting for a free bakery cookie and she decided it was a good time to change her mind. Too bad.

We invited a bunch of our friends and had a good time hanging out. The splashpad was deserted due to the overcast skies. We pretty much had the whole thing to ourselves. 

Once Sadie saw her cake she forgot all about the Tiana request. (It helped that the Peter Pan figurines were new). She happily blew out her candles and ran to open presents. Sadie got a great variety of gifts that she loves and insists on keeping separate from the rest of the toys right now. She didn't eat any of her cake. Sadie hasn't eaten any cake on her birthday since she turned one. I think we can safely say she follows in her father's footsteps in disliking cake. She did, however, eat the frosting and m&ms off of a couple cupcakes.

With dinner that night we gave Sadie a few more gifts. I guess I should have specified that one of them was from Elise. Daniel's family asked Sadie what Elise got her and she thought about it for a second and said, "She didn't get me anything!" in an annoyed tone of voice.

Elise ran around in this pirate costume from Will & Lauren for a few hours. Sadie may not get to play with this much now that Elise knows about it. 

Kill 'em with Cuteness

At a recent neighborhood party Elise and Quinn enjoyed the dirt a little bit.

Soak Up The Sun

Miscellaneous photos of recent water fun

love that little ponytail

Hambone

I mention this a lot, but Sadie loves to pose for pictures and frequently requests insists that I take photos of her. Here are some of those pictures from the past few weeks

 *If I had photoshop I'd make these pictures into a gif

 For this one she climbed on top of me and demanded a picture