So long.. so long ago.

I am now so far behind I don’t know where to begin! Some unexpected opportunities cropped up toward the end of October that ate up a lot of time, we traveled to Indiana for the winter holidays, and now after being settled back in for a few weeks, here we are.. Beginning February with activities going back as far as September that still haven’t been accounted for! The good news is, our Fall and Winter were full of really fun things that I am so happy to relive for the sake of memorializing them on the blog. My hope of all hopes is to be caught up to the very day I am writing on, and there’s only one way to get there..

If you can remember what September felt like.. go there now..

Another sweltering day.. a Saturday. The best day of the week because it is OPEN! Daddy is home and the troops are ready for anything.

On this particular Saturday we headed out to the zoo! We decided to get a zoo membership during our time here and are so glad we did! We get information on what’s happening at the zoo and will more than make up for the cost of it with all the fun visits during the year.

Our first visit began with a personal tour of the zoo, thanks to the kind folks who didn’t show up to join us! The guides were so nice and really patient with the kids.

Aed was scarred (and scared, for that matter) by an unexpected elephant trumpet, and now refuses to go to see the elephants! Kind of funny, kind of sad, my guess is a little time will heal that wound.

We sat down for some relief from the heat to eat lunch and I snapped some pictures of our sweaty little men.

This is Aed’s ‘cheese’ face. Ha!

And Asher’s..

So cute.

Our day was rounded out by a visit to the awesome playground in the zoo. The boys LOVED it and it was about as intricate as spinal surgery to get them off of it when it was time to go.

We headed back to the zoo a few weeks later when we found out that.. drumroll please…

BUDDY THE DINOSAUR was going to be there!!!! Dinosaur Train became a favorite show while we were at Nena and Papaw’s house, and has continued to be a reason for much excitement. I was excited when I saw who was coming to the zoo, and I’m not even a committed fan! :)

Aed was beside himself with glee. We did a scavenger hunt through the zoo and got to see a few areas we had missed before, including the petting zoo.

It was a hit.

Aed earned a special poster with Buddy on it (which is hanging right above his bed!) as well as membership into the nature trackers club (or something like that..).

After the scavenger hunt it was time to wait our turn to see beloved Buddy. Aed was so very patient. I was really impressed. We couldn’t even see Buddy for how long the line was, but he just kept hanging in there making up games and feeding imaginary Buddy some goldfish while we waited.

He was given stickers at the stops for the scavenger hunt and kept asking for me to put them on his back. I couldn’t figure out why, and then it occurred to me that we call his nametag at church a sticker, and put it on his back! Naturally! Ha! I still laugh when I see this picture.

As a side note, we learned recently that Asher thinks that stickers belong on the bathroom door. We gave him one and he immediately went over and proudly stuck it to the door! I realized that he thinks that's where stickers belong because that's where we used to have Aed's potty chart. So funny! We are doing a stellar job teaching our kids about stickers. :)

Once he could see Buddy he got ants in his pants. He couldn’t believe it was him! This was the position he assumed once we were very close, so as not to miss anything..

And we made it!

I love this picture because they are holding hands, but Ian’s head is cut off. Aed ran right up to him and gave him a hug. It was so precious! We were a little nervous he’d be afraid, but I think he was too excited to think about it. :)

Here’s one where Ian’s head is not cut off..

And, the grand finale.. As we were walking out of the zoo, Aed got to ride the Dinosaur Train!

It took us forever to convince him it was time to go, and it was a great ending to a great morning of fun. It’s amazing how special something can be because it matters to someone you love!