During the last week of school, Katie had awards and field day at school. Her ballet recital was the following Saturday, while my sister, Sandy, and her husband were in town visiting. We were blessed to spend every day with them as they stayed with my parents. Unfortunately, they left the day after Memorial Day.
Wade and Sandy with our parents - The photo with Katie holding something, it is actually a very well beaten orange. Wade and Sandy played catch with the kids using one of their oranges that they brought on along their trip. This orange didn't make it. The kids were loving it because this mama doesn't allow fruit being throwing around. A lot of giggles went on this day.
Wade and Sandy played the same tick on Colton as they did on me around this age. When Wade and Sandy first got married, I was about 5 years old. They lived across the street from our house at the time and I loved bugging them. I remember one day, I would follow Wade around as he was mowing the grass. I thought it was harmless enough. Didn't understand the danger too much. Wade and Sandy finally told me that if I made a really big nest out of the fresh grass blades; place a potato in the nest and sat on it for a very long time that a monkey would hatch out of it. I LOVED monkeys and I think they knew that at the time. I did it! I waited and waited for a very long time, it seemed like to me. I was disappointed when I couldn't hatch the monkey.
This time with Colton, they told him there were monkeys in the trees and if he would be still and cover his eyes with his hands, the monkeys would come down out of the trees. Needless to say, this trick didn't last very long. The kids got a kick out of it though.
Memorial Day, we all met up at mom and dad's house for a cookout. Tim and Susan supplied the meat, pork. Everyone else brought the sides. Doug and I brought the corn hole game for the entertainment.
Here is our cheer section - their not too excited. LOL!
It's been 4 years since I've seen Sandy and Wade. I hope our little family will find a way to make it to their house one day. Hopefully, it won't be 4 more years before we can see each other again.
DINOSAURS ARE AT THE ZOO
The Birmingham Zoo currently has a limited time exhibit dedicated to just dinosaurs. All of the life like replicas are animated. This exhibit will be extinct after July 21st. The cost is separate from regular zoo admission and is well worth it, if you have a dinosaur fan in the family like ours.
We made sure to get there a few minutes after the park opened. It just seems like the animals are a little more active and you get to see them eat and interact more.
This peacock was acting out and giving everyone with cameras a perfect opportunity for a good shot. He is so beautiful!
The same pretty guy was walking around. I began making some noise. He instantly began looking around like "what was that crazy noise? Who is that?" It gave me another great shot. Thank you peacock!
One of Katie's favorite birds is the flamingo. I think it's because their pink, but she thinks they are so beautiful. I have to agree. Unfortunately, I believe this flock just got through eating. Katie couldn't believe how awful they smelled. LOL! Trust me, we didn't stick around too long admiring the flamingos like we would have planned.
This pretty bird was in a cage full of young Lorikeets. He was being so good and minding his manners, while all these lunatic Lorikeets were going crazy. The most important part I forgot to tell you was it was a cage that we could go inside and actually try to hold and feed the birds. At first, I thought it was a good idea. I think too many people came in behind us to experience the same thing. The young Lorikeets began to fight and as I'm taking a photo of one of the birds, another bird came flying past me, nearly knocking my camera out of my hands. Katie and I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Young Lorikeet - They are so pretty, but watch out!
This anaconda was being still and motionless, while Colton and Katie were trying to figure out where his head was at. When I pointed it out to them, Colton was right by his head. Katie saw it instantly when I pointed it out. Colton it took a little while for him to figure out where the head was exactly. I thought he would jump because the snake was looking straight at him as if, "yes, lunch is here." Yuck! To my surprise, Colton just smiled and looked at me. I would hate to find this guy in my back yard. Gives me cold chills!
Katie playing the bongos in the African Safari area. They have a nice playground for the kids to play and cool off.
We waited a while to see the baby orangutan. The mommy was holding him and hiding her eyes with this small tire. Right when we were moving to the next exhibit, I noticed the baby moving around. I yelled for the kids to come back and see. I'm so glad they got to see him.
Here is my little monkey
Finally, we get to see the dinosaurs. Colton and Katie asked us all the way through the park "when are we going to see the dinosaurs?" I'm glad we chose to explore the Dino Discovery last.
Watch out for the water spitting dinosaurs! It actually felt good after a hot day.
Colton gets hit by the spitting dino. Daddy laughs in the background.
It's a picture moment at the entrance to the Paleontology center. The center is a room that shows fossils, tools that Paleontologist use in order to find dinosaur bones. It was pretty interesting.
Watch out Colton! Dinosaur is going to get you.
Katie and Colton on a dino dig. They get to find a few dinosaur bones. What is it with kids and sand? It's like a magnet for my children.
WOW!!! Colton has waited the whole exhibit to finally meet his most favorite dinosaur in the whole world. The Tyrannosaurus Rex or T-Rex! This event was like candy sprinkles on top of a bowl full of ice cream. It was great that the dinosaurs moved and made their noises. It was awesome! Colton wishes we could go back to "Jurassic Park" as he calls it. If you're interested in visiting this exhibit, don't waste too much time because it's gone after July 21st.
