Fall Zoo Trip

I have been so busy lately working on projects and organization around our house (more on that to come!) that I have been neglecting our blog.  We haven't done anything super exciting in the last few weeks anyway--just getting used to the back to school routine.  Last Friday, we decided to take a family trip to the zoo.  We loaded up Ava's wagon, the camera, and some drinks and off we went!  I wanted to use the camera Kevin got me for Christmas last year to try to take some good pictures.  There is SO much to learn about this camera and I know I am only taking advantage of about 5% of what it can do but I am determined to find a class to take or watch some tutorials to get the hang of it.  I think I ended up taking 256 pictures over the 6 hours that we were there.  I was like the animal paparazzi!  I did get some pretty decent ones that I wanted to share.  So here are a lot of pics plus my occasional commentary. :)

Ava had to take a picture with her juice bottle shaped like a pink ape that she obsessed over.  After pink ape ran out of juice, we had to purchase pink T-rex.  Those crafty marketers!

The zoo was all decorated for Zoo Boo.  It was cool to see it during the day and it worked out well because we don't plan on going to Zoo Boo this year.  We went last year and were so disappointed in the event that we said we wouldn't go back.  That was surprising because usually everything the zoo does is great.  

I asked Ava to go stand by one of the mummies so I could take her picture.  She did it willingly but at first didn't look so sure about it...

 I guess she decided the mummy was okay but I noticed she was careful not to get too close.

Having fun riding along in her wagon

Our first stop was Primate Canyon.  We came at a good time because most of the animals, even the snakes, were really active.

 How cute is the gorilla walking around with a back full of hay?!

Next up, the African Veldt, where Ava's favorite animal, the zebra, lives!

Are you scratching your head right now and wondering why I took a picture of a FedEx plane?  I think that Ava's favorite part of the zoo is watching the airplanes.  I remember when she was just barely starting to talk and my mom and I took her to the zoo.  She spent the whole time sitting in her stroller staring at the sky, pointing and saying "plane!" with glee.  She could have cared less about the animals.  To this day, she spends a lot of time looking at the sky.  I'm glad we have a membership to the zoo so that she can go and watch planes! :)  

Da bears!

 So sweet!

Kevin and I talked about how much the timberwolves remind us of our Patton.

Playing in the geyser at Northwest Passage.  

Things were pretty hopping over at the herpetarium.

 Yep, I feel like crawling onto my plate when my food tastes really good too.

The hippos were just hanging out.  I can't wait to see what their new home is going to look like and I'm sure they are ready for it.

I just think this is a really cool picture. 

This penguin stopped to pose for us.

Kevin quickly figured out that the penguins are intrigued by shadows so Ava kept moving around and watching the penguins chase her shadow.  After a while, one popped up to the surface and I swear he glared at her.  He is clearly saying "Little human, you are driving us crazy!  Stop waving your hands around!"

We walked all around the farm and saw the prairie dogs munching on some snacks.

The rooster was very vocal.

And this goat really wanted to be my BFF.  It followed me all around the pen.  It may have had something to do with the fact that I kept scratching its ears.

We ended our zoo trip in Cat Country.  When we walked over to this cat, we noticed that he was looking menacingly at something.  We watching him for a few minutes and he was transfixed and never moved or blinked.

So we followed his gaze and saw that he was staring a hole into....a neighboring cat...

who was staring right back at him.  It was like standing in the middle of the O.K. corral.  You could almost hear the dum, dum, dum music.   

Finally, we went to see the tigers.  We decided we could spend all day just watching them.  They are such beautiful creatures.  I took SO many pictures of them.  Here are my favorites:

I think they enjoyed posing for me.  :)  The weather was beautiful, the zoo wasn't crowded, the animals were active, the food was good--it ended up all coming together for a perfect day.  I am so glad that we live in the city with the #1 zoo in the country!  

The Adventures of Ava and Darcy Dog

Ava's class this year has two stuffed mascots, Katie Koala and Darcy Dog.  Ava got the opportunity to bring Darcy Dog home and have her spend the weekend with us.  Our assignment was to take pictures of the things we did with Darcy and also write about our weekend for Ava to share with her class.  Ava was super excited about this.  She has been saying for the last couple of weeks that she thought it was getting close to her turn to bring Darcy home.  I went to pick her up this past Thursday and there was Darcy in her red bag ready to come spend some time with the Daniel family.  Ava was really looking forward to getting home so that she could introduce Darcy to Kevin.  However, I suggested a quick trip to the grocery store followed by YoLo first.  Ava jumped right on that. 

Darcy came home and met Kevin, Patton, and Allie.  The dogs were not really that impressed.  However, when left unattended, Darcy was always placed up high in case the dogs decided to "play" with her.  It would be just our luck to have to take Darcy back with all her stuffing ripped out and her eyes missing!  

Friday night, we took Ava and Darcy downtown to see Disney on Ice.  Ava and Darcy took a quick nap on the way so they would be well rested for the show. :)  Kevin says this is when Ava and I look most alike.  Ha ha!

We went down there early in the afternoon so we could walk around and enjoy the nice weather.  We had dinner at The Flying Fish and it was delicious.

Then we decided to walk down to the river.

We also wandered around Beale Street for awhile.

Finally, it was time for the show!

We had a great time at Disney on Ice and really enjoyed being downtown.  

Darcy also got to spend some time with Ava's cousins, Leah and Mallory.  My nieces had the same teacher that Ava has now and they got to take care of Darcy when they were in preschool so it was like a little reunion.  

Darcy also got to go to a jewelry party and do several other fun things with us.  She and Ava will go back to school tomorrow to share with the other kids about the fun memories they made.  Then, we will look forward to our visit from Katie Koala!

Happy Birthday, Patton!

Today is our faithful, furry "child" Patton's 7th birthday.  Kevin and I got PatPat right after we got married and he has ruled our household ever since.  He is 100 pounds of pure muscle that thinks he lives in the body of a chihuahua.  Patton is a great snuggler and a constant shadow to myself or Kevin as we move around the house.  To celebrate the occasion, I whipped up what we call "pupcakes" this afternoon for Pat and Allie.  

Yummmmm....pupcakes.

As soon as Ava got home from school, she went to work making a card for Patton.

After dinner, we sang "Happy Birthday" to the birthday boy.

Allie joined in.

Ava helped Allie and Patton get their party hats on.

They were not thrilled about this, but finally--success!

Starting to get really excited about the prospect of pupcakes...

Kevin telling them they have to sit before they can eat...

Watching dogs try to eat peanut butter is hilarious.

Patton and Allie loved their treats and we have leftovers so they can enjoy them for the next couple of days.  

Here is my dog-friendly "Pupcake" recipe, if you are interested.

1 egg

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup honey

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease pan.

2.  Combine egg, peanut butter, oil, vanilla, and honey in a large bowl and blend well.  Stir in carrots and mix throughly.  Sift together the flour and baking soda and fold into the carrot mixture.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.  

3.  Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes.  Let cool.

**I mixed together peanut butter and honey to make a frosting for the pupcakes and then added an all-natural crunchy blueberry treat on top to fancy them up a bit.

Yield:  Approx 10 pupcakes

Guaranteed to be a hit!!!!

First Day of 4K

Today was Ava's first day of 4K at preschool.  It is so hard to believe that this time next year she will be in kindergarten.  We are so excited that this year Ava's teacher also taught our two nieces so we have known her for a while now and she is the best!  At the class orientation a few nights ago, I couldn't wait to come home and tell Ava about all the fun stuff she will be doing this year.  I spent yesterday getting things ready for today.  I began filling out her preschool book.  I found this book at HappiNames and I really like its simplicity.  There are places to write in all the pertinent information and places for pictures.  They have them for each grade level.  

Ava helped me make a first day treat for her teachers.  I found this idea on The Shindig Parties To Go website, http://amandaparkerandfamily.blogspot.com/2011/08/tutorial-teacher-pencil-vase.html, and thought it was adorable!  Ava helped me by handing me the pencils as I hot glued them.  Then I made chocolate covered Oreos to stick into the pencil vase.  The cookies would have looked much better had I had a cookie mold, but the one I ordered from SpinningLeaf did not get here in time.  Oh well, you do what you can.  Her teachers loved their little "happy".

Last night, it was time to start packing lunches again.  It is important to me to try to pack a nutritious lunch for Ava.  I think bento boxes are a great way to do this.  I got this bento kit from Laptop Lunches and we both love it!  It enables the food to be presented in a colorful way and also helps me think outside the box as far as nutrition goes.  Now I admit, this is not the healthiest bento I could have packed.  However, we just got back from vacation and have not yet gone grocery shopping and we don't have much in the way of food at the house right now.  Again, you do what you can. 

I make a point to include a note in Ava's lunch.  That can get monotonous because she can't read much yet but I knew she would be able to read this simple note.

Ava's teachers told us at orientation that the kids would be bringing home flash cards throughout the year to work with at home.  I found this cute little box in the clearance section at Hobby Lobby for $3.  It is the perfect size to keep the flashcards in so this will be Ava's flashcard box.  I do so love a bargain!

It also came with matching dividers so we can have her alphabetize her cards.

Ava woke up really well this morning which is kind of unusual.  Like Kevin and myself, she is not a morning person.  She was really excited about school though and hopped right out of bed.  Kevin is in town right now so we were both able to take her this morning.  Here she is getting ready to go in her classroom.  I found this cute little printable by Sugar Tots Designs at http://www.iheartnaptime.net/2011/08/updated-back-to-school-printables-k-12.html.  Just printed it out and stuck it on card stock and added a pencil for her to hold it.

Time to go in the classroom and start the school day!  Here is Ava with her teachers.

They are wonderful and Ava had a great day!  We figured she would because she loves school but it was still nice to pick her up and see the big smile on her face.  We are looking forward to a great school year!

Ready for Fall!

I'm definitely not one to wish my life away but I am ready for summer to go!  I'm sick of these miserable, steamy, humid days that make me not want to leave the house due to both the weather and its effect on my hair.  :)  These last couple of slightly cooler, maybe my makeup won't melt off my face days have made me even more ready for fall.  Today I decided to go on and be crafty with Halloween in mind.  I took an idea for a pumpkin topiary that I found on Pinterest and put my own spin on it.  

Fall floral around the flowerpot that I painted.

Spiderweb print for the letters.

There are a couple of things I will do differently next time, but not bad for a first attempt.  Of course, I didn't leave it on the porch yet--but when October and cooler temps roll around I'm ready!

The Lost Vacation Photos

So I was uploading pictures from my camera for a post that I will be making in just a moment, when I stumbled upon these pics from our beach trip this past week.  I'm not sure where I was when these were being taken and I assume Kevin took the pictures.  Just wanted everyone to see how silly Ava is on a regular basis:

And everyone says she reminds them of me.  Hmmmm......