Good times at the wedding!

Ella, Mima & I went to a wedding of a family friend, Brian & his bride, Brittney. We had a great time & got teary-eyed as he was a preschooler when we moved in across the street so many years ago. We were so happy to see him so happy! We also got some good family pics of Ella with me, Mima Dee & snuggled up to Brian pretty good!! Our hopeless romantic was beside herself with all of the love & beauty around us. Congrats you guys!! :)

Post #3 of our Trip to the Zoo

Got a little ahead of myself & post #4 may come before #3! Oops!

Wow! What a day! So here goes post #3!...& I'm sure that I will finish on the 4th!!

So, we rode the train lots since we had bracelets we could ride anytime. Ella loved that. Ella loved it even more when the conductor had to wait on another train & Ella was so sweet to him that he asked if she would like to ring the bell & take a pic. I don't know who answered yes first since I was so excited about a new experience (& photo opp!!). She loved it & was all smiles!

Off to the Children's Zoo where she proceeded to try to hug every animal there. She kept me on my toes as I'm not such a fan of hugging...animals at the zoo that is!! 1st up, the goats where she hugged one along with brushing ALL of them before we moved on. But hey, it was her day so I was game. Then we moved inside & she pet bunnies & hugged guinea pigs which of course I ran over & stopped as I snapped a pic of her petting it & saw hugging going on through my camera lens! She checked out all kinds of animals & was very impressed with the small owl she got to pet & was very brave (& camera-ready) while touching a snake!

Next up...keeping cool! And...this will be the 4th & final post of the zoo trip!

Post #4 of our Trip to the Zoo

Wow!! 4th post! This one is pretty simple! Ella stayed cool by playing in the fountains in the Children's Zoo. I changed her clothes in the parking lot as she was not sitting in that outfit for 4 hours on the way home!!

Also, took the pic at the "I'm as BIG as a..." sign again. I think last time I did that she was at the river otter & now she is growing towards a pygmy goat. Let's hope we aren't gone so long that next time she is the size of a llama!! Haha!

Another downfall of going to the Zoo alone is no one to take our picture...so we just did it ourselves & I thought we did pretty well for one try! :)

If you haven't gotten to the STL Zoo this summer, get there. It is a lot of fun!! :)

Post #2 of our Trip to the Zoo

So post #1 couldn't contain all of the fun we had...& I think #2 won't be able to either!! :)

We continued our day at the Sea Lion show which is our favorite! We love all of the sea lions especially one special one named Robbie. We adopted Sea Lions 2 years in a row & with our adoption we were able to spend some time one-on-one with the trainer & one of the sea lions. Ella met Angela (trainer) & Robbie the sea lion 2 years ago & has always had a special place in her heart for both of them. A nice surprise for us was that Robbie was in the show & Ella caught Angela after the show. Ella told Angela about how she decided to be an animal trainer when she grows up after her time with her & Robbie. It was super-sweet! Then Angela told us all about the cool changes going on for the sea lions at the zoo in the coming years. If you haven't been to the sea lion show...get there...It is awesome!

Then on to the Merry-go-Round. We both rode (Ella a sea lion...me..a zebra) and had fun especially me being a kid again!

Next stop...Penguin house which was extra nice on this day because it was actually very cold on such a hot day. I surprisingly didn't take many pics because usually Matt has her up on his shoulders most of the time so instead she was on my hip to see meaning my hands weren't free to capture it on film. Oh well, got one of her on the statue outside. :) Always fun in the penguin house!

Next stop...Children's Zoo...coming soon!

Post #1 of our Awesome Day at the Zoo!

Ella & I decided to go to the Zoo & have an awesome day where we go where she wants to & checks everything out. Who knows...this is most likely our last trip to our beloved Zoo for awhile...long while. So we wanted to do it right! We got there about 8:30, bought bracelets (to get in everywhere) & started off. We started with the Stingrays & for the first time, we arrived during "snack time"! So Ella took her dollar & bought a snack. As you can tell by the look on her face...it was pretty gross! We forgot we were feeding stingrays! She was brave & tried & thought it was pretty cool. Always one of our favorite spots during season. If you haven't been...go! It is very cool!

Then one of our many rides on the train that day!..many, many rides on the train!

Even though we were at the Butterfly House a few days prior...it was Ella's day & she wanted to go to the butterflies at the Zoo too! So we did. Not as many butterflies but got some cool interaction as you can see in the pic. She again..took lots of pics there as she did at all of the spots. The pic of her taking a pic is at the elephants. She took lots there. We will be doing her blog probably tomorrow with all of her great shots (no kidding...really good pics for a 5 year old!)

The pic of her with the waterfall was her cooling off. Did I mention that there was an index of over 100 on our Zoo Day? Ugh it was hot but we found ways to cool off. She spent most of the day soaked...along with the penguin house...but that is later....

Our trip to The Butterfly House

We took a trip to St. Louis to visit Aunt Amanda & Papa. First stop was The Butterfly House since a certain someone adores all that entails butterflies. We learned lots about butterflies & saw more of them than I have ever seen in my life!! It was beautiful! Ella had her little camera & was busy taking lots of pictures...just like Mommy (I'm limiting myself on here...I have A LOT!). Also gave lots of hugs to Papa & Amanda...and Mommy too. Unfortunately our pic together didn't turn out like I'd like. The family went inside the building as it was VERY humid in the butterfly area but we were taking it all in & realized we wanted a picture together in such a beautiful place. So I asked a nice lady to take our picture. As I was handing my camera over, I scrapped Ella's leg on a bench & she was crying like crazy. So after many tears & a very patient stranger, we got our picture. What a beautiful place!! If you haven't been...GO!
Then we went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant & it was quite the experience as it was Ella's first time. When the cook made fire...Ella went under the table (which of course the other people at the big table thought was hillarious). She liked his other tricks - you know the ones she wasn't worried about losing her eyebrows to!! It was a great day...and we even got to take home a doggy box with leftovers & had delicious ice cream/custard later. Really great day!!

A little late...Daddy Day Smilebox

This free scrapbook design customized with Smilebox

We made this for Matt for Daddy Day & couldn't figure out how to get it on here but I finally did. Enjoy!

Happy 12th Anniversary!

This greeting card personalized with Smilebox

A visit with a friend & Ella roller skates!!!

Well, it is official! I have a roller skating buddy!! Anyone who knew me as a kid knows that I LOVED roller skating. Then I kind of outgrew it. Now it is ok to go back to it with Ella!! (Same goes with Barbies!)
We met Ella's friend Addie from preschool at the skating ring. It just happens that her mom grew up in the area & Addie & her sister were staying with their grandparents for the week. We were very excited to see her & had a great time. Ella was very nervous at first but eventually moved from holding my hand & the wall (for dear life) to just my hand & eventually wasn't so wobbly all over the place. The video was taken early in the session. She had a few falls, one which got her bootie pretty good & she was ready to call it a day with the skates & just finish the visit in the play area with the slides & bounce houses. I didn't blame her. Even I was wobbly - hey - it's been many years...probably since Danielle was her age!!
I'm just so excited to go again with my little buddy!!

It seemed like a good idea!

We decided to go to the movies & watch Toy Story 3 which was AMAZING! I felt it was the perfect end to the trilogy about our beloved toy friends. I am not ashamed to say that I cried...yes, I cried watching a children's movie about toys but it was great! It really had a lot of heart & I will be purchasing it as soon as it is released on DVD!
Back to the good idea...We decided to go on Bumper Boats. Greyson, Danielle, Ella & I went with Mom being the photographer. Little did I know that Ella & I would be ambushed!! We were soaked to the point that I had no idea where I was steering us (because of so much water in my eyes) & Ella wasn't doing her job of shooting them with water! We were just spinning around blind getting soaked. So enjoy the before & after pics! Greyson & Danielle went on to ride the extreme go-carts called the LumberJack that are on wooden tracks going way up in the air. Ella couldn't handle the noise with her new tubes so we went in the little-less-loud arcade to play. We returned to the house still soaked (Ella & I-that is - because Danielle & Greyson dried off in the heat). Good times!!!

4th of July Fun!

Since we were planning on going to CofO anyway, Missy & Bob invited us to their house for the weekend of the 4th. We had a great weekend of family & relaxation. The view was incredible...the lake during the day & fireworks from Chateau at night. What a great time & a great way to say goodbye to the Smithers. Thanks for your hospitality!!

Our Visit to College of the Ozarks

Time flies & I am in disbelief that we took a college visit for...Danielle!!! She is now a Junior in high school & the time has come to start looking into colleges. I decided I wanted to take her to CofO since it is where me, Matt, Blake, Donna, Missy & Bob all went and is an amazing place. It was still just as beautiful & it was awesome to share it with her. Hope we are visiting Danielle- the college student there in the future! Did I mention that Ella just had to tell the tour guide "Did you know that that is my Daddy?" while pointing at the picture in the admissions building of Matt with Margaret Thatcher. Too cute!