Thank You AAA

Chris was busy building a deck for our house. I decided to take the kids to the zoo to keep them away from the task. This is the first time I had ventured to the zoo alone.
Ty's favorite animal was the reindeer.

The train crossing in front of us was exciting! Of course, Ty wanted to drive the train.

The polar bear exhibit was packed. However, they came right in front of us and started playing with their toys!

Maddie thought they were going to get her...I can't wait for this stage to pass!

Ty loved it! He laughed and laughed!

lunch time

Fluffy

Double Trouble trying to get closer to the tigers.

Maddie and Ty were perfect! They were patient while I held one up at a time to see all the animals. They rode in their stroller with no problems. It was the best zoo trip ever until.....we got to the car and I had a flat tire!!

Luckily, we have AAA and they rescued me. I stayed calm, and we made the most of our wait. Maddie and Ty had a picnic in the back of the car which was a first and I just rolled with the punches! The AAA man was a little scary (tattoos and skull shoes) but very nice. We eventually made it home!

Pet Store

Today Tiffanee, Braxton, and Braxton's grandma invited us on a free field trip to the pet store. Somehow this women who I think works at the pet store just wasn't on the clock when we were there got all the animals out for us to pet. It started with the kitten but somehow turned into snakes, etc!

Braxton petting the snake.

Ty's turn

Maddie even petted the snake which is really funny because she thinks everything is going to get her...the mailman, the combine, a truck, etc.

Then she got out the baby alligators which eventually get 8 ft long!

Ty liked petting the alligator too.

Maddie not afraid of the alligator either.

examining the fish

Ty thanking BB for going on the field trip with us! How sweet!

Tea Party

To celebrate Ma's birthday (which was in May) we took her to a tea party. As a surprise, Aunt Candy joined us.

Maddie was pumped about the tea party.....no boys allowed! Ty had to stay with Uncle Jason.

Maddie and Ma were the only ones who drank tea!

Maddie ate all the icing off her cupcake and then wanted another one!

Maddie tried on all the fancy hats. Which one is your favorite?

Maddie even had Ma try some on.

We decided we liked the yellow one best for Maddie. It matched her outfit perfectly!

Ronald McDonald Story Hour

Thursday morning we picked up Tiffanee and Brax and headed to the library. We had to grab this week's prizes from the Summer Reading Program and then we stayed for Ronald McDonald story hour.
Maddie and Ty sitting in the same chair in the auditorium. Even together they didn't weigh enough to keep the chair down! They didn't sit together for very long.

Melissa and her daughter, Lauren, went too.

Wilmington Weekend

On the trip from Zanesville to Wilmington, I had the privilege to answer all Maddie's farming questions. I mentioned that Pa's combine had broken down. She quickly replied, "Ma will have to fix it." I guess she has already learned that Ma can fix anything! However, she found the Mayer's repair man in the field fixing the combine. Unfortunately, we saw him again the next morning too!

Since Pa's combine was broken down, Maddie and I rode with Rob, a neighbor. Thanks Rob!

Ty rode in the tractor with Pa. The next day, Maddie, Ty, and I rode with Pa in his combine while he harvested wheat. Ty even got to drive the combine.

Maddie and Ma feeding the fish.

Ty and Ma feeding the fish....don't fall in!

I guess Maddie and her cousins needed watered too!

Tracey and I took the kids to the outlets to do some quick shopping. At the end, we all played on the BIG toy. Ty prefers to go down the slide on his belly.

Maddie going down the slide too.

I took a quick pic of the twins while waiting on Logan and Carson to come down so we could go to the barns.

Ty getting ready to play video games in his future.

Maddie thought the remote was interesting too.

on the way to the barn

Ty was in heaven because he got to drive the fork lift.

Maddie drove for a short time. She wasn't as impressed as Ty.

This is how the ride back to the house looked like!

Friday we spent the day swimming. Carson and Logan had swim lessons and then we stayed to swim until nap time.

After nap time, we stopped by the Conley's to see their 4H hogs and then went back to the pool.

Maddie with the most important pool items....goggles and sun block. We even had pizza delivered to the pool for dinner. We left before 8, but Logan and Carson were not too happy that the twins tired out and needed to go home! Logan is an outstanding swimmer thanks to two weeks of swim lessons. Carson can jump off the diving board all by himself!

At some point during our four day visit (Chris was at UC for basketball camp) Ma got out the pans of rice for all the kids to play with.

Ty enjoyed the activity, but didn't do a very good job of keeping the rice in the pan. Ma and Pa might have a rice field next spring!