Binder Park Zoo

Ever since the warm weather arrived I have been dying to go to the zoo. Our weekends kept filling up though, so finally I just picked a random date on the calendar and wrote down "Zoo Day". That day came last Sunday, and what a fun day we had!! We had never been to Binder Park Zoo before but had heard good things about it from friends. Plus, it was really easy to get to...and there were Giraffe's that you could feed yourselves there! That alone had me so excited! Brett was really looking forward to the zoo as well, and proclaimed a million times within the 24 hours before we went how "EXCITED" he was. He would randomly come up to me and tell me "I'm just so excited to go to the zoo and can't wait! When are we going!?" He was so cute :-)

As soon as we arrived and walked in to the zoo, the boys had to check out the map. Brett loves maps just like his daddy :-)

Then we were off to explore the park and see all of the animals! 

This little Lemur wanted to come home with us :-)

 

While we were waiting in line to ride the mini train around the zoo, we happened to look up and saw this beautiful Peacock just over head! 

The train ride around the park was definitely one of Brett's favorite parts! 

And the Red Panda was one of MY favorites :-)

After looking at all the animals in "America" it was time to walk to the Tram that would take us to "Africa" where the Giraffe's live!

As soon as we got off, it really WAS at if we were in Africa! Just take a look at these pictures! :-) 

Look at this! Dinosaur bones!!

Feeding the Giraffe's was by far my favorite part! Definitely something I want to do again! Brett, on the other hand, preferred to stay back and just watch from afar :-) 

Yes, we were really that close!

I love how the animals had such large pastures to roam in.

I was so proud of Brett because he walked the whole way without any complaints at all! He's definitely a trooper :-) We were there for over 3 hours, and as we were walking out of the park, Brett looked at us and said "I think I want to stay longer!" I think that sums up his thoughts of the zoo :-) I can't wait to check out the Toledo Zoo next!!

T-Ball!!

We recently signed Brett up for T-ball and he had his first session Wednesday evening! Even though Brett was so excited, we still didn't know how it would go. It usually takes Brett some time to warm up to new situations, so we were prepared for him to just want to watch the first time. But boy did our little guy surprise us!! As soon as we got there he was ready to go and his beautiful smile rarely left his face :-)

The first thing the coach did was split the kids into two groups. Brett's group started out practicing throwing and catching with a baseball mitt. We kept having to remind Brett that he could move when he was trying to catch the ball! He was would stand still with his arm out, waiting for the ball to just fall into his mitt :-) Eventually he got the hang of it though, and was moving his arm toward the ball to catch it. He did great and had so much fun!

After throwing and catching for a little while, it was time for some batting practice! Brett is so stubborn and always wants to do things "my way" as he tells us - so teaching him a new skill can sometimes be a challenge! Thankfully he listened to the coach though :-) 

Brett high fiving Kyle with his bat :-)

After all that fun, it was time time to hit the ball on the field and run the bases!

This big sister was a great help!

And of course, T-ball practice wouldn't be complete without a game of Red Light Green Light at the end :-)

After practice we went to get ice cream, and while licking our spoons I asked Brett what his favorite part of T-ball was... "All of it! I liked all of it, mommy!" Yep, it was a good night :-)

S'more's Anyone?

This past Saturday our friends Cathy and Garry invited some of the neighbors over to make S'mores in their new outdoor fire place. We had such a great time and Brett thoroughly enjoyed our first outdoor fire of the season. He was intrigued yet cautious at the same time and made sure to keep his distance :-) While the rest of us gobbled up our S'more's, Brett decided all he wanted was as many "marsh-a-mellows" as he could eat! 

Hi Leo!

Norah greatly enjoyed her S'more...can you tell (check out her hands!) :-)

Hazel gladly stopped playing to pose for this picture :-) So sweet!

Brett loved playing on Carolyn's new swing set! The clubhouse and slide were his favorite parts.

Leo was the only kid brave enough to roast his own marshmellow. Go Leo!

After watching Leo use a long stick to roast his marshmellow, Brett decided he should eat his with a stick too...but the stick he chose was from a tree :-) A little dirt never hurt anyone, right?

Think Carolyn had enough sugar? Happy girl!!

Kyle and I soaking up the beautiful night!

We had such a great time and hope to have many more of these nights this summer!!

Spring has Sprung!

Tis the Season for...

Catching bugs!

Picking "Sun Flowers" to give Mommy :-)

Playing trains outside on the new picnic table.

Eating Ice Cream for dessert!

And taking family walks/rides to the park :-)

"You can't catch me!"

Yep, spring has finally arrived and we are enjoying it to the fullest!