Wilderness Safari

Last weekend we had an amazing time at the wilderness safari! We started off by getting to pet and feed all sorts of animals!

Here is Brookelyn and Sashi. They were making friends with Apple the Lemur.

And here we are petting the most adorable 13 week old tiger cubs!

Brookelyn made friends with a BIG piggie!

And the kids loved petting the kangaroos! I couldn't believe they would just lay there and let the kids pet them. Some even had babies in their pouches!

Here is Brookelyn petting one all by herself!

Honey helped the kids feed Bambi the deer.

Brookelyn was fascinated with a little bunny.

Sashi helped the kids feed some little goats.

After the petting and the feeding came the drive through portion. Of course Allen and Sashi felt the need to give me a heart attack by disobeying the prominently displayed directions of "KEEP YOUR WINDOWS UP AND DOORS SHUT AT ALL TIMES!" They thought it was hilarious to roll down the windows and lure the animals to the car. We had many, many emus look us eye to eye and almost stick their heads in the windows! They also made "friends" with the camels and zebras. I have never heard Brookelyn laugh so hard--but of course she was sitting in the far back of the car away from the windows. She wanted no part of sitting anywhere near where the animals could get to her, but she loved laughing at mommy freak out and yell at Daddy and Sashi!

It was an awesome time, and we have decided to go back at least once a year!

Checked That Box...

On Wednesday night we were headed to Taco Bueno for dinner, when Braedyn declared, "Cheese! Cheese!" Which, really means he wants chicken. (I know, I know. It only makes sense in Braedyn talk.) So, since we are obedient parents, we turned into Chik-fil-A. After dinner, the kids went to go play, so Allen and I could have a few, short moments of peace. However, it wasn't three minutes, and we heard Braedyn crying and a Daddy shot into the playplace to talk to his son. Allen walked into the playplace and found our little guy in bad shape. Translation: the other Daddy was not watching his son as he trampled/pushed Braedyn eye-first into the steps. I thought we were headed straight for the ER, but Allen assured me that the huge purple lump and cut were fine--WOW, Allen has come a LONG way in the last few years, huh?!

Here is B-Man on the way home after it happened. The picture does not do his poor little eye justice at ALL!


After we got home Allen and I promised him everything from candy to Diet Coke out of the can to make him happy. Finally, he stopped crying and seemed better. (I also called my friend in Dallas who is an opthamologist. She said he should be fine. Please, all of you out there who are my friends and happen to be doctors, don't disown me! I am sorry for always calling you with my crazy issues!)


Here is B Man day two right before he went to school:


And, here he is this morning. I had to bribe him with Diet Coke to take this picture--that is why he is smiling with so much emphasis.

So, we have officially checked the "Black-Eye Box." Please, we don't need any repeats!

And, I had to include this shot of my little Sugar-and-Spice-and-Everything-Nice Princess. She would never give her mom an ulcer over a black eye, right?!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Allen! We started the morning by having a great lunch at the Bates' house and going for a swim. Of course the kids didn't want to get out of the pool--I think they have both oficially turned into little fish! Both jumped off the diving board and paddled all around the pool wearing their new water wings. It was GREAT!

Then, after naptime, we took Allen on a surprise trip. Brookelyn blindfolded him and we drove him to Gator Golf in Fayetteville. Here they are right before the first hole. You can see that B-man picked out the pink dolphin lemonade and of course the pink golf ball to match.

The kids had a great time (even though it was SO hot), and Allen even won us a free game by getting a hole in one on the 18th hole! I don't know how he managed to do it with the kids all over the green, but somehow that ball rolled right through Braedyn's legs and into the hole!

Then, the blindfold went back on and we drove him to dinner. We surprised him with Catfish Hole. It was delicious, and we had a great time! Here is Brookelyn with her Daddy.

It was a great day! We love you Allen!

Rain, Rain, DON'T Go Away!

Few things have delighted the kids more than playing in the rain the other evening. We were cleaning up the playroom before bathtime when I looked out the window and saw the downpour. I asked the kids if they wanted to play in the rain, and of course they did. It had been so hot outside all day, that it was perfect.

Here they are smiling quickly before they ran back and started splashing again.

Brookelyn had the idea to lay in the puddles and catch the rain with her tounge.

Of course, Braedyn had to copy her!

They played and played! Braedyn even tried to drink the rain rushing from the gutters! It was a great evening!

Potty Progress

Well, so far so good! Braedyn has been doing so well with his potty training! He now tells us when he needs to go and wakes up most days dry from his naps. I am so proud of him. Our one fatal mistake was letting him go potty outside ONE TIME. Well, that one time has turned into many, many times. In fact, his favorite place to go potty is outside. Honestly, I am just thrilled that I am not changing diapers anymore. Way to go B-Man!

Busy, Busy, BUSY!

We are still trying to settle into our new house, while at the same time keep the kids happy--not an easy feat! So in the midst of painters, carpenters, electrical guys, etc, we have been having some FUN!

While mowing, Daddy found the kids a new friend! We put him in a big box and the kids were entertained for almost an hour! Finally, I put him back in the pond across the street.


Since we no longer have a neighborhood pool, Daddy went to Walmart and bought the kids one. It has been a BLAST! Of course Brookelyn has fallen off backward at least 8 times and has tried to do cannon balls off the slide.


We had a wonderful lunch the other day at Allen and Melinda's house. The kids gave a lot of loving to their uncles!


And yes, in the middle of all this fun, B-Man is potty training. Day 3 and still no accidents. Of course there is A LOT of bribery going on.

On Tuesday night Allen took Brookelyn out for a date after Braedyn went to bed. They went to Braum's and had ice cream. She dressed herself.

It has been a crazy but fun couple of weeks!

Our House: Before and After

This weekend was all about cleaning up our yard. Since no one had lived in the house for so long (and no one had ever owned the home--only rented), the yard was a DISASTER! The rose bushes had taken over everything, and there was layers and layers of leaves in the flower beds.

Of course, Allen wanted to jump right to the power tools. And, yes, I know this is incredibly unsafe. Trust me, I voiced my opinion many times. He wasn't listening.


To give you an idea, here is a before picture of the front, left side of the house:

And, here is an after picture:

Let me just say, I have no idea why whoever built this house decided to put in the prickliest plants ever! My arms are covered in rose bush scratches and holly tree (they are too big to be bushes) pricks! We probably bagged at least 7 huge lawn bags just from that one flower bed.

Then, it was break-time. I brought out popsicles and everyone took a load off to recuperate!

N0 rest for the weary though! We had to work on the left entry-driveway flowerbed next. Here is a before picture of it:

And, here is an after picture. We bagged about 10 huge lawn bags full of leaves, dead plants, and trimmings from this bed. And, yes, I know the driveway needs to be blown off, but we have no gas for the blower yet.


This morning we got up at 6:15 (thanks to our human alarm clocks) and headed outside to work on the last bed in front of the garage. I don't have before and after pictures of it because I was too groggy from going to bed really late and waking up way to early. But, I had to get a shot of the kids, who I bribed with the sprinkler and huge candy canes. Can't you tell they are working hard?

Here is a shot of Braedyn. He insisted he needed goggles for the sprinkler (yes those are tool goggles, but he was happy) and a floaty (no clue why he needed that)!

So here are the "official" before and after shots. Although, I have to say looking at them I am not as impressed as I am in person. Just trust me, we have over 20 huge garbage bags full of stuff in our garage. It is a huge difference!

Before:

After:

Next weekend we have to tackle the weed infested, horrid looking lawn. Wish us luck!

Life in Arkansas

Well, we are still digging out of boxes, but the kids can only take so much. So, today we headed outside for a little bike riding on the driveway. They had a blast!

Here is B-Man on his new bike:

And, my fearless princess was taking hairpin turns around my car on two wheels:

While the kids were riding around we had some visitors. They came waddle-running toward us from the pond across the street. Obviously, they are not scared of the kids. They were right next to us, so close in fact a couple of times Braedyn screamed and grabbed my legs. Check out the video:

Happy Birthday Braedyn!

Our little man is TWO! It is so hard to believe, but Braedyn is no longer a baby--he is a big boy! Here he is right before he blew out his candles. He loved is razorback cake!



Here is a short video of us all singing to him:



Can you tell he loved eating it? I thought he would dig right in with his hands, but he didn't want to get his hands dirty. So, he just leaned in with his face!


Here is a video of him in action:

After the party we gave him his big boy bike. He did just great pushing it along!

Then, the whole gang hit the street for a little whiffle ball!

It was such a great day! Special thanks to Grandma and Grampa for all the help with the party. We have been so swamped with moving that it was great to have you both get everything set for his important day!

HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter to everyone! The Easter Bunny came early to our house--Daddy wrote him a letter, asking him to stop by on Friday because Daddy had to go to Arkansas for his new job. The kids must have been very good, because the Easter Bunny brought them LOTS of presents!

This morning, before the egg hunt at Braedyn's school, I took some pictures of Brookelyn and Braedyn in their Easter outfits!

Stopping to smell the flowers:

B-man showing his pearly whites:

Miss "model" Brookelyn:


Both Bates Babies looking cute (and mischievous):

Braedyn is saying "cheeeeeese":

Brookelyn thinking of her Daddy:

Smiling by the flowers:

Two little angels: