Aloha Safari Zoo

The Aloha Safari Zoo is a FANTASTIC place.  In my opinion its a better trip than the zoo. If you've seen the movie, We Bought a Zoo, then you will understand Aloha Safari Zoo.  The people that work there are so friendly and make you feel like you are part of the family. We went last year and loved it, so it was a must for this year as well. We even invited Aunt Kay! So happy she could come with us.

I wasn't sure how Liam would handle the animals, because some of them you can get up close and personal with. The first animal was a snake, he had no problem touching that thing. The horses he was unsure about, and the goats and pigs he LOVED! He could have stayed there all day.  He got to feed them and was calling them over yelling "goat....pig." 

The zoo has a ride that you can take around the property to see more animals. We got on the wrong side and it wasn't as good as last year. Noted! We will remember next year. Every family got a loaf of bread that you threw at the animals as we drove by.  Liam enjoyed that part! 

After the safari ride we fed carrots and lettuce to Stretch the Giraffe. Liam was unsure of this thing. Which I get...he's pretty tall! 

After feeding Stretch we had a picnic lunch and walked around the property. This zoo is so small that they don't offer any food and only have porta potties.  But even the porta potty was worth it. . . we love this place! 

The bear put on a show for us. He was swimming, throwing toys, and climbing. Here he is standing up tall throwing a hose in the air. 

See you next year! 

Family Vacation Ocean City

This month we went to Ocean City, Maryland for our family vacation. Greg and I have been two times before, but this was Liam's first experience. We arrived on his birthday and stayed for a whole week.

 Birthday boy!!

A week is a long time. Especially with a 2 year old.  He was a champ though. I thought for sure he would sleep in our bed every night, wrong. He was so tired that at night he crashed.

We went with three other families, two of them being our cousins.  We had 8 adults and 7 children. It was a sight to see us walking to the beach as a whole group. Probably even more fun to watch the moms herd all 7 kids while the dads played a few games of basketball. Don't worry - dads got a night out and so did the moms.  We even snuck away for a night of just the three of us!

It was so nice to see Liam interacting with his cousins.  These are like his 5th or 6th cousins...but to us they are just cousins! :) Liam especially got along with Devin.  It was so sweet to see these two interact.

We went out to eat once with the whole crew, had daily ice cream, swam, built some sand castles, skipped some naps, and had lots of juice. To Liam - it was pretty much heaven.

Liam wasn't a huge fan of the ocean water so we didn't push him too much.  He got his feet once a handful of times.  We did go to a water park one day and he loved the Lazy River and wave pool. That was a fun day!

One of my favorite parts of vacation is the zero responsibility. We made sure Liam was fed, but thats pretty much it.  It was so relaxing to be away from the dishes, laundry, and everyday to do lists. 

We took advantage of many family naps and daily ice creams. There was a park right across the street from us, so that was great for the kids at the end of the night.

It's a yearly tradition to go on vacation with the Avery and Puccia family.  This year we added in the Redmonds. It was a crazy, fun, and eventful week! We can't wait until the next time!

August Happenings

I take an absurd amount of pictures on my cell phone. It's such a bad habit, but way easier than carrying my heavy duty camera around. So to help keep me organized I'm going to do a picture walk at the end of every month. Anything major will get it's own post.

Came home to my boys after a fun weekend in Nashville with friends!

Liam was covered in kisses while Grandma was in town!

We did an art project with a planter for outside.

Had dinner with some neighbors

Went to the Durham Bulls game with Grandma

Had tons of playdates - Liam with his buddy Caleb!

Said bye to Grandma after a fun 2 weeks with her!

Enjoyed a breakfast out with his mama!

Went to Build a Bear for the first time.

Played on the new playground in the neighborhood.  We are so lucky this is such a short walk from home.

Discovered a love for picnics in the living room.

Got really comfortable with his bike.

Enjoyed the new sectional for our bonus room.

Enjoyed the great outdoors!

Next month we start school.  Luckily, I still get to spend every day with my boy! Hopefully with my free time from preschool...I can finally get a handle on the 1000s of pictures we have.