i follow waterlemon on instagram…and you should too!
when they posted they were having a halloween bash earlier in october…i was game! it sounded like so much fun! they have the most beautiful play area and it was going to be filled with crafty fun, cupcake decorating, and more! what a great event for the kiddos!
this was the night ellie told me NO to her monarch butterfly costume. i was so bummed! i had purchased two matching costumes for the girls and they both agreed that they wanted to be monarch butterflies specifically but ellie threw a wrench in that idea! no matter…they both ended up looking so cute in their gear.
the weather was terrible…the sky opened up and it would not stop raining. no. actually it would not stop pouring buckets of water from the sky. hc pulled up to the shop and i quickly dragged both girls out of the car, one by one, to the safety of the awning by the door. we walked inside and we were immediately greeted by nina!
she is just a ball of energy! i love her enthusiasm, kindness, and love for what she does. we hugged as it was the first time we were meeting in person after all the emails and text exchanges we have had!
olive and ellie got right into it. we first took photos and then the girls were super excited to get crafty. they both looooooove to paint, so painting the {what olive calls it} ‘haunted’ house was so much fun for them! once they finished up the house, they were super excited to hit up the play area. olive was a bit bummed that the slides and upper play house area was closed off but nevertheless, my positive girl said it didn’t matter and that she had so much fun anyways!
two funny things happened and they happened with the two same boys who were dressed up as doctors to each of my girls. so, olive saw the grocery store area and lit up. she took a few minutes and rearranged allllllll the products on the shelves {hellooooo, just like mama}, and became excited at the prospect of selling food items to anyone in need. olive stood at the counter and in a slightly loud voice, says, “who needs to buy?”. naturally i decided to play along and said, “i’ll take a banana and…” while she handed me a shopping basket and i was picking out my items, olive went to grab the register scanner. before her little fingers could reach the scanner, the two boys ran over and snatched it out of her reach. oh em gee. LOL what i love so much about my girl is that she is so sweet! her eyes bugged out and she looked at me with the biggest smile and said, “uh oh!”. i started laughing and we both laughed that she no longer had a scanner. oh my girl…she spent so many minutes organizing the store and then ended up not being able to play along without the scanner. no matter. she moved onto something else and continued to have fun!
while i was watching olive, ellie caught the corner of my eye. she was surrounded by the two boys who were examining her. ahhhhhahaha! it was so funny to watch. there was ellie, standing there just staring at the two boys dressed as doctors. they decided to check on ellie to make sure she was ok. they check her heart with the stethoscope and used the grocery store scanner to make sure her arms and head were ok. all the while, ellie just stood there a bit amused and confused on what these two boys were doing to her. oh kids! they are so funny! always fun and entertaining.
after they were in the play area for a bit, we decided to call it quits and head out to dinner as their bedtime is the main reason we do everything so early now! hahaha! we gathered them together and in the process, we were lucky enough to snatch yummy cupcakes to go. i gave nina a hug goodbye and thanked her for hosting an amazing halloween party for the kids! it was so much fun – so unique and festive and perfect.
[these babes…so adorable]
[the most amazing halloween decor everrrrrr]
[learning to work together and painting a ‘haunted’ house]
oh hello! we thought it was a great idea to go to the pumpkin farm the other weekend….uhhhh, that was a crazy decision. only one million people decided to go too and it was a hot mess.
first, it took us 25 minutes to travel one mile to get to the entrance of this farm. once we parked, it was another half mile walk just to get back to the entrance! oh em geeeeeee. thank goodness the girls were in great spirits and it was super nice and sunny out! the weather was perfect and it was in the mid 60’s!
we trekked our way through the dirt and dust…man, that stuff kicked our shoe’s behinds. our shoes were so filthy! once we arrived, it was a madhouse to enter but hc found the shortest line and we were inside in a jiffy.
we walked in and it was craaaaazzyyyyyy. so. many. people. we hit up the fun house first…which was super creepy but the girls enjoyed it. we settled on the idea of food {we were so hungry!} and oh my goodness…that was an event in itself. hc stood in the longest line ever to order, then once he ordered, he had to stand in another line to pick up the food. wtf. the most ridiculous process ever.
we ate our mediocre food and promised the girls we would do whatever they wanted and boy, we did. it was like great america {although i haven’t been there since i was 9, so i’ve been told what the experience is like}. we waited and waited and waited in line for all sorts of rides. the girls didn’t mind and we didn’t either. hc and i knew what we were getting into the moment it took us forever to initially get into this place.
after being there for several hours and doing all of five things, the temps were dropping and we were ready to go. the girls were satisfied with all the rides they were on and so were we.
would we go again next year? probably…maybe to a different farm but regardless of the crowds, wait, and nuttiness of the place, we had a wonderful time with our girls and their smiles and laughter was so worth every cringe-y moment endured. LOL
we commenced the halloween classroom treat making on a whim. i wasn’t planning to have olive assemble her treats when we did but it just happened. as an amateur photographer, the lighting was definitely not right. it was too late in the evening and it had become dark outside, so with the artificial lighting…the pics turned out grainy, yellow, and not typical of the product i like to produce.
anyhoo, now that i have prepped my not so ‘great’ pics posted, we had soooooooo much fun making her classroom treats! i always rummage through the plethora of extra crap i have downstairs in my craft bins and will find something we can use to make fun gifts for the kiddos.
i did the calligraphy and olive drew the hearts on each glassine bag. olive also colored each sticker and placed one on the outside of all the bags. olive filled each sack with stickers, tattoos, vampire teeth, a lollipop, and a spider ring. we then sealed each bag with halloween washi tape and voila!
halloween treat bags for her friends at school!
i know i am extra. and i love it. i’ve been this way since i was born. i recall creating bags for our local trick or treaters in our neighborhood. i would collect all my goodies at our nearby jewel grocery store and asemble bags to give away. yes, not much has changed. LOL
do you like to create fun halloween treats or you more of the ‘here’s a handful of candy, bye’?!
[helping mama put together her class treats]
[stickers olive colored in]
[my creative girl drawing a heart on each bag]
[showing off her bags]
[how cute are they turning out?!]
[she’s so sweet]
[tattoos]
[placing a colored sticker on each bag for her friends]
well, if you go apple picking, ya gotta make apple pie, right?!
every year, after we pick apples, hc and i collaborate and make apple pies! i usually peel and slice the apples while hc makes the pie crust.
i love that olive is at an age where she can really help. we really do have fun together! she’s so cooperative, neat, and listens well to directions {unlike my little nugget ellie}.
we started with peeling 10-12 medium to small apples. i like to slice them more on the thin side as they cook well and it is easier to eat. i measured and olive threw in flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, brown sugar, and mixed it all up.
hc had whipped together the pie crust and refrigerated it for a bit before rolling it out to fit the pie pans. i filled the pans full of apples and hc then threw another pie crust layer on top of it and trimmed it. i rolled the remaining dough to cut out some stars to decorate the top of the crust with and then i brushed the top with some beaten egg, sprinkled on some sugar, and into the oven the pies went!
almost an hour later, we had our finished pies!!! we couldn’t wait to eat them! they turned out lovely and they were baked to perfection. hc preferred his served a la mode while i liked my pie plain {although i am a huge a la mode gal!}. we both thoroughly enjoyed our hard work! the pies were delicious!
baking apple pies is one of the reasons why i love fall!
my sister, kim, suggested we go to an event called jack’s pumpkin glow on saturday, late evening. she sent us the link and all over the site, it was screaming ‘chicago, chicago’ and i thought, gosh, i don’t want to take the girls to a chicago event so late at night!? right? it’s too close to bedtime…the girls have been in a great routine since school has started and i kept thinking they would be super exhausted with us being out so late, even if it seemed like a really cool display of pumpkins.
well, hc looked closely at the website and he realized it was in the town right next us! they used chicago as a location for national advertising but it was local, to us! ahhhh hahahaha! well, ok then. let’s do this! we figured, even if we were out late past their bedtime, it was so close to home, we would be at our abode in a jiffy. that made much more sense!
we met up with my sister kim and bennett {reagan and terry were caught up at a game later than expected} and walked our way towards the event. okuuuuurrrrr, so the worst part about all that was, it was soooo stinkin’ muddy. like m u d d y. as in your feet sank into the ground and the mud splashed back up onto your leg. ellie started freaking out and wanted hc to hold her but hc refused as her boots were covered, dripping in mud. if he picked her up, she would wrap her legs around him and there goes his clothes. LOL
once we surpassed the corralling entrance, the path around the displays were mud free! hallelujah! then the show began and wow! it was awesome! everything you saw was made out of pumpkins. there were hundreds of carved pumpkins…individually lit and the artwork in the themed areas were stunning! true artists at work. there were so many pumpkins with intricate designs, pumpkins that formed harley motorcycles, snowmen, giant turtles, ladybugs, you name it…they carved it out of pumpkins! we were so amazed!
they had bugs, disney, haunted ships, motorcycles, dinosaurs, sport themes, portraits carved onto the pumpkins…so many cool designs everywhere you turned!
the girls had a blast! they were so amazed by all the artwork and how everything was made out of pumpkins. it was definitely worth it and so much fun for the kiddos! if you are going…i recommend waterproof boots, no strollers, dress warm, and be ready for big crowds. i had my hand attach to the girls at all times! it was dark, as to see the pumpkin glow better, so it was easy to lose track of your kids if they weren’t attach to you with so many people around you!
the day had come for ellie to be in ballet. now, if she likes it, that remains the question. she seems more of the soccer type of gal {or karate type} but that still remains to be determined.
so far so good with her…she’s had three classes and so far, she likes it. although i hear a lot of “ellie, listen” or “ellie, toes out” or “ellie, hands up” from the hallway, over and over. according to her teacher, though, – ‘she’s doing great!’. LOL
well, just to be clear…she started ballet class in september…yes, weeks ago and i am finally posting something about it. ughhhhh…life, right?!
ellie is my crazy emotional, tenacious, stubborn, fiery child. she’ll hit her sister and then hit olive again after i say, ‘don’t do that!!!!’, and then throw something at me. no joooooooke. she’s a riot…literally.
so, i am hoping ballet is something she likes and finds the beauty, calmness, and peace it instills within it’s creative form. praying. haha!
both girls did a great job with their first classes and they said they loved it! mama couldn’t be more proud! ya gotta admit, they are so adorable in their tutus and shoes!
this is olive’s third year in ballet and ellie’s first. i am not sure how long they will be in dance but i am hoping for a bit. honestly, as long as they love it. i think it’s important they are exposed to different activities but as of right now…olive really loves gymnastics, ballet, and swim! i ask her from time to time if she would like to do something else but she always says no. i think, more so, it’s because she doesn’t know any better and i will probably sign her up for different things {soccer? taekwondo?} to truly gauge what she, or ellie, gravitates towards. but until then, ballet it is for them!
so the birthday parties begin…what makes me so excited about this is because i love our school. both the girls started a new school this past year and we couldn’t be happier with the school we chose. the staff is amazing, kind, caring and the parents i have met have been so beyond wonderful!
i was a little bit nervous about that because my experience with olive at her community school was not good. parent after parent i encountered were not friendly, social, or it was overall awkward. there were a handful of moms i met that were wonderful but maybe, it was because we all knew that most of us would go our separate ways and no one made an effort??
i don’t really know, but i do know that we are in this journey together at our new school and the parents have been nothing but great. i am excited for this whole experience for the next 9-10 years and beyond!
so, we went to one of olive’s classmate’s birthday party {her second one so far} and it was a princess theme! the invite stated that the girls could wear their favorite princess dress to the party! oh, how exciting and cute!
olive was so excited to be dress up as belle. she was very specific with her hair…she wanted a half bun updo with cascading curls. yes, girl! i was also excited because the mom, manar, had also told me to bring miss ellie…how fantastic was that?! i knew ellie would have the best time as well! and of course, ellie wanted to be elsa. LOL
we arrived at the house and there was the cutest purple and pink number 5 balloon set up in the front yard. adorbs. we ran into a dad, mike, of another classmate arriving and olive went running to meet up with his daughter. once inside, i spotted the cutest mini tables with colorful mini chairs, covered in sparking tablecloths, princess wands at each seat, and gold crown print pink organza sheers draped down the large window.
outside i spied the largest castle bouncy house, a trampoline, and a cute playset for kids. we all were a bit bummed because it was currently raining but that ended up clearing up midway through the party.
manar had her friends, outside of the school, there who were all so friendly and i was happy to have met a few other school parents as well! i connected with patrick, kiersten, andrew, valerie, elisa, annie, paula, and manar’s hubby elias. it was optional to drop off or stay…i really wanted to get to know manar, at least, so i decided to stay and i am glad i did, as i had the chance to get to know all the other parents there as well!
the girls had a blast. a blast!!! it was soooooo much fun for them! manar outdid herself. she left no stone unturned. from the sparkly table set up, to the castle bouncy house, she had a princess piñata, princess cake, princess utensil holder, fairytale book favors, and last but not least, live princesses! rupunzel and princess sofia were there to entertain the kids! oh em gee. this party was phenomenal…my girls were in awe.
these princesses sang, entertained the girls from beginning to end! there was face painting, balloon animals, candy treats being passed out…the works! olive and ellie were in heaven! they loved this party so much i could not get them to leave!
honestly, though…i was having such a great time with the parents that no one was leaving! hahaha! our day, that day was already packed. the girls had their first ballet lessons, then we cruised on over to the party, and i had also committed to going to a neighbor’s house party that evening too {gahhhh!}! the girls and i ended up staying at the kid’s party until 8-8:30pm?? it had started at 3:30pm too! time just flew by and when it was time to go, i literally had to fight and wrestle my children out of the house. they were clinging to the house for dear life…as if i was the meanest mom ending their hours of fairytale fun. haha!
it was such a great time and i am feeling so blessed to know so many great parents already but feeling very, very grateful that olive has segue into this new chapter in her life and has made so many good friends already! she absolutely loves all the girls in her class and is getting to know the ones in the other k class as well!
[i can’t with this girl olive…]
[how adorable is everyone?!]
[the birthday girl!]
[how sweet are they?]
[the adorable family!]
[oh, even though she’s pouting…i can’t even with that face. so darn cute!]
[iridescent pink tablecloths and princess wands for all the kids]
[olive with princess sofia and rapunzel]
[happy birthday girl!]
[make a wish!]
[yayyyyy!]
[the princesses putting a necklace on the birthday girl]
it was a double whammy! first day of school for both my girls!
it was in three parts…first – it was the meet the teachers and drop off supply day! there was also an ice cream social afterwards!
second was olive’s first day of kindergarten!
third was ellie’s first day of preschool 3!
and here we goooooooooo!
the whole week leading up to the first day of school was crazy. the girls were starting a new school, the communication from the school was so much more than olive’s previous school {who almost sent nothing in terms of that}. we literally were receiving multiple emails a day…so it was a lot to keep up with. they wanted you to enroll into their communication system…so that was an hour up set up and another hour of navigation to get acclimated. so, that was something i wasn’t used to! they needed school supplies, new clothes, new shoes, new backpacks, lunch box, thermos, food for lunches, complete school forms, sign up for hot lunch, sign up for milk, buy school uniforms {i have never returned and exchanged so much in my life to find the right fit for olive}, buy spirit wear, we needed to sign up for a class to volunteer at school, meet the teachers and drop off supplies, ice cream social, mass, coffee chat, and on and on and on. phew!
so, the first major event was meeting the teachers, checking out the classrooms, and dropping off supplies. i was hoping hc could come with me that day but he couldn’t. he had an important work event and could not make it. i spent the morning running around, getting errands done, and then we gathered up all our stuff to head out. i had to haul two huge bags of supplies with me, paperwork i needed to drop off, my camera {i never leave the house without it!} and of course, my two baby girls!
we arrived later than what i wanted but no matter. the girls helped me with bringing in the supplies. i could not fit two paper towel rolls into my bags and it was perfect because it was really all they could carry! so that worked out! we walked inside and met ellie’s teacher first. she was super sweet and we navigated around a little bit but i wanted to drop off olive’s supplies just to relieve my shoulders from the weight of it.
so, we moseyed on over to olive’s classroom {next door} and met her teacher. we explored the room, found her desk, put away her supplies, and chatted with her teacher for a bit. we then found her cubby and the girls played around the classroom before we headed back over to ellie’s classroom to spend some more time with her teacher and have her get familiar with her surroundings.
after 30 minutes or so, we decided to walk over to the school office to drop off more paperwork. i chatted with the school’s secretary and the marketing director for awhile before we skipped on over to the ice cream social over by the church. thank goodness it had stopped raining because they pulled the ice cream truck back up and mr. goodhumor was handing out ice cream bars again outside! so novel!
the girls were super excited and immediately honed in on the sponge bob ice cream bar! of course! they were so delighted and thoroughly enjoyed eating it. oh boy, it was easy for them but so hard for me! ellie kept screaming because since it was humid and warm out, her ice cream bar kept melting and dripping on her hand and she freeeeeeaked out each time! oh em gee. i had to wrap a paper towel around the stick but that still didn’t stop it. she was melting down as quickly as the ice cream bar was melting down. LOL
the ice cream social wasn’t so social for me and i tended to my needy kids and didn’t get to socialize with anyone! negate the purpose. ha! once they were done with their ice cream, i was like see ya! i wanted to gooooo! ellie had ice cream all over her shorts, shirt, and shoes. i had ice cream all over my hands and on my pants, and their lips and hands were stained. oh what fun! off to our abode we went to clean up!
scroll down for more of our eventful days to come!
[a little back to school fun]
[my sweet girls testing out their backpacks]
[i love them]
* I C E C R E A M S O C I A L ~ S C H O O L S U P P L Y D R O P O F F *
[checking out her new classroom]
[such a ham]
[my silly girls. olive’s cubby]
[her desk]
[ellie checking out her new classroom]
[her cubby]
[she loooooooves phones]
[she’s so sweet and sassy]
[the girls were so excited over their sponge bob ice cream!]
[i was like pose…and they do this…]
[excited for her ice cream bar]
[oh, eating this was a struggle!]
* O L I V E’ S F I R S T D A Y O F K I N D E R G A R T E N *
oh the anticipation of olive’s first day!
i was so excited! we woke up super early and got the girls ready to go. hc dropped ellie off at my dads as ellie’s first day wasn’t until the next day. olive had breakfast and then i got her ready in her oh so cute uniform! i know it’s novel right now but olive really loves wearing a uniform! thank goodness!
after hc dropped ellie off, he drove from my dad’s to the school as he had to go to work right afterwards. i was scrambling. i was still grabbing everything for olive’s first day and i still needed to snap a few pictures of her! oh i was running out of time! we finally jumped in the car and we hit so much traffic! i have taken that route so many times before at the exact same time and i have never had such a traffic jam! i called hc and he was struggling with it as well {he took a different route than me but it was bumper to bumper on some roads for him too and it’s all local!}.
i finally got there with plenty of time to spare. olive and i walked to the classroom as hc thought he wasn’t going to make it at all {before the bell}, which bummed me out! you could tell how full of excitement this day was. if was full of energy, pride, love, smiles, and tenuous emotions. olive does school like a boss. from preschool to kindergarten, she’s never had any trepidation. there was so excitement in the air when we arrived, it was almost tangible. there were kids sporting their new backpacks, proud parents escorting their children, and lots of knowing glances and smiles were exchanged as we passed by one another. we walked in {it was bustling!} and i navigated her to her cubby to put away her backpack, lunch box, and thermos.
afterwards, we made our way to her desk and met her new friend madison. while i was chatting with madison’s mom, hc came swooping in! he made it!!! we were so excited to see him! soon they rang the bell and the parents scrambled to wish their kids a great first day at school and gave last minute hugs. i hugged olive soooo hard and then it hit me. i wasn’t expecting to be emotional because olive and i have never cried over school the past two years but it hit me hard. i burst into tears. a new school, new friends, a full day of learning…it was all so overwhelming for ME! i did my best to buck up and walk out there like champ, albeit crying. i couldn’t believe my baby is in kindergarten and growing up! so many big girl things happening, my heart couldn’t take it!
[back to school breakfast]
[school lunches]
[picking up olive from her first day of school]
[they’re like maaaaaa, stop with the pictures]
[walking hand in hand with her sister, like a boss and so happy]
* E L L I E’ S F I R S T D A Y O F P R E S C H O O L *
it was really nice olive had her first day of school and then the next day, ellie had her first day of preschool. for me, since it was a new school, it was great we could have both girls experience their first days separately. i felt that they were huge milestones and it was nice to do it that way.
we got the babes up and ready and i made sure i gave myself enough time to snap some pics of miss ellie, as i scrambled with olive. we hit the road and excitedly walked our way to school. we dropped olive off first {she was like, ‘bye, see ya’ and ran off} and we then walked ellie over to her preschool class. we waited outside with all the happy parents and anxious kiddos, then the door then opened up and we all filed inside. we found ellie’s cubby, put her backpack away and then found her laminated name on the table and put it inside the basket to account for her attendance.
the teacher asked us to play table games with the kids and then after 10 minutes of that, we were asked to leave. here we go! i turned around and hc is already out the door, leaving me with ellie. i told her i was leaving and she started saying, “no, no. no kiki. hug meeee! hug meeee!”, so i picked her up. i walked her over to the rug area where her teacher had started playing music and was dancing to distract the kids. i coaxed ellie into dancing but that wasn’t working. she started to cry and there were 4 or 5 other kids crying as well. just then, the principle came in to visit the class. miss debbie, the teacher, yelled out to the principle to lock or watch the door. as i put ellie down and started running towards the door, a kid was literally running next to me trying to escape. the principle caught him and then grabbed another kid headed for the exit while i snuck out the door, leaving the teacher to dance and rally the kids, many kids screaming and crying and the principle trying to catch kids from running out the door. it was hilarious! a total circus.
it took ellie 3 days of school to finally not cry when i left her. now she is a champ and looooooves it!
well that sums up their first days of school. i would say success! i can’t believe my girls are getting so big and experiencing these big milestones. gah! i am so proud and excited for their growth and learning this year!
[first day of pre-school]
[she’s a doll]
[she’s like f you ma. making me take all these pics]
it was a beautiful day out, we had nothing planned but i’m always about taking advantage of a lovely day!
i am always the one game for plans in the city. the hubs…not so much. he does love the city but he doesn’t love it as much as i do. when we got married, i insisted that we lived in chicago first {as i knew we would eventually make the transition to the ‘burbs}, when we were looking to buy, i was steadfast about staying in the city {but caved because life wasn’t about me anymore…it was about our family}, and so the only thing i can hold onto, anymore, is whenever we have a chance to do something on our own terms, i love being in the city!
yes, a majority of my friends are still in the city {so we tend to go there when we commit to plans} but how can you not take advantage of such a great city so close by?? hc did a great job looking up some fun, kid friendly events to go to and we stumbled upon retro on roscoe and it peaked our interest. it was super kid friendly event. they had a large section of the fest filled with kiddie games and a whole area filled with bouncy houses! a kid’s dream come true!
we parked super close {score!} and once inside the festival…we grabbed a beer and started exploring. once we neared the kiddie section, we were done for. the girls. did. not. want. to. leave. hc and i were famished and needed to grab something to eat but olive and ellie almost had a meltdown that we were leaving the bouncy area! oh em gee. like mama needed to eat or she was going to pass out!
i promised olive and ellie that we would return once we finished eating something but that was so unconvincing to her. the entire time we were trying to enjoy our super greasy festival food, olive kept on nagging us on when we were going to go back. i almost lost it and told her we wouldn’t go back if she asked us one. more. time. and i mean it!
on top of that, ellie woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning {funny…she can only get out one side, as the other side is the wall. LOL}. baby girl was so mooooooody and slightly mean and very stubborn. gahhhh! she pretty much cried and whined from the moment we arrived and almost the whole time we were there. the only time she didn’t was when we were in the bouncy house area. plus, she insisted that we carry her the whole way around the festival. uh, scuse me baby girl…i see two capable chubby legs of yours that can walk. we don’t need to hold you for the two hours we were there. yeahhhhh, she didn’t like that answer and proceeded to whine and cry if we didn’t pick her up. ughhhhhh!
despite the kids whining, crying, pouting, and lack of joy in parts of our adventure, it really was a good afternoon. hahahha! i know you don’t believe me but truly, hc and i had fun hanging out together, we really enjoyed our time there, together as a family, and we were happy we experienced the festival and we did something fun and different!
[this one was in a MOOD that afternoon and not a good one. eep!]
[cutest necklace by little blue olive + hooray everyday]
[loving her hair style]
[jumpy houses]
[there were so many jumpy houses, the girls had to try them alllllll]
[just us parents standing around while our kids explored]
[right after her meltdown…sweet face ]
[ellie refused to take a picture….thennnnn….]
[ellie was, again, like no…i don’t want to take a picture]
when you buy membership to somewhere…you use it when you can!
we love having a family membership to the brookfield zoo! there are year round activities to do and the kids just plain love it. my favorite time to go is when it’s about 70 ish degrees. i do not like walking around when it’s so darn hot outside and that temperature is the perfect zoo day kind of weather.
it was an impromptu move to go. we didn’t have anything planned and my sister was off of work that day, so we thought…why not go to the zoo? it was a beautiful day out and, of course, the girls would love it.
it was a pinch to get there and parking was easy. we started exploring and decided to go to tropic world first {of course, not without seeing all the animals along the way!}. the monkeys were front and center and very active and fun to watch. we stayed there for awhile, as we had front row views of the cute creatures doing their thing…like nursing, scratching, and hanging around. LOL
when you go anywhere with little kids, it typically takes foooooooooreverrrrrrr to get to one place to the next. we love going to the zoo but we can never ever make it very far! every time we’ve gone, we’ve had intentions of seeing their lego exhibit and that’s been a failure each time. hahaha!
so, we were there for a couple hours and only made it though a corner of the zoo! gah! we spend a gazillion minutes at tropic world, a gazillion minutes at the play area, a gazillion minutes getting their face painted, then it was time to go home. bahahhaha!
speaking of face painting, the girls wanted to get their face done {ohmergawd…it costs a fortune at the zoo. like seriously…so much moolah and it washes off the face in two seconds}. this was ellie’s first time ever getting her face painted! what a moment! she has always resisted in fear before this. so, i was so excited she was game on! of course she chose the most colorful and detailed design. LOL she was so stinking cute while she was getting her face painted! proof in pictures below!
we had so much fun at the zoo. our on the fly decision of going was a great one! it was a perfect day, we spent the right amount of time there, and had so much fun the rest of the day {we did dinner at shake shack, shopped at the mall, and hit up target on our way home! yay!}.
cheers to having fun sisters who make amazing aunties! built in besties and PIC!
[look at miss extra olive]
[i love her]
[children and water…always a fascination]
[literally monkey see, monkey do with these two!
[she wanted this monkey sooooooo bad]
[getting her face painted for the first time ever! she was so cute scrunching her eyes shut]
