Eric had to leave Sunday afternoon to work an out of town Memorial Day job, so we squeezed all of our family fun in on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
We went out to eat with the Hornbacks on Friday night. The kids haven't seen much of each other lately, so they were happy to have a get-together!
Cuties coordinated in their Big Hero 6 shirts
All 4 big kids. No pictures of the babies this time, but they sat next to each other at the table and were all grins at one another!
As good as pictures get with these two! :)
Then on Saturday morning, we packed up and headed to the Dallas Zoo, despite the rainy forecast. The temps were cool, and we figured a little moisture wouldn't hurt us! It was Cole's first trip to the zoo, and he was a trooper (as always!). Here are some pictures from our fun day!
There was a fun dinosaur exhibit there that we weren't expecting!
Ella taking the lead with her map
What a nice way to see the zoo!
Excited for our first stop... Giants of the Savannah
How we do the zoo. :)
Waiting on the giraffes to come out
There are some ostriches way back there.
Stealing a few kisses from this one. He didn't know what to think of everything.
Here they come!
Carter loved looking at and hearing about all the animal bones. His favorite was the big elephant skull
Sleeping hogs
Don't let the smile fool you, this boy is HEAVY! Got my arm work out in lifting him up to see over the crowds a few times. Do love this picture of us, though :)
Carter has really been interested in cheetahs lately, so he loved this part!
So pretty!
Back to the giraffes to see the newest baby who finally came out. This was the one born live on Animal Planet a few weeks back. Ella was very intrigued by this baby giraffe.... then and now, seeing her in person. Fun!
Wish I knew what he was thinking!
The baby followed it's Momma around closely
Cute!
Time for a snack break!
Checking out the elephants
The gorillas really gave us a show, up close and personal! Look at that!
He turned around and watched Carter while he ate his lunch.
And meanwhile, on the other side, these two lazy ones sprawled out totally spread eagle up against the window and took a nap!
Cole must be thinking, what in the world?!
Wow! They're not modest, that's for sure!! Oh my kids thought this was so funny!
It did rain a little while we were there, but we were under the tree canopy on the gorilla trail, so we were fully protected. And by the time we came out, it had stopped. Couldn't have planned it more perfectly if we tried!
Loved the chimps, and especially this baby. So cute!
Watching the penguins waddle around.
Penguin selfie!
Fossil digging at the dino exhibit!
We finished the day with a carousel ride, another first for Cole!
Oh boy, he thought he was so big! Carter rode the cheetah and Cole rode the gorilla.
And Ella chose the zebra.
Love it! (Cole's giving a wave!)
We got home around 2:30 and all took a much needed rest before heading over to our neighbors house for a get-together! We had a taco/nacho bar with margaritas, and the kids (3 families, 8 kids total). No pictures, but it was a fun time for all of us. We have really been blessed with so many wonderful families we've met in our neighborhood, and that they all happen to have sweet kids close to the same age as ours. Really makes raising our kids together perfect!
Sunday we went for brunch with the kids, then took the to Legoland. Carter had been once when he was 2, but it was much more enjoyable now for both of the kids at their ages now. They had a good time, despite the large crowd! And Cole, once again, just exceeded any expectation I had of him hanging in there. He really is a great baby to go out and do with. Perfect little tag-along!
Seeeee?! Always so happy! He makes things so much fun!
Finally in and in line fore the first ride.
The kids and Eric enjoyed shooting the targets in each room.....
....and Cole enjoyed the show. He looked so big sitting next to me riding along! (he wasn't allowed to sit in my lap.... weird?!)
So many cool statues made solely of legos. Not sure what's up with Ella's pout during pictures lately, either?!
They had to build a building on the plate and test it with the earthquake switch.
They had so much fun doing this.....
...and got lots of pointers from engineer Daddy. :)
Carter loved lego Yoda!
...and the Ninjago area
My personal favorite was Miniland. So many cool replicas of neat landmarks in our area. Lots of fun!
Ella got brave and did karaoke. She had to work up the courage, but she did The Itsy Bitsy Spider..... so adorable! There were probably only about 10 people standing around in this area, and she was a little nervous of having people watch her. Even though it was just for fun, we were very proud of her being brave and deciding she could do it!
Sweet face!
Tired! A bed of legos doesn't seem very comfortable to me, but whatever! :)
We got home in time for everyone to rest a little while, and then Eric had to head out of town. Andrew and my Mom came for a visit Sunday evening after Eric left, so there was no shortage of entertainment, even after all that fun! We really packed it all in, and I think we all were so tired and ready for a day of rest on Monday.
