Sleepy Hollow with Cedar Creek Cabins (Sautee Nacoochee, GA)
Spending some time away over Spring Break. Playing “Spot It”!
Look twin bears in our cabin!
Karlie hanging out in the loft.
Easter baskets for the girls.
Ready for another great day in the cabin!
Travel & Vacation: Cute Panda Bears and Wildlife Show at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Panda Bear content to relax and eat bamboo
The panda bears were one of the girls favorite animals to visit at the Atlanta Zoo. I think the big fascination was watching the twin panda cubs. It was a little harder to get a picture of both of them at the same time, but the kids loved watching them eat and play. The Wildlife Show on birds was pretty neat too. Of course the girls went up after the show to ask more questions about the birds. The zoo worker was really great with the kids and patient in answering all the questions. On the way out the girls wanted a picture with the gorilla. It was a great day at the zoo.
You can read more about our adventure at the Atlanta Zoo on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA), Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA), and Travel & Vacation: Orangutan Easter Egg Hunt at Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog posts.
Looking pretty cute!
Look out, showing some teeth this time. Watch out! They may look cute and adorable, but I think it would not be a good idea to pet them with teeth that size.
Someone found an Easter pinata
Loving the bamboo
Peeling the bamboo stick apart, eating some pieces, and putting the other pieces on his belly for later.
Crunchy, but delicious
Good stuff
Panada’s look so cute
Checking things out around the pen
Heading towards some more goodies
Twin panda’s in their cage. One sleeping on the log and the other one eating some bamboo
Relaxing and chewing on some bamboo
Bird Show in the Wildlife Theater at the Atlanta Zoo
Getting all their questions answered
Brina giving Willie B a hug
Karlie and Brina enjoyed the Atlanta Zoo
Karlie all smiles
Travel & Vacation: Orangutan Easter Egg Hunt at Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
He’s eying that cool looking pinata egg with sweet Easter treats inside it!
Another one of the neat events at the Atlanta Zoo was the Easter treats for the animals. We were able to get front row viewing at the Orangutan Easter egg hunt. It was super cute. There was a Mommy with a little one which the girls thought was adorable.
The Easter Eggs were made of jello and placed throughout the pen, pinata eggs full of special treats, leaf baskets with goodies, and cardboard cutouts with peanut like substance on the back for the orangutans to enjoy. They had a lot of fun finding and snacking on their treats. Even the baby found some. They had paper garland hanging up which the orangutans enjoyed moving and playing with as well.
You can read more about our adventure at the Atlanta Zoo on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) and Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog posts.
An edible Easter egg in the tree and one on the rock in the background….waiting to be found!
Swinging out to get the Easter garland
Oh yeah, this eggs mine!
Climbed up on top of the platform for this pinata treat
Enjoying the goodies inside the pinata Easter egg
Holding the cardboard cutout of the bunny rabbit and licking the treat off the back of it
Hanging out near the hammock picking up and eating eggs, delicious!
Look closely, he’s got a green jello egg in his mouth
Momma and baby
Sitting in the shade – Mom and Baby (the baby is not really little, but obviously still under its Mother’s care)
Mom and baby kisses
Licking the goodness off the back of the cardboard Easter egg decoration
Mom and baby looking for some more treats
The baby wasn’t too sure about everything at first so it stuck near its Mom at the beginning of the Easter Egg Hunt
The baby is getting brave. He is climbing the pole to get the Easter basket, with a little Chick, and goodies.
Made it, now to grab it and head back down.
The Mom watched the baby climb, get the treats, and bring them back down. Then she took the items from the baby and ate them herself, ha! The baby did get some treats, but Momma Orangutan got the first dibs!
Rearranging the Easter Garland in their pen.
Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Lioness pacing on her rock
We had a blast seeing all the animals on our recent trip to the Atlanta Zoo. We arrived just as the Zoo opened in the morning and stayed until closing. The kids loved seeing all the animals, the activities, and special events. It was a busy, packed, and fun day together. We walked all over the area of the zoo several times over. The morning was a little cooler, but it was very comfortable by mid-morning (not too cold or hot). You can read more about our adventure on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog post.
The two lionesses were playing and pouncing on each other while we were there. They were so fast we weren’t able to get a non-blurry picture of both of them together. It was neat to watch them playing around instead of just sleeping on their rock.
Better watch out….
Tiger giving himself a bath.
Out for a stroll
The seal was catching the fish they were throwing at them. You can see the fish right in front of him.
Karlie and Brina learning about snakes.
Karlie having fun
Learning more about this little turtle
Curled up and watching people as they go by his cage
Brina fascinated by all the animals
What’s in this one!?
Karlie and Mommy having fun at the Atlanta Zoo
Me and my girls! They are growing up so fast. Thankful for these little adventures together as a family!
Brina was always good a spotting the animals really quickly, not sure how she does it so fast!
The snake was following the heat from Karlie’s hand
Jake and his girls at the Atlanta Zoo
Jake is always so good about explaining and showing the girls different pieces of information about the animals. The snake is acting like it might try to strike Jake’s hand through the glass in this picture, but it never did.
The bear brought this branch with leaves on top of the platform so he could eat it by himself without the other one bothering him.
Fun times!
They loved learning about all the different wildlife.
Love my family! Grateful for the opportunity to hang out at the Atlanta Zoo for the day!
Such a rough life…. They look so cute and cuddly.
This is a “Tanuki” it is very timid and doesn’t come out very often per one of the zoo workers that we asked. We walked by its cage multiple times and never saw it out until almost the end of the day. It gets spooked easy so it is not visible very often.
How does your Mom carry you!? Silly girls – Brina and Karlie
Karlie loves brushing the farm animals. She is currently on her way to brush another one.
Brina talking with the zoo worker about goats and asking questions. He was really nice and pointed out several different types of goats and characteristics of the ones near her.
Brina and Karlie brushing one goat. Lots of TLC for this Mamma goat. They always love the interactive animal adventures.
The giraffe is eying us while the ostrich was too busy eating to give us any attention
Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Our family at the Atlanta Zoo!
We surprised the girls with a long weekend trip to Atlanta, Georgia over Easter weekend. They were very excited to go explore the Atlanta area. We are members of our local zoo so we were able to get into the Atlanta Zoo at a discount which was really nice. The kids love animals, learning more about various ones, interacting, and so much more.
Since it was Easter weekend at the Atlanta Zoo the animals were getting special treats to enjoy for the Holiday. The new Amphibian & Reptile Exhibit also opened the weekend we were there as well. There were a lot of people at the zoo, but it was so big we had plenty of time do see and do almost everything (some things the kids enjoyed it so much we did it again).
Pink Flamingos were hanging out peacefully near the entrance to the zoo
So excited….Karlie and Brina! They have their maps out and are ready to GO!
The birds were sleeping peacefully all together on one branch.
It was a little chilly when we first got there in the shade at opening, but no one was complaining!
Birds of all colors
Brina soaking it all in. She loves animals.
Playing around in the water puddles.
Karlie smiling as she quietly watches the birds and little kids.
Meerkat’s roaming around in their pen.
There is always one Meerkat on watch (or guard) for predators
They gave the Meerkats a pillow case stuffed full of hay, little bugs, and special treats. They were a little timid about it at first, but before long they were all taking turns going into the pillow case and digging out their special treats.
Are you done yet! Hurry up and get your bug so I can get my turn inside the Easter treat sack!!!
They look cute, but serious. Look at those claws on this meerkat! Yikes!
Rhino heading out into the sun after getting some sticky mud on itself to protect it from a sunburn.
This rhino was moving the stick around and chewing on it. Must of had something tasty on it.
They drew flowers, easter eggs, and bunny rabbits with chalk on the rocks in the Zebra’s pen.
The warthogs got hard boiled and colored Easter eggs for their special treat. They both found the first one about the same time.
Someone found the purple Easter egg!
The elephants had Easter eggs that had a jello consistency that they place in baskets made of leaves. This elephant just discovered the basket of leaves and is moving it out of the way so she can eat her jello Easter egg.
Whole lot of elephants! They had a huge pen and sometimes if you couldn’t see them on one side you had to go around to see them in a different section.
Jake and his girls exploring the Atlanta Zoo
Beautiful bird
Brina found Big Bird’s Nest!!! HA!
My two little chickies in the huge nest!
Karlie thought the nest was hilarious!
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Easter Celebrations
It has been a super busy 2012 with all the traveling and activities. I am thankful for the opportunity to spend time with family and friends, but I have been a little behind with my blog updates. Easter week we spent part of our time in Charleston since it was the girls Spring Break and the other part in Greenville. Here are a few highlights from our 2012 Easter Celebrations:
Easter Eggs being dropped by a Hot Air Balloon at Rock Springs. It was fascinating to watch all the eggs falling from the Hot Air Balloon.
We were in Charleston the week of Easter so we went to an Easter story time at the small “village” library in Mount Pleasant. It was a cute little library and the people were super sweet. The girls loved listening to the librarian read Easter stories!
Our neighbors brought over these super cute Easter goodies for the girls when we got back from Charleston. It was a little toy and candy combination which was a huge hit with the girls. It had a bunny rabbit on a bicycle carrying an egg full of jellybeans. Thankful for our neighbors, it was a thoughtful gift. The expressions on Karlie and Brina’s faces in this picture crack me up!
Easter basket goodies! Some fun socks, games, candy, and goodies to celebrate the Holiday.
Trail of Easter Eggs from their bedroom door through the kitchen all the way to the table. The girls were so excited to discover them that morning. You know your kids are getting older when they “ask permission” before picking up and opening the trail of Easter eggs.
Neat craft the girls did in Sunday School. They took a bowl added some dirt, used a twisty tie and sticks to make a cross, a rock, and half an Easter egg. They planted grass seeds in the dirt too. It was a wonderful Easter craft for the kids! Both girls could explain the significance of the cross, tomb (egg), and the rock. The girls loved this activity and I give whoever came up with this idea a double thumbs up!
Karlie on focused on hunting Easter eggs
Brina found a blue egg hidden in the grass
The extra special “car” eggs had a surprise in them…..loose change!
We had fun coloring eggs together as a family on Easter Sunday, here’s one carton full of eggs we did. Thankful for a time to relax and enjoy some time with the family while celebrating the Easter Holiday.
You are loved more than you will ever know….
Song: “Lead Me to the Cross” by Hillsong
This song reminds me of the things that I treasure in life and points me back to where my focus should really be, at the cross. I tend to hold tightly onto things in my life (my husband, children, security when money is in the bank, my time, schedule, etc….) While all those things are good things to spend my time and energy on when they become my focus I am not allowing God to work through my life. If my heart reflects the love of God then all the other “stuff” will fall into place. When I focus on serving Him then I am a better wife, Mom, and steward of my money and time. Sometimes I need a gentle reminder of the top priorities in my life. Thank you Jesus for sacrificing your life on the cross so I can live and reach out to others.
Family Celebrations: Catching Up with Family Over Spring Break
Cousins Riding Together on the John Deere Gator! Fun Times! The girls and I had the opportunity to go visit family over their Spring Break this year. We had a lot of fun spending time with Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and more! It had been a few months since we had been in the Midwest yet I was amazed how much the girls remembered. They LOVED seeing family and spending time on the farm. Each night they would crash from their busy schedule but they would be up early the next morning ready to (as Karlie put it so nicely) “Go explore more of Kansas!”
I am thankful the girls have an opportunity to spend time with my parents and all four Grandpa and Grandma’s on my side of the family. Each one has a special place in my heart and I am thrilled the girls get to have such wonderful memories of them as well. It has been a nice adventure full of old and new memories. It was such a blessing to see so many family members throughout our stay in Kansas!
Here are just some of the exciting activities we participating in during our stay in Kansas (I hope to have some more pictures to show in a few days):
- Riding Horses – Brina and Karlie LOVED Sassy
- Playing with Dogs, Cats and Farm Animals
- Watching them Work the Calves
- Easter Egg Hunts
- Kids 4 Truth Activities
- Spending Time with Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, and Cousins
- Playing with family and friends
- Riding the Gator
- “Hunting” (Brina’s paraphrase) for Corn Cobs for the Horse
- Coloring Easter Eggs
- Crafts
- Seeing Grandpa’s Big “Sprinkler” (Center Pivot)
- Lots of Pheasants
- Seeing a Coyote chase the Pheasants
- Gathering Eggs in Grandpa Verlyn’s Hen House
- Feeding the Turkeys
- Homemade Food (including special Waffles)
- Hot Chocolate
- Helping Grandpa Russell on the Farm
- Shooting Uncle Lee & Uncle Josh with Nerf Guns
- Puzzles
- The Big Hole
- The Pet Cemetery
- Grocery Shopping with Grandma Penny
- Reading Books with Grandpa Russell & Grandma Penny
- Planting Flowers
- Learning More About our Family’s History
- AND SOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!!!
The girls and I had a grand time seeing so many family members and spending time in Kansas. A big thanks to everyone for a super fun trip! It is a Spring Break that the girls will be talking about for years. And yes, they found out that Easter does come to Kansas too! Although we made a lot of wonderful new memories during our trip the girls are ready to see Daddy again. Hopefully he is ready for us!
