Then and Nows

Look at what a year can do?

THEN 2010

NOW 2011

THEN 2010, petting the deer

NOW 2011, no fear

THEN 2010

NOW 2011

And lastly my favorite comparisons, prarier dogs

2010

2011

York Zoo 2011 and other weekend things

Is it just me, or is making family memories, like.. the BEST thing, in the entire world.

I mean, seeing joy on my son's face, when he is fasinated, or surprised, or proud, or learning something new,
this is what this momma breathes for.

My goal in life. My purpose, to bring joy to my children, to make sure they know they are love, and safe and supported no matter what. But until He grows up on me, right now in this stage, I.LOVE.ME.SOME.MEMORIES...


Today we took our SECOND annual trip to the zoo, not just any zoo, AN ANIMAL KINGDOM!!
you may remember last years trip

This year we went about a month later.
BUT THANK GOODNESS WE DID, or We would have missed this!!

not just monkies, which yes, are my favorite animal  EVER!

BUT BABY monkies, arent they just so. so.so. cute??

Austin also rode his first horse, ever! No fear, just eagerness. He was silently taking it all in.

There were, of course ducks. Which if you remember, he LOVES!

My second favorite animal today, were these guys, which by the way, I knew the name of, before we found the sign.. thank you very much!

CAPYBARAs, the worlds largest rodent.
looks like a giant hamster, eh?

But, by far, Austin's favorite animal, no matter what zoo we go to, are the DEER. But the cool thing about York is, you get to go in with them, walk with them, pet them, feed them. so he really loved it!

see his little hands at the bottom?

Other sights we saw

And last but not least, we let Austin pick a souvanier, he chose the pressed pennies, one with a Elephant, and one with a monkey ( thats my boy)

HE got to help daddy crank the dial too.

We had a great trip, a great time just us three, and came home to play in the yard, soaking up what's left of nice sunny afternoons, where you dont need flannel to survive ( not that Im complaining, I LOVE AUTUMN!!)

trying to get  ready for Tee ball, hes not that bad!

but of course, 'pooh' comes with him everywhere he goes

Abby!!

Other things we did this weekend included:

french toast for breakfast

taking a 7am walk ( brrr)

painting for the first time

not daddys first time, but he did have lots of fun

really concentrated

artwork, that is going on our artwork wall ( I just invented that)

And ALL day Friday I spent making, home made ( I might add, yes pat pat) Joaquins 3rd Birthday cake.

It came out nicvely, but boy was I tired after all was said and done. I hope he likes it.
heres a preveiw.

Of course, we have a very specical party tomorrow, and Austin is super excited to give Keke his gift, because Austin got to pick it out, even the card, alll by himself. He is very proud.

So, goodnight, sweet dreams, and happy memory making.

Happy Labor Day

Have you ever taken an 400 mile impromtu vacation?

Well, if not, you really must try it.

In true 'Keith' tradition, on the spur of the moment, we decided to take a trip down to Jersy to see family.
It took less than an hour for me to pack the car, and by 1am we were snug at the in laws..

I keep telling myself, how much I like things to be planned, but this sort of spontanious behavior has its beauty..

We woke up on Saturday day morning and took a trip to the Zoo.

there were bears

and oh so many deer

not sure who loved it more

panthers

jaguar

DADDY lions

even auntie ashleys

I never regret these trips..

I did regret not packing extra batteries, because on Sunday night, we headed over to PA, where all four of Keiths siblings got to be together, laugh, drink, and be extra super merry.

no pictures, on my camera, but I assure you.. They exist, and they are a riot.

Four siblings, all with such different personalities, is so cool to be around, and they make me feel like a part of the family and a part of the fun.

And what's better - they all LOVE our son..

And he loves them all too..

We had a great time, I only wish we lived closer. Because as soon as we pulled in austin said
" I wanna see Ashley, again "

And with September here, and labor day offically over, we now get to dust off the fall decor, clean our house, and prepare for the best season!!

Tomorrow, my house will be transformed..

And with the new seasons, come new goals.

While we are very happy, and love our family and lives, there is always room for improvement.

With a weekly family night, and dinners at the table, routine bedtimes, and date nights, we are leaning in and enjoying our trip through parenting, where our amazing son, Austin, teaches us something new each, and every day!

Austin's first trip to the Zoo

Today we trucked on down to York, about a two hour drive from our home, where there is a big animal kingdom. 

York Wild Animal Kingdom welcomed us!

We started out with monkeys, and ducks, and saw soo many wild animals..

just hanging around

Doesn't his face look painted on? thats what we thought anyways!

ape eating 

elephant rides, which we opted to wait another year for

Austin loved the elehpant, with his fearlessness for rides, he probably would have enjoyed it, but we chose to hold off another year..

more monkeys

Then it was on down to the what seemed like thosands of ducks, ducks, ducks..

and this would probally be Austin's favorite part, without a doubt.. They weren't wild, but He loved them!

He showed no fear, and instead of throwing the food, he chose to feed it to them by their mouths...

daddy showing him how to feed them

Joaquin and Austin feeding the ducks

Then it was on to the lions, tigers, and bears, etc... 

" you gotta hold my hand"

Cousin Cole basking in the sun!

parrots

Mr. Tiger roaming around his cage

and next door to Mr Tiger...

Mr. White Tiger

Then there was a petting zoo with goats that Austin also enjoyed petting, AND feeding..

again, no fear.. 

Austin kept pointing to the baby goats

One of my favorite parts was the deer.. You walked through and could pet and feed actual deer,

weird because we hunt, but they were differnt, and so cute! 

Austin enjoyed them immensely!

Austin got to pet a DEER!! 

Cole and Joaquin

some ostrich type bird.. lol

aligators

zebras ( backs sides)

Then it was on to lunch.. picnic style.. 

We went back in to see what was left.. butterflies, prairie dogs, and gift shop!

Then if was home we went...

and believe me everyone was sleeping.. ( except Keith, he was driving)

He was asleep before we hit the highway!!

Auntie followed suit not long after!!

Mr. Tiger had the same idea I guess...

Then we just had some fun for the rest.. 

Me and my SISTER

attempting to show off my sunburn, and  windblown hair ( if you didn't notice!)

grandpa, and grammie speeding off into the sunset, like Bonnie and Clyde

We had a really fun time, bathes, dinner and daddy is out coyote hunting with a friend from work, I am snuggled up with a rum and coke, and Austin is sleeping away dreaming of ALLL the fun he had..

Such a good time!!

I love today, I love my family, and my life!!!