Water Fun at the Zoo July 2011

It's nice to have kiddos that can take pictures, maybe you might see a few more of us together.

Heat index in Memphis was 111 on this day. Fortunately the zoo had misters, and large fans with hoses attached for cooling off. We fared well between these and the air conditioned areas. And as you can see the kids enjoyed them:)

They also have a fountain for the kids to play in. I prepared ahead of time by packing extra clothes. I wanted to get in myself! We stayed for at least a hour.

Brenden and Tayler liked to stand on the jets and make the water shoot every which way.

Joshua just loved running through them.

Tayler aslo thought gymnastics were a good idea ;)

Making a whirl pool with the water draining.

Zoo Animals Trip July 2011

Meet Bees Tayler and Joshua

Handsome Bean

Nap Time

Up close with the sleeping Panda Ya Ya.

Peek A Boo

You still watching me?

Hmm let me check it out. You got me something to eat?

Here is a close up for you. :)

Flamingo

Hanging Out

This one would go full this ball from a fountain.

Then sit down and drink from the ball several times.

So pretty!

Boy its hot out!

Maybe a mud bath will cool me off.

Toothy.

Pie caught this little lizard walking through the park.

Trapped

Well unfortunately this little rascal the kids have named Rikki has taken quite a few of our birds. So it was time for a new home! We bought a trap at Tractor Supply baited it with dog food and here you are... Trapped!

Close Up
I was surprised that though frightened this coon was never aggressive.

And here is Rikki being released at his new home Hugh White State Park.

Lowes Build and Grow Tow Truck

Lowes is one of our favorite family stops among many. During a recent visit Brenden noticed a sign for Tow Trucks at their Build and Grow Clinics coming up soon.
So we made a family outing out of it. I was so glad that Josh was able to come and help. As you can see I didn't take pictures during the project. The instructor told us that it the most difficult so far.

The kids were each given an apron, safety goggles, a project, and a patch(each one can be sewn on after each completed project) to keep. Lowes provides these for free!

http://lowesbuildandgrow.com/
This is the link for those of you interested. Clinics are held every other week. We plan to attend more in the future!

Gods Beauty

Happy Birthday Swing

Unfinished
This is my birthday present from my Mom and Dad.
After a week of internet searching I called this company.
http://myworld.ebay.com/la_cypress_swings
I was told that orders were behind. I decided to continue searching. After searching hi and lo over the internet and in person at last I made a decision. Calling this same company back I had a wonderful conversation with the nicest lady. I told her that I was willing to wait in order to get the quality it appeared their swings had. She advised me that the wait would be close to a 3 weeks wait. I made my order and received this beautiful swing a little over 1 week later! It does not disappoint and is everything I wanted!

These Crepe Myrtle branches that hung over the porch. Each time we swung back the swing knocked blossoms off.

The kids love it as you can tell. Luckily we all fit right now, though the way they are growing we may have to get a swing for each end of the porch.

Finished
This is my quiet spot for a good book, magazine and a cup off coffee. My favorite is during the rain. I simply love it!

June Extras

These were taken in our friends The Cummin's Yard.

Bluebird House

Bluebird Eggs

Tayler with two porch toads.

After quite a bit of rain these mushrooms formed a half circle in our yard. Joshua wanted to pick them all before I cut grass.