Boo at the Zoo Birthday

Boo at the Zoo 2011
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Our family tradition is to spend Nadia’s birthday at Boo at the Zoo and it’s always so much fun. This year is Amelie’s first Halloween and she really got excited about wearing her costume. Just like last year we were a big hit this year since we were all in costume. The big surprise to me was how excited the little girls were to see me as Strawberry Shortcake. I was asked to pose for photos with little girls and I really played it up, “Oh hello. I left my garden for the day to come to the zoo, but I brought one of my strawberries with me.” The little ones ate it up which was adorable!!

Boo at the Zoo 2011Boo at the Zoo 2011

Amelie enjoying the toddler area.

Boo at the Zoo 2011

Dancing with Amelie during the stage show. Nadia prefers to watch rather than participate in big group things like this.

Boo at the Zoo 2011

This was the most fun part of the day. I saw the boy as Boba Fett and told Nadia, “It’s Boba Fett, get him.” She immediately pretended to force choke him. So he ran to the wagon and grabbed his blaster to point it at her and then Nadia flicked out her lightsaber. It was SO FUNNY!

Boo at the Zoo 2011

Boo at the Zoo 2011

Boo at the Zoo 2011

Boo at the Zoo 2011

Boo at the Zoo 2011

After a nap and some rest we told Nadia that she could choose a place for dinner and she told us she wanted a burger or queso. So after naming some places we ended up at Fuddrucker’s. YUM! (She is so tired here, but still managed to finish off her cookie)

Boo at the Zoo 2011

Tahni and Joseph visit

Nadia knew that Tahni and Joseph were coming to visit and as it got closer she would say, “When is the FUN going to get here? or How long until the FUN?” She was so excited that we decided to let her stay up late and wait for them and their friends Cody and Andrew to arrive.

T & J visit 2011
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Look how happy Nadia is that Uncle Joseph sat right down to play with her.

This visit was different that most since Tahni and Joseph were going to a wedding in College Station, Tahni was doing a photo shoot and then they were coming back to town. So they stayed with us on Thursday night and Sunday night. On Sunday Tahni spent time with us while Joseph and the other guys went to the Cowboys game with party passes. When they got back Tahni and Joseph gave Nadia her birthday present. OH MY! They gave her 3 of the Imaginext Batman villains and she was so excited.

T & J visit 2011

T & J visit 2011

This photo makes me smile because Tahni looks caught off guard by Nadia’s excitement.

T & J visit 2011

We let Nadia stay up and play a while longer and the next morning she was wide awake just WAITING for Joseph to come down the stairs and play with the Batcave.

T & J visit 2011

This photo is great because the adults are playing with the Batcave, coffee cups abound, Andrew is on the couch with Amelie (she got him to read her many books) and Nadia is prepping the Batmobile for some adventure on the ottoman.

T & J visit 2011

T & J visit 2011

Then Joseph and Nadia had a lightsaber battle. (Joseph is wearing Mike’s jedi robe)

T & J visit 2011

T & J visit 2011

Then it was time for them to head back to the airport. I am trying really hard in this photo not to cry since they live so far away now.

We love you Tahni and Joseph and enjoyed meeting Cody and Andrew!

Homeschool Day at the Zoo

Homeschool day at the zoo
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The Fort Worth Zoo has homeschool day every fall and this was our first year to attend. The main thing I have to say here is how WONDERFUL it was to not have my little girls competing for space with all the school groups. No offense teachers, I have gone as a chaperone in past years with my KIDS HOPE kids and it’s wild. 🙂 For this day it was basically a bunch of moms and their kids, but they also had special keeper chats and craft areas.

Nadia told me her favorite part of the day was seeing the chimpanzee baby holding on to its mommy. I tried to get a photo, but it was iffy through the glass.

Homeschool day at the zoo

What Amelie has tried very hard to tell as a “story” was our adventure with the elephants. Several of them were fairly close to the fence and I was getting the girls in position to take a photo as the elephant was throwing sand up on itself. Then a huge gust of wind came up and everyone standing there had sand in their face. The girls were wildly grabbing at me and trying to wipe their eyes and I was trying to clean my own eyes. Other people around us were just as startled. So Amelie will say, “ephant, eyes, sand, ow” and I know exactly what she is trying to remind me of.

Homeschool day at the zoo

Homeschool day at the zoo

Homeschool day at the zoo

2011 Pumpkins

2011 Pumpkins

One of my favorite things about fall are the pumpkins. I like to look at them and eat all sorts of delicious pumpkin foods and drinks. Seriously, I love pumpkin food. I make my own pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin smoothie (still looking for a perfect one) and the list goes on. I told Nadia we were going to paint our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch this year and she thought that would be awesome. It was Amelie’s first chance to paint and she was really excited. The little ones in the photo are from Boo at the Zoo.

2011 Pumpkins 2011 Pumpkins

2011 Pumpkins