We Made It To The Zoo!!!

We finally made it to Niabi Zoo this month with the kiddos. This was the boys' first visit to a zoo, and Madison had been asking all summer...and our crazy schedule and the weather finally cooperated!

We had a wonderful day!

The boys loved looking at the animals. That is a sloth up there.

We all went on the train. I couldn't believe how big the boys looked. They are growing up TOOOOOO fast!

I tried to take a selfie of all of us. :)

Madison, Carter, and Me.

Mommy and Madison!

Madison LOVES riding the ponies.

The boys enjoyed watching her and the ponies.

Hungry sheep.

I always think the goats are kinda scary...

The boys were intrigued.

Josh took both Carter and Cooper into the bird area. This picture if of Cooper. Tucker went with M and me to feed the giraffe.

Zebras.

The carousel.

Ice-cream at the end of our day.

It was a long day...but we had to take the expected picture on the lion on our way out!

I hope we can maybe make it back one more time this fall!!!

Minnesota Va-cay!

Last month Josh and I decided to take Madison on a little weekend trip to the Twin Cities. We wanted to have a little vacation and special treat for Madison before the triplets arrive. I'll be honest...it was also for me...I wanted a special trip for us as a family of three...before we double. LOL!

I didn't take a ton of pictures and most are kinda blurry since they are from my phone...so sorry! But, I still wanted to document this special trip of ours.

We arrived Thursday later afternoon, and after checking into our hotel (we stayed in downtown Minneapolis), we headed to our ol' stomping ground, University Avenue, on campus at the U!

We took Madison to Annie's for dinner!

We showed her where Mommy and Daddy first lived together after getting married. She asked where her room was...and we told her it was before her, so then she was pretty dis-interested. LOL!

She LOVED the big bed at the hotel. And, Daddy spoiled her with movies every night before bed time!

Friday we spent most of the morning and afternoon at the Minnesota Zoo. Only Daddy would allow her a sucker at 10am.

She saw her first IMAX film. She loved it and kept her glasses on the whole time!

Her favorite part of the Zoo was the aquariums.

That evening we went to the Mall of America. She got 2 new pair of shoes (thanks to Daddy again). They were all so sparkly and lit up...but she loved them, so I gave in.

Saturday we went back to the Mall of America. She choose a horse at Build-A-Bear and named him Doh-Doh.

She was so exhausted by this point (no naps and later bedtimes), that she fell asleep before lunch and slept right through lunch. The nice part was that Josh and I got to enjoy a quiet lunch together at Bubba Gumps at the mall.

That night after dinner we took her to Cossetta in St. Paul for dessert.

We had dinner both Saturday and Sunday at Pei Wei (we went to different ones...lol). I wish we had it here in IA! At the time it really hit the spot for me and my pregnancy cravings...and even blogging about it right now makes me miss it! LOL! I know there are a lot of things to do in the Twin Cities...but we really went there with no plans and it was nice to just go with the flow for the whole weekend and do what we wanted to do on our own schedule.

It was so nice to get away and to just enjoy our little family of three. Of course the whole time there Josh and I couldn't help but talk about what vacations will be like after we add three more children to the mix. OY! Hard to even imagine, really! 

I'm so thankful we were able to make this trip happen for our family!

Foto Friday - Zoo

Our first zoo trip of the year was on Monday. I only took 3 pictures if you can believe it!

 

So happy to ride the train.

 

She's been talking about Snowflake ever since. She keeps saying, "I wish I could ride a horse."

 

The pig was her favorite at the petting zoo.

 

We can't wait to go back again!

Last Zoo Visit

...for the year that is.

We headed to Niabi Zoo last Friday. It was free (and chilly)! And hardly anyone was there. But, it was still a fun way to start our Friday since Josh was taking a day off. A lot of the animals were actually out and about, and as usual, M had a fantastic time!

Just a few pictures from our day to share.

Petting the...I forget what it is. Some relative of the cow. I love this picture!

Feeding the llama (with the glass eye).

Watching the wallaby. (Or as M calls them, "wawabee.")

Giraffes!

Carousel ride with Daddy.

LIONS! Her favorite!

A really big snake.

Bobcat.

Lookin' for the wolves.

Kind of a boring post. Oh well.

We love the Zoo!

Just My Friend and Me

Can you believe that just 8 days ago (last Wednesday) it was like 80 degrees out?! Crazy Iowa weather!!! My friend Ellie and I decided we had to get out with our girls and enjoy the unseasonably warm day.

We started at Niabi Zoo. It was free admission!

We started on the train (Sarah Grace's favorite)!

Oooh a camel.

M fed the fish and ducks.

Checking out the wallabys (wallabies?).

They loved watching the lions!

Final picture...both were not happy that they were back in their strollers!

After lunch, we headed to a local park. The girls had more fun running around chasing us and each other!

"Can you believe our moms are taking our picture again?!"

Cheese!!! ("Now maybe we can get back to playin'!"

M and I are so glad we've become such great friends with Sarah Grace (M can finally say her whole name) and Ellie. In fact, if you ask M who her best friend is, she'll answer you, "Sarah Dace." Adorable!