Me and Big Mikey


Super Mecah Cheese!!

So today we FINALLY went to the zoo again!! WOOHOO! lol...it has been LONG ENOUGH since the last time we went. We had such a blast, we took our time walking around, got to see the elephants do some tricks, the kids were so well behaved and only had one crying spirt for Jake which was totally great. Its such a wonderful feeling to do something as a family that involves getting out of town and just being the 4 of us. ... :)


The Flamingos when you walk in the gates


Aren't they too cute?! lol


It was like pulling teeth to get Mz. Thang here to look at the camera AND smile! :P


I loved this waterfall, right at the Monkey cages


Looking sooo amused. LOL


Another waterfall :P


A little blury but we were enjoying the day together so I had to put it in here :)


Walking through the exhibit


How cute :)


Looking right at us


The Giraffes were by far my favorite to see today.....


The sun is so bright!!


This is such a sweet pic


Large, Medium, and Small...there was a baby one that was just born but it was hiding behind the rocks lol

Someone pick me up so i can see!

Watching the animals together


We were so close to them, Jake got a big kick out of it!


Peeing in the water....



Doing tricks for the trainer....


Jake was soooooo cute with this character, he ran up and gave it a big hug after we were done w/ the pics...


Awww!


Relaxin after a diaper change...lol


Acting like the goofy family we are!


:)


Gotta love him :P


Jake being pouty Mecah was wearing his hat


Ooooh, snakes, mama, look!!


Cory being my silly man.....lol.


Cory was ducking behind it to hold him up


A ladybug on jake....he loves to hold them!


It was worth a shot ;)


goof-ball


Goof-ball #2

 

Goof-ball #3

Got LOTS to do tomorrow

China (boxer) and Toby (English Rat Terrier)




Then, Spike-a-rella (aka Spike. lol) Bearded Dragon



Of course, I can't forget Simon (even though he isn't 'here' he is still part of the zoo. lol)



Rocky / Little Dude (off of Finding Nemo) our Red Eared Slider that we found in our backyard.



And our newest addition, Killer / Brutis (Cory wants to name it Moby Dick to rhyme with Toby. Boys!! LOL) I thought killer or brutis was a great name for such a tiny dog!
Suggestions? LOL . They believe that he is a Fox Terrier Mix


oh, wait, I can't forget the two most important members of the zoo....the most dangerous and destructive ones.......


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MECAH and JACOB!

I can't wait to go down and stay with Stacey for a few days........I miss my little munchkins and I know that Jake surely misses playing with them, too!

Yesterday was a nice day! I got home and we ended up getting the kids ready, went out to Wendy's for lunch, and then came home. The neighbor invited us over to her parent's house (across the street) to take the kids swimming in the kiddie pool out front. i got the little munchkins dressed in their cute little "baiting soups" all sunscreened down and we headed over there. Angie (our neighbor next door) her parent's dog had puppies so they were all out front. (I tried all day to convince cory to let me get one. LOL.....he is a softie sometimes but I couldn't crack him) We sat under the canopy and just relaxed for a few hours while Jake played with the other two kids there. . . by the end of the two hours, he was shivering and everytime I asked if he wanted out, he said, "Nooooo" shaking from being cold! LOL. After all that, we came home and i ran to the store to get some fruits and veggies while Cory got the Salmon ready to put  on the BBQ. We had lemon, garlic, mesquite salmon with roasted red bell peppers and red onions. YUMMY!!!!! I munched on the veggies more than anything! :) All in all, it was a nice day....perfect bbq weather!

Here are a few pics:


Look at little Ms. tubbo!

The puppy was licking the water off of her bathing suit

He was so cold! lol

Him punkin' Cece for Cheeto Puffs... :P

Cory and his fav puppy...

I want one!! How can you say no to this little face?!

Mecah getting the puppy's tail....

Cory is finally almost home. I have had a great day with the kids so far (though jake made it apparent that he was very frustrated with me by glaring at me like I just ran his little puppy over all.day.long) lol. i got the kids dressed in their cute clothes, did their hair, and they are looking all schnazzy for a night out on the town. (well, an early night of going to Ross and Walmart followed by a wonderful dinner I don't have to cook at a fast food place) Believe it or not, these are the times I cherish. . . being able to spend a day out with my family, no tv, no computer, no nothing. Its actually pretty great. I realize that I gave up so much to upgrade to even better. I was brought into a great family (well, threatened...lmao, jk) and even though I miss *my* family, i can't complain about the ones I have now. I still think about how my mom used to wake me up on my birthday with pancakes and a candle in the middle singing happy birthday while I ate breakfast in bed. Or how I would get to pick my b-day dinner and i always wanted liver and onions....no joke. That is by far my favorite thing to eat. Every year, my grandparents, aunt, cousin, great aunt, and great uncle would come down to our house and we would have a bbq of tri-tip and all the fixin's followed by birthday cake and presents. The last year i spent with them was my 18th birthday... I still remember that my cousin (7 at the time) made me this cute red necklace and put it in a jewlery box for me. When I opened it, I cried because it was something that he did for me. Our family is very small (at least that of which is in America) . I actually share my birthday with Kai. . . he lives back in Germany with his probably now wife Mika. Alittle off topic but I just remembered it so I had to share. lol. 

You know, every year that I am gone from home, it gets easier to reflect on memories without wanting to break down and cry. This was the first year where I didnt'! lol. While i miss my mom and dad a lot, i wouldn't change my decision to  be with Cory and have two amazing, wonderful children. Thats it for now....i will post pics later of Mecah and Jake and everything else from dinner!