Our Week with Tinsley-Day Three

Since we weren't able to go to the zoo Monday afternoon, we decided to go bright and early Tuesday morning. We got there shortly after they opened and both kiddos were excited about seeing all the animals. 

The tigers were a lot of fun to watch. They were play fighting with each other so Eli and Tinsley really enjoyed watching them play.

We always have to take a picture next to the fake tiger poop. 

Both kids loved holding their own map. I loved it because it kept them happy. Win, win!

We stopped by the otter exhibit but they were sleeping. We did find a really cool airboat though. Tinsley and Eli each had to have a picture with them in the driver's seat. 

We saw lots of birds-pelicans, peacocks, parrots, toucans, macaws, flamingos, and much more. 

We visited the petting zoo and Tinsley said hello to the goats and sheep.

The giraffes were fun to watch. They came over to the edge of the clearing when they saw us so we got to see them up close. 

For some reason I always, always, always get turned around in this particular zoo and it takes me FOREVER to get out. I never seem to know which way to go for the shortest exit. We ended up backtracking because I stink at reading maps apparently, but thankfully we found some misting fans to help us cool down.

We passed this rhino on our way out and I found myself envying him. I could have used a nice water hose misting spray on my back right about then as well. What a life!

I promised the kids we'd ride the train before we left to head back home. While we waited for the train to pull back into the station Eli and Tinsley made souvenir pennies. 

We rode the train and then our zoo adventure was over. We said good-bye to the zoo and then hurried to the car towards air conditioning. Whew! Thank the Lord!

Peace out, zoo! It was real, it was hot, it was real hot! We'll see you next time hopefully when it's cooler!

Both kids took a nap on the way home so it was a very peaceful ride back to our house. I cooked supper while Eli and Tinsley played and then we ended our night with a quick dip in the pool. Our week with Tinsley was off to a great start!

Mini Vacay with Family-Day #4

The next day was Friday and both Mom and Dad took the day off from work so they could spend it with us. We couldn't really leave the house until Tinsley had her morning nap, so by the time she woke up it was time to eat lunch. We got her dressed and went to Chick-Fil-A to eat (again). This time instead of both kids keeping their book they got in their kid's meal we traded them in for an ice cream cone. Did you even know you could do this? My friend, Nicki, taught me this when we visited her in Florida several years back. I'd always rather have ice cream than a toy. Apparently, Tinsley and Eli felt the same way :)

After lunch we drove to the zoo to have one last hurrah before Eli and I had to get on the road. It was very overcast but still so very humid. 

It worked out perfectly because each grandparent took one of the grandkids. Things will certainly be changing when Jameson gets here :)

I rarely get a picture of these two where both of them are smiling. 

We found a spot where you could feed some birds and both kids loved doing that.  

Since it was so humid we made sure to bring lots of water to drink and even a few snacks. Tinsley got hungry after a little while and needed a little snack. 

We made it to the playground and let the kids play for a little bit before seeing the rest of the animals at the zoo.

Eli has turned into quite the little monkey. He managed to scale the outside of the slide but then was scared to climb over to get down and Pop had to go rescue him. 

After playing, I got all of us Slush Puppies and that made us all feel much better. 

No one was in the petting zoo so we went there so Tinsley and Eli could love on the goats and sheep in there. 

We washed our hands very well afterwards and then it was on to more animals!

We found the cooling mist fans and had to take a mini break there. Pop lifted Tinsley and Eli up as high as he could so they could feel the cool mist. Ahhh, much better!

They're redoing the elephant habitat at the zoo right now so some of the walkways and pathways were closed off which meant we had to double back to leave. We didn't get to see all the animals but we saw enough. By the end of the zoo visit Pop was pushing Eli in his old stroller and Grammy was carrying Tinsley. Whew! It'd been a fun day and a fun week but now it was time for us to go home. We said good-bye to Grammy, Pop, and Tinsley and then headed home. In a few weeks, we'd be coming back to see Jameson's birth :) Hooray!