Ark Encounter

Nana and Grandpa were excited to take the kids to the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum in Kentucky and I got to tag along as a final hurrah before teacher work week. We went to the Creation Museum the first night. 

They had a nice botanical garden there as well!

The next day we headed to the Ark Encounter. It's hard to capture it's size in a picture! We were probably 200 yards away here:

There was a kangaroo exhibit that you could walk through. You could only touch the kangaroos if they were on the path and it was evident that the kangaroos had that figured out!

Willow tried the camel back ride!

The inside of the ark was massive! It was 4 floors and had videos and displays throughout. We did lots of reading!!

The structure was incredible!

That evening the kids enjoyed some time at the hotel's pool.

The next day we checked out the Cincinnati Zoo. It was great!

Willow and I fed the giraffes:

We listened to a cool presentation on cheetahs and were able to see their speed!

This little squirrel is going to have some cholesterol issues if he keeps hanging out around the cafe!

My first job was at Baskin Robbins and you hardly see them anymore! We grabbed some ice cream to go before hitting the road to come home!

Zoo

We hadn't been to our local zoo for many years. There isn't much too it. The library had a backpack you could rent that had a free pass to the zoo as well as binoculars and other books, so we took advantage of it and enjoyed a morning at the zoo!

Followed by a quick stop at the ice cream shop at the bottom of the mountain :)

Spring Break

We enjoyed a low-key Spring Break in town this year. It was a good mix of relaxation and adventure =)

Alli watches over the kids and neighbor in the trampoline:

Owen enjoyed a birthday party at the pool:

Alli "protected" our backyard from another cat but ended up with an abscess. The vet shaved it, cleaned it, gave her meds, and sent us on our way. Thankfully she left it alone while it scabbed over then healed. Now she's good as new. How many lives is she down to??

The kids enjoyed a morning and afternoon at the rock climbing gym. Willow enjoys having the ability to "top out" on the wall without the harness and both love getting to the top of the walls while harnessed. It sure wears them out!

Every six months I've taken in my wedding ring to be inspected. When we first go married the chart was pretty overwhelming since 2019 seemed so far in the future. 15 years have really flown by and now the chart is full of signatures. I asked what happens now...thinking that I get a big gold star ;) or high five ;) or my name on a "Committed Wives" chart ;) or one year of not having to remember to bring it in ;)  She responded by saying they'll print me a new chart next time. 

Chris is coaching Owen's baseball team this year so he has a key to the batting cages. We enjoyed headed to the cages twice with the kids in the early afternoon before anyone else's practices would've started. Both kids practiced batting and pitching. 

The kids and I picked up Nana and Grandpa and headed to the North Carolina Zoo. It's a couple hours away but we figured Spring is a better season to do go rather than waiting until Summer when the humidity could be unbearable. It is a huge place and we definitely got our steps in for the day! Thankfully the kids kept a good attitude about all the walking. They enjoyed looking for the animals, who all had nice size living areas. It was a good thing Owen was wearing a bright red jersey - it helped us find him as he wandered off or around corners without telling us!! Eek!

Don't feed the animals!!!

Looks like grass makes for good sunscreen??

I was really hoping this bear would shake off when he got out of the water!

Ironically the 3 boys in this picture go to school with the kids and attend the same church we do. =) 

We didn't come across this children's playground type area until it was too late in the afternoon to really enjoy it very long. It was really neat though!

The kids and I headed up to the star to enjoy a picnic lunch, time on the playground, and a little hiking. We are loving the non-humid weather!!

Lunch with a view!

Owen enjoyed putting together this fort:

Willow overheard me comment to Chris that I was grumpy for no good reason. Later that afternoon I found this sweet note on my pillow with her iPod with a sticky note saying "Press Play." She had set it to one of our favorite songs "I Want You to Have it All." She sure can be thoughtful sometimes! She also created a sweet book for our family that she put on Chris' pillow a couple days later. It's for us to pass around to each other =)

We also enjoyed an hour at the trampoline park and a dinner with Hannah before her surgery. Check out silly kiddo #1 and #2