GRANDPARENTS VISIT - DAY AT THE ZOO

The first day after Mom and Dad arrived for their visit back in April, we went to the Richmond Zoo. We thought going on Friday meant we would beat the weekend crowds... we were wrong. That morning, there were about a thousand eight year olds there. Made for an interesting day.

Right off the bat, Grandpa and Luke were attached at the hip. They really enjoyed seeing and watching all the animals.

The boys with Grandpa and Grandma Charles.

One of the highlights of the whole afternoon was the Giraffe exihibit.

This is probably the most popular thing to do in the zoo because of how the exhibit is set up. Basically, there is a bridge over the giraffe area that allows the spectators to be eye to eye with the animals, and makes it possible to feed them. Due to the kagillion elementary school kids that were EVERYWHERE, it was hard to get that close. But thanks to Grandpa's persistence and him having no qualms about pushing little people out of the way, Luke got up to the front so he could feed the Giraffe.

Grey pretty much spent the entire day... looking on.

The second highlight of the day, was the exhibit where you could feed these little birds. I forget what they were called, but they looked like parakeets. I went in to take pictures, but got a little freaked out when Dad handed me the feeding stick and three birds attacked it at once.

Outside the bird feeding exhibit, I was able to capture a beautiful Peacock in all its feathered glory.

Outside the bird feeding exhibit were also these riding toys... a boat and a train. Luke shared his first ride with another little boy who was just as excited about riding a train as Luke was

We finally broke Grey free of his stroller and let him enjoy a boat ride.

At this point, most of the elementary kids had started to clear out, so seeing all the zoo had to offer was much easier.

Grandma helped Luke feed some billy goats.

Grey, back in his stroller, was content to chew on his shoe.

Luke decided to take charge of his own stroller and insisted on pushing it. In these pictures he pushing up a pretty steep hill.

After seeing everything, we headed towards the entrance. The monkey that had caught our interest at the beginning of the morning, was even funnier now.

Just as we were leaving, we spotted a small carousel. I thought the boys would enjoy going for a ride. Luke wasn't quite sure what to think, but Grey absolutely loved it.

The trip to the zoo was a lot of fun for everyone.

I was so happy when someone offered to take a picture of all of us. She told me she understood, being a mom herself, that it's nice for the mom to be in a picture every once in a while, since we're usually the one taking all the pictures.

NEIGHBORHOOD CRAWFISH BOIL

Still doing a little catching up, so now - Neighborhood Crawfish Boil.

When he had our first Crawfish Boil in our driveway, we invited our neighbor, Jim Usas, to join us. He had never had boiled crawfish before, and instantly fell in love. So, he wanted to have one of his own. On Saturday, May 1st, he and Marc went and picked up 40lbs. of live crawfish and some live crabs. At 2:30, we all gathered in Jim and Bonnie's backyard and... let the feast begin.

The boys and I arrived late after they had taken their naps. Luke sported his new camo hat that Granpa Charles had bought him the previous weekend.

Right after we arrived, Miss Bonnie gave Luke a really cool Tattoo... a crawfish of course.

The boys enjoyed playing in the yard. Luke ran around with a bad-mitton racket swatting at Carpenter bees...

...and Grey played with toys that we piled on his high chair.

The first batch was ready to be devoured.

Everybody dug right in.

The crabs were next.

Remember in my post of our first Crawfish Boil of how scared Luke was of the crawfish...

... well not anymore.

This time around, he was determined to pick them up.

Amazingly, he never got pinched.

Grey, aren't you a little young to be drinking alcohol?

Luke loves Icies!!

Even though Marc was the official cook for this event, he still spent time with his boys.

After we had all filled our bellies, we all gathered in the garage to watch the Kentucky Derby.

Jim and Bonnie were sweet enough to have a cake for my and Marc's birthday.

Do you think Luke wants cake?

Crawfish Boil #2 was a big hit. Thank You Jim and Bonnie Usas for hosting and thank you to everyone else - the Myers', the Walker's, and the Tinsman's, for sharing the day with us.

Looking forward to more good times like this this summer.

FIRST DAY AT THE BEACH

Even though today (first day of Memorial Day Weekend) is the official start of summer, it has dawned very overcast and a little chilly. So I'm taking the opportunity to catch everyone up on what the boys have been up to.

The first week of May brought warm summer weather, so we took good advantage of it. One day we were at the beach late in the afternoon, and the next day we were at the beach in the morning.

This is our late afternoon trip.

This is our morning trip. It looks like Grey is going to be as big a fish in the water as Luke is.

Out of the water, he was very determined to crawl through the middle of my chair.

I enjoy being out in the sun enjoy the beach with my boys. I don't enjoy constantly telling Grey to stop eating sand. It's going to be a great summer.