St. Louis Zoo

One of my favorite places to go is the zoo. I have loved it ever since I was a child. I will never forget when Jeremy and I were first married and we lived just south of Indianapolis. We went to the zoo and I was shocked to discover how much it cost! I loyaly exclaimed, "The St. Louis Zoo is free."

Even though it isn't too far away we have only taken the kids to the St. Louis Zoo once when Faith was still a baby. So, I have been excited to go back. My friend Felecia and I took our kiddos and had a great day. It was hot (over 90 degrees) but we survived and I was the only one who got a sunburn. I was a little nervous taking the three kids without Jeremy, but overall it went pretty smoothly.

Grace trying to get a butterfly to land on her. I was very excited we got to do this, she has been wanting to go to an observatory ever since she read Fancy Nancy's new science book.
This giraffe was VERY close. Some of the kids were actually petting it.
The tiny fuzzy camel was a brand new baby, only six days old!
Faith loved climbing on the fences to check out the animals.
Our friends Felecia & Sydney
Titus was such a good baby! Here is is snuggling with his blanket when we went to see the penguins.
Josie & Jake had already planned a trip to St. Louis so we got to spend a little time with them too.
Grace didn't like the penguins because she thought it was too cold. She was disappointed the polar bears were gone.
The girls had a great time. Now I am excited to go back when Titus is old enough to enjoy it!
Since I knew we wouldn't get to see the whole zoo I told Grace to pick a few animals she wanted to definitely see. She choose giraffes and elephants. She also wanted to see a crocodile, but we didn't have time for that. She has already started a list of things she wants to see when we go back. Faith was pretty much interested in all of the animals. I am loving summer and taking the kids lots of fun place.

Time to Get Moving

Well, its that time again and I need some accountability. Time to get moving and try and regain my body after having a baby. You know the time has come when you have the following conversation with your four year old:

Grace: Mom, is there another baby in there? (while poking my stomach)

Me: No, Baby Titus is here now.

Grace: But, your tummy is still big. Are you sure there isn't a baby in there?

Yep, pretty sure no baby. Just a tired worn out tummy from four pregnancies in five years. Each time I have used a different method for trying to get back in shape. After Grace I joined a class at the YMCA. After Faith getting to the Y was way to complicated so I did the Slim in 6 videos. But, those are an hour a day and with 3 kiddos I wasn't sure I was quite ready for that commitment....so I decided to try and give 30 Day Shred a try. It is only 20 minutes a day. So we will see what happens. I am already feeling sore. (so hopefully that is a good sign) I am also trying to work back into my healthier eating habits. I use the term "healthier" somewhat loosely. More veggies, mustard versus mayo, more water, less treats (a.k.a. a smaller bowl of ice cream- i LOVE ice cream too much not to eat it) but nothing too drastic. I tend to be the "move more eat less" versus "eat nothing no exercise" kind of philosophy.

I figure the fact that I am starting when Titus is 4 months old is pretty good since I started when the girls were like 10 months old. But, I am slightly motivated by the summer's agenda. Thing like the family pool pass, 10 year class reunion(maybe?), and my brother's wedding in August. So, if you bump into me or skim through my facebook updates be sure to ask me how I'm doing. I totally need some accountability...Did I mention I really LOVE ice cream?

Memorial Day "Camping"

You might remember that Grace has become fascinated with camping. For her birthday she received a sleeping bag and the promise that we would take her camping when the weather warmed up. Well, the weather was warm and we had yet to camp. So....for Memorial day we took her "camping." I use the term lightly because I realize most people would consider what we did a far cry from camping. But, it worked for us and the girls really enjoyed it.

We had a fire in my parent's backyard and roasted hot dogs & made smores. This was one of the girls' first experiences helping cook over a fire. Cody, Erin, Kit, Wesley, Josie, & Jake also got in on the "camping" fun. Then around 9 we set up the tent on the deck and Jeremy, Grace, Faith, and I tried going to sleep. At 11 p.m. everyone had fallen asleep except Grace who kept waking me up. So, we decided it was time for them to go inside and go to sleep.

Faith trying a smore- I love the look on her face.
I love Grace's face in this one- very excited about camping!

The rest of our Memorial Day weekend was spent going to graduation parties & then we went to the pool for the first time on Monday. It was a great weekend!