Hogle Zoo

We wanted to take the kids and do something fun for a weekend so we decided to stay at Joye and Gilbert's and talk them into going to Hogle Zoo with us! It was a hot day and we were all super tired by the end, but we had so much fun! The kids loved the train and all the animals, but we don't even have a picture of their favorite thing there: The life-sized dinosaur replicas that spray water!! They loved it!

Huge Elephant
Measuring my monkeys

This girl picked the snake herself....I don't think we are related!!!

Ashton on his lion cub!

The bird show was amazing! I took this pic a little early, it seriously went right over our heads!

You give the bird a dollar and he puts it in the box!

Jeffrey the Giraffe

Uncle Kris took them for a ride in Grandpa's 'Cuda!!

The funniest thing happend Saturday night when they were going to bed. Joye had let Gentri sleep with her Tinkerbelle flashlight and I had been laying in bed for a minute when I saw a light out in the hall. I opened the door to find Gentri and Ashton sneaking down the hall toward the livingroom, they saw me and froze! They looked SO guilty it was hilarious. Apparently Gentri had left her stuffed animal out there and they were on a retrieval mission. They just looked so cute and so old! Like a precursor to all the trouble they will get into with each other over the years. Love them!!

Mexico from 6 months ago...

Let me just say that this was THEE most amazing trip EVER!! 100% paid for by Stock Building Supply and I think Andrew gave them a run for their money, he ate like 7 times a day! The first full day we were there we went on our excursion to the caves and had a blast!! There were ziplines, repelling down into the caves, snorkeling in the caves, sky bikes that took you all over, and a crazy roller coaster that finishes in the water. I have video of the roller coaster, but can't get it to load:( That was our "strenuous" day and then everyday after that we literally only did two things: eat and hang out at the beach. (Maybe there was time for one other thing) But it was SO NICE to just be together and chill! It was the most fun, relaxing, beautiful vacation, ahhh I want to go back!!

The "swim up bar"

So pretty at night!! This is one of the restaurants we went to, yummy!

The beach!! There were golf carts to take you down from the resort or sweet BMW bikes to ride down. We had so much fun on those bikes and even saw a few crashes:)

The view from under the cabana, heaven.... The view from our table, another amazing pool.

Swimming into the stalagmite cave

This zipline was so fun, you end up in the cave and land in the water!

Andy on the sweet sky bikes that take you all over the jungle and through caves.

Me, pedaling away!

Andy on the zip line

My Beautiful Tender Mercy

I am sitting here with tears streaming down my face as I think about what a blessing Gentri is to me. She was the tiniest thing I had ever seen, and also the strongest. She wanted to run the day she was born and once she could, she never stopped. She is strong-willed and stubborn (which I love, my dad says she is like me) and also the sweetest thing to ever come to my life. When I was pregnant with Ashton and so tired, she helped me with the laundry and handed me dishes from the bottom rack so I wouldn't have to bend over. My beautiful tender mercy. When I have had as much as I can take, suddenly I hear them giggling so hard they can't breathe, chasing and tickling each other. My beautiful tender mercy. When she is sad, she crawls into my lap and lets me hold her. Suddenly everything feels ok, and I am so happy to hold this precious girl: My beautiful tender mercy. Today I am sick like Ashton and I set him down (I have been holding him most of the day) just to go to the bathroom. He cries the saddest cry and she says, "I can hold you Ashton." She tries to pick him up and carry him, he starts to smile and she tells him she will go find him a toy. My beautiful sweet tender mercy. I hope that I can help her as much as she has helped me. I have grown in patience (I want to be MORE patient) and love the last three years we have been together. I love this little girl more than I can say. She has been my angel from the Lord and I am so grateful for her.