A few weeks ago, we met up with friends at the Nashville Zoo. I love the zoo!!! I always forget that, until I go again, and then I remember, again. (Funny how that works.) This was Lukie's first visit (at 17 mos. - poor, deprived 3rd child.) But now that we finally have our family zoo membership, we plan to visit a lot more often, which is especially nice since I am homeschooling Maya. (Well, really, all of them. Moms are always teaching, whether they realize it or not.) There is just nothing more fun than learning together with your kids.
The visit always starts with the beautiful Macaws.
Their colors are even more stunning in person.
Speaking of
color, check out our friend Toucan Sam.
(He's tucked away in the pettting zoo.)
That's also where we found
Billy the Kidd. (Do not leave flowy garments unattended near Billy!)
And this sweet little donkey. You'd think he would be sick of seeing little kids, but he came right over to Maya and seemed as interested in her as she was in him.
He is now on my list of animals to kidnap from the zoo and bring home with me. (
Warning! Indulgent Mom Moment: Can you believe Maya's beautiful hair color? I just love it!)
Happiness is... being one year old and your
recovering germaphobe Mom actually lets you run around the petting zoo
with your white silk blankie. The perks of being a third child.
The boys take a
snack break in the
Hummer stroller.
I don't remember which was male and which was female, all I could think was,
"This is probably what Chris and I will look like when we're old." That's ok, as long as we retire somewhere warm and spend our days covered in grandchildren!
Here we are, all warm and fuzzy, literally, in the reptile house. We were watching...
...this little guy struggle to pull himself out of the water. It must be tough, but convenient, to carry your house with you wherever you go.
Then again, I kind of know how he feels.
And don't forget the adorable Meerkats! I just loved this cuddled up party of five.
Kind of reminded me of us.
It's so neat how there is always one sitting seperately 'keeping watch' for the others. So I guess, if the McMillens were Meerkats, this would be Murphy, our fierce watchdog, HA!
This was the highlight of the trip for me. I had no idea there were white tiger cubs there. I was THRILLED and took a million pictures. White tigers are my favorite animal. These two, Benwa and Taboo, are sisters. Go here for more sweet pictures of them. And go see them in person too!
A nice parting shot, don't ya think? "Thank you Mr. Giraffe, it was great to see you too!"
"It's a, Birth-day Tra-dition." (Sing along with me. You know, like Hank Jr., 'Family Tradition'? Oh c'mon, yes you do.) It was Chrissy's 23rd birthday, so Jimmy came in town and we all went to Wildhorse Saloon again for some bbq, dancing and birthday fun.
My Sister and her man. They are so fun together and always call each other "Baby, Honey, Sweetheart." Their other favorite things to do together are dancing, skiing/snowboarding, talking on the phone and shopping at garage sales. They're soul mates.
The whole fun and funky party crew.
The cheering section.
"Winners!" Well, ok, I guess 'Groovin' Grandma', Linda, tehnically won over the crowd in the end (with her bootin' and scootin' and wild grey hair flippin' all around), but to us, Chrissy and Jimmy were the real champions.
Face painting was the main attraction at the 
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