Wildhorse Boot Scootin'

"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.

Just in case you weren't sure if we had a good time...

"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.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KOOSH!

Jump, Run and Roll

Face painting was the main attraction at the My Gym party. Even though there was a 20 minute wait, the kids were happy to trade in play time for an opportunity to be a pirate and a mermaid for a while.

Unfortunately, it wasn't until after Capt. Jonah had the giant black eye patch painted over his eye that I remembered we had the Easter performance at preschool the next day. Oh well, it was worth the scrubbing. They had a blast!

To the Zoo for You too?

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!

New friends. So sweet.

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!"

A Visit from Tink

Our favorite woodland fairy, Tinkerbell, finally found the letters that Maya and her friend had left for her, tucked into the bottom of the wood pile (you know, like where spiders and snakes live. Both of which I would rather avoid.) So Mommy Tinkerbell did what any good Mommy fairy would do. She responded back with a very nice letter (if I may say so myself) and brought them some charm bracelets, along with the "garden and winter pixie dust" they had requested. Thanks Wal-Mart Tink!!
And what were the boys up to during the great Tink discovery? Sharing a bit of brothery love, of course. 'Cause that's what all brothers do, all the time, right?
and climbing...

...and chiming.

Sisterly love usually comes with a few tickles.

After all of the Tink excitement, Maya thought close-ups would be a good idea.
I'm thinking, maybe not. (Can someone please teach me Photoshop for these wrinkles?!)

Of course Jonah's "close-up" was really an action shot.

And Luke? Yeah, he was just plum thrilled about it.

A Few February Faves

So here is some randomness for you. Just a couple of my favorite images from February. Yes, I know we're well into March by now, but, life happens.I've been trying to learn more about my camera (and photography in general.) Honestly, it's been alot harder, for me, than I thought. I'm reading, and re-reading (and Chris is explaining and re-explaining) but I'm still not grasping some of the basic concepts. (Plus, I had put my photography self-teaching on hold while I've been researching some other stuff lately. More on that later...)
I'll keep trying, but till then, please have mercy on my skills and I'll just be grateful for the automatic setting on my camera. (Those are my boots by the way. I shot that while experimenting with some manual settings.... I know, my feet are huge!)As you can imagine, February was full of sweets. The eatable kind and the huggable kind. I like both!
Now we know where Jonah learned his cookie decorating etiquette from. Luke checking out the consequences of all that splashing. I didn't love the mess, but I love this shot. And I sure do love that little mess maker!

True love.

Ok, I promise not to make him wear that hat again.

Miss fashionista strikes a pose.

Opa and his little buddy. They went to see the train exhibits together and had a great time.

Omi shows Luke how they did things "back in the day".

Sunbathing. He really is the best family dog ever. We love you Murphy!!

Prayer chimes.

Getting a push from Little Mister Stripeypants.

Happiness. Joy. Fun. Etc...

The 'Valentines Assembly' bonanza. (Pirates and Fairies. How'd you guess?)

Sweet face.

Sneaky face."Can I climb higher?" face. Oh Captain, my Captain...

Farewell, dear friends, until next post!