Big And Small, God Made Them All

I know this happened a decent while ago but I was looking through my photos and remembered that I wanted to post some from our trip to the St. Louis Zoo. When we were on our way back to Alabama from visiting family in Missouri (this past July) I convinced Michael that we needed to make a family trip to the zoo. He was unsure at first because it just extended our travel time. But in the long run we both ended up being really glad that we decided to make the trip. The St. Louis Zoo is absolutely fantastic! It has some of the best exhibits I have ever seen. We had such a great time with the boys seeing all of animals God made. The big and the small.






Besides the animals we had a bit of excitement on our zoo visit. About halfway through the day Gabe wiped out on some loose gravel and banged up one of his knees and the palms of his hands. While the injuries were not too serious, they did need some kind of cleaning and a band-aid. And of corse, I had neither. So we consulted our map and decided to make a quick detour to the first aid station. As (bad) luck would have it we were near the entrance of the zoo and the first aid station was all the way at the back. We took a crying and screaming Gabe (see previous posts about bravery) through the zoo as quickly as possible. (By the time we got there we were all super hot and really sweaty. We looked like we all needed medical attention I am sure.) Going by the map I entered the building I thought was the first aid station only to find it was the break room for the off duty train drivers. Seeing a red faced, sweaty woman walk into their room surprised them but when I asked for a band-aid they all jumped to their feet. Half of them charged out of the building looking for a major injury and the other half got on the walkie-talkie system shouting for medial backup. I kept saying, "Where is the first aid office? I just need a band-aid." Within seconds three golf carts carrying medial personnel and all kinds of medical equipment screeched to a stop right in front of us. All the men charged off the carts and began looking for the medial catastrophe. Boy were they going to be disappointed!!! Confusion on their faces, they turned to us asking if we knew where the emergency was. Michael and I just sighed and pointed to the puny Gabe. As comprehension spread amongst the group, all but one of the carts pulled away. Then a couple of medics and the manager of safety for the entire zoo were left to deal with a scraped up knee and hands. As it turns out, the first aid station WAS by the entrance to the zoo. (Very near where we were when the "injury" occurred.) But the map had it at the back of the zoo because the first aid station was due to be relocated there next week! Despite the trauma Gabe felt he had suffered, which we were sympathetic to, the entire thing was so very, very funny! Here is a picture of the banged up Gabe and the men who, as he said, "Saved my life!"

Everybody Was Kung Fu Partying

It was the Big 3 for Maddox this past week so we celebrated in style......Kung Fu style! We had about 25 friends over to celebrate and it was a blast. The children and the grown-ups both really had a good time. As you have probably figured out by now, the theme was "Kung Fu Panda." We had the movie playing on the big screen, Kung Fu Panda inspired activities, lunch, and the ultimate Kung Fu Panda party finale, a legion of Panda cupcakes. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Table centerpiece. I made all of the little take out boxes myself. They were each filled with little prizes and candy for Maddox's friends to take as party favors.

"The Tang Warriors" Tang means sugar in Chinese. That is what my legion of pandas was nicknamed.

A close up.

Blow!

Friends!

Even more friends!

Opening the gifts with the "help" of many friends. He didn't mind the "help" at all. He is so sweet like that!

Getting more "help."

Checking out a new toy. I have to say, this one was the hit of the party. It's an electronic spider that hangs on the wall. The spider drops from its web on a string and then begins to climb back up the string to the web. And you have to shoot it with a little laser gun enough times to "kill" it before it gets to the web. I was a little unsure of what to think initially. But then I remembered, I hate spiders. So why not kill it!?! Actually, it sounds a lot worse than it is. It's really quite fun! And the kids loved it!!!

Maddox post party. I think he had finally come off the sugar high.

DAY 1

Today was the day! Gabe's first day of "big boy school" as he calls it. He will be going Monday-Friday all day. Let me just say he was SUPER excited!!! So much so that he didn't even look back or say goodbye to me when I dropped him off! I had to make him come and give me hug and kiss goodbye. I guess that is a good thing though. Better to have me sad then him.

Eating breakfast. Pancakes and yoghurt.

Getting ready to ride with Mom on her bike. Maybe next week he can ride his own. (Supervised of course!) School is only 4 blocks away!

DAY 1

Gabe's cubby with his sleeping bag, pillow, back pack/lunchbox, and extra clothes. This picture was Gabe's idea. He said Nonnie would want to know where he keeps his stuff at school. So Nonnie, there you are!

Finding his name tag with the help of a new friend.

Gabe and his teachers. Left to right....Mrs. Chin, Gabe & Mrs. Bickel.