Family Fun Day (okay three days)

Josh and I decided that we wanted to get out for a bit - go do something fun :)  We decided late Monday night to head up to the cities first thing Tuesday morning!  We quickly packed up our bags and prepared for a wonderful fun-filled two days :)

On Tuesday morning we headed to the MN Zoo.  Carter decided to stay awake the entire trip - and cry a lot of the way...Grrrr...

When I was growing up, my family would always have a KFC picnic and then head into the zoo!  For some reason, it just seemed fit to do so :)  Collin was bothering Carter, but I didn't feel bad, because Carter does the EXACT same thing to Collin!

Callie wasn't so sure about her Mac 'n cheese, so she ate her brother's lunch...looks like Josh is giving the boys the business!  Haha

We decided to buy a zoo membership!  For our family, it really makes sense!  If we go 3 times in one year we'll have our membership paid for!  Yeah - that sounds like a good deal to me, considering we go :)  And our kids LOVE it!

This was the first time for the boys - they LOVED the fishies in the water :)

But really - there is nothing better than watching all three of your children take in the beauty of the animals around you!  Such a beautiful picture :)

This bear was so lazy!  The funny thing, before I took this, there was a dad taking a picture of his two daughters and I kid you not, the bear sat up and photo bombed their picture!  LOL!

We also love prairie dogs :)

This one wanted to escape!

For YEARS I have been sad that the MN Zoo got rid of their giraffes, but they are BACK and better than ever!

I will feed a giraffe - even if it's the last thing I do :)

They are such incredible animals!

Callie loved the cows and finds it funny that we drink milk from a cow!  But when you think about it - I mean, really think about it - it kind of is!

Carter finally got sleepy!

Not only was she wanting her picture with this pig - but she was "hopping" on him...we got her off real quick before others saw!

She didn't really like the feeling of feeding the goat...but she thought they sure were funny!

Collin on the other hand - he loved the goat!  But are you surprised!  He wanted to grab the goat, and I'm sure he would have loved up on him ;) 

Callie pet so many goats inside - and she brushed them :)  She kept saying "They're so cute!"

TWIN GOATS!

She loved them :)

Time for ice cream treats!  Carter was still asleep!

Callie decided she didn't like her snow cone - but in her defense it really wasn't any good.  So we gave her the yummy Popsicle and Collin and I shared the snow cone - okay he ate it!

Thanks for sharing buddy!

She had to have her picture taken on these tiger statues...oh yes, each one!

It was such a beautiful day that we came prepared!  We packed swim suits and towels for the zoo!  The boys were looking sharp and ready to get wet!

And do they have the best daddy in the world or what!  Josh even brought his suit and joined in on the fun!  Me - I just got wet...in my dress :)

I LOVE this picture of Josh going into the splash area with all 3 kids :)

Collin was a daredevil and walking right through these - HAHAHA

He loved it!

Callie ran around giggling :)  I love her laugh!  Collin kept running through them and Carter, well, he wanted to be held a lot, stayed away from the water a lot and cried if he got wet :)

Swimming lessons are going to be so much fun with him!  Ha

After the kids got wet, we headed into the giant playground/play house area!  That was insane chasing everyone around :)

I LOVE THE MONKEYS!  This mommy monkey was carrying around her baby!

And now Collin fell asleep!

Penguins :)

Callie was SO tired and had been such a good girl!  But it was time to go :)

Last stop - picture on the wolf statue!  She was acting like Belle from Beauty and the Beast - because Belle was afraid of the wolves in the forest!  Haha

I literally put Callie in her car seat and she was OUT COLD.  Before I even had her buckled she was asleep.  Collin stayed asleep and Carter fell asleep later!

Josh went to the Twins game with Flan that night and I hung out with our kids at my parents house - who were also at the Twins game :)

On Wednesday morning, we headed to two of the most amazing book stores in the Twin Cities!  If you haven't been, you need to go to these!

The Red Balloon is in St. Paul on Grand Avenue and such a sweet little place!  Callie loved sitting and reading books.  She even kicked me away so she could read on her own :)

The boys wanted to eat all of the books :-/

Best part - they will give you a little red balloon if you ask :)  Callie LOVED this part!

She picked out four new books too!  Best part- she picked them so she LOVES them!

The second book store was The Wild Rumpus!  This is in Minneapolis near uptown!  One of the best features is the door!  The adult door is black and there is a separate child entry in the purple door.  Callie LOVED this because she could do it all on her own and it was light weight! 

As we entered...one of the first things we saw besides the millions of books - a chicken roaming the store!  Yup - a real chicken just walking around :)

The boys were learning how to partner read :)

They're not very good at it - they fight too much over who gets to hold it!

Callie found a nice quiet little spot right under the lizard (caged).

They also had tailless cats, fish in the bathroom, tarantula, chinchillas, ferrets and hamsters (in the ground - super cool - you look through a clear floor board to the hamsters underneath!)

"Big mistake, big, huge!"  Callie carried out her new Preschool Brain Quest Workbook and her brother's new books :)  Everyone got a book at this store!

When we got home, mom went for a 5.5 mile run while daddy fed everyone dinner!  He then headed to his softball games, so I packed the kids up and headed to the Hormel Historic Home for a little Koo Koo Kangaroo band!  this was a mix between the Beastie Boys and Sesame Street!  It was AWESOME and we all loved it :)

Callie saw a lot of her friends!  Here she is with Clara :)  Thanks to Clara, Callie opened up a little bit and started dancing :)

Rendi was a huge help while dancing with the boys :)

Collin was walking around EVERYWHERE!  He'd stop in front of the singer and just stare at him and then dance some!

After the concert we headed down to the softball fields to cheer daddy on :)  Callie was so excited to see him and it was fun to watch him play!

The boys were getting really sleepy as it was already 2 hours past their bedtime!

All in all - we had an amazing two days of Family Fun!

But the fun didn't stop there...today (Thursday) we set up our own water park in the front yard!  We decided to put the pool on the driveway and just cover it.  That way it won't kill our grass!

Carter LOVED our little splash pad that we have!  Josh and I bought this when Callie was a baby on SUPER clearance at Target for like 8 bucks :)  This is a great purchase if you have little ones :)

Callie is obviously too big for this, but she goes where her brothers go!  And honestly, it's just the three of them, so I don't mind :)

Daddy - you are WAY too big for this!  Again, best daddy ever!  Got in his suit and played with his kids!  He's rocking his farmer's tan too!

We had the splash pad, pool, kiddie pool and water table all set up!  We taught Callie how to drink from the hose like we used to when we were growing up!  This hose was hooked up to our kitchen sink though because we have well water, outside so it gets rusty really fast...this way the water will stay nice!

We just covered it with a tarp and voila - all ready for our next sunny day (hopefully tomorrow...but looks like thunderstorms...)

Stay tuned, we have lots of fun things planned this summer for our crazy family :)

#MakingMemories #LovingLife #LoveMyFamily