The Sunset Zoo

Day 2 -
Kellie and Randy headed back to work this morning, for a typical Monday and Frank and I packed the kids up and headed to the most local of the local zoo's. we didnt have the highest of expectations given that we are in a super small town, but the zoo was actually very nice. it was very clean, very hands on. there was a good variety of animals and the kids loved the playground!

a baby chimp, born this spring! he was super cute and super playful!

a pelican, the boys asked him if he knew where Nemo was!

a bald eagle - they are just so gorgeous! such a strong american symbol...

tuscan was trying to see how close he could actually get to the peacock! they were roaming around everywhere!

my boys, they all looked so cute today!

im not quite sure when it was that they all became so grown up,

but this summer they sure have turned into little men!

we finished up at the zoo just in time for kellie to take her lunch break. she met us at Sonic, a first for frank and the kids and i. super delish - wish we had one in the Buff...we have the commercials, but we're still lacking in the actual establishment!

the kids also had a blast playing on the play ground there.

we spent the remained of the afternoon hanging out around the house. we had hotdogs and burgers on the grill for dinner and then kellie and i snuck out for some well overdo girl time together. we went out to wander the mall for a bit and got pedicures (a tradition for us), had ice cream and starbucks and wandered through target...just like the good ol' days.

its so wonderful to be here, to be spending time with my other other half. there was a moment on the drive down that i was relishing in the excitement of where i was actually driving to when it suddenly hit me that in a week i would be saying good-bye. before i was even half way here, i was crying that i would have to leave. as much as i hate that we live so far away from each other, i am so beyond grateful that we can see each other once a year and pick up right where we left off, as if it had only been a week that had passed.

kellie and i are so blessed to have become friends and to have held on the our friendship over the miles over the years. i cannot imagine my life without her, she is my rock in so many ways. i love her, my kids love her, our husbands love each other! God so had a plan when he brought the two of us together and i truly feel in my heart that it was definitely a life long plan!

now to rest up for another action packed, fun filled day! (only after a teams game of Wii bowling...kellie and i are going to kick butt...)

our KS vacation (day 1)

i know, i havent really blogged all summer, but too bad...i've been making the most of my time in other ways!

we are on our first family of 5 half-way-cross-country roadtrip, visiting kellie and randy (and baby Mac) in Kansas! we left home at 330 saturday afternoon and excitedly pulled in their driveway shortly after 12noon today!

it was a long drive and being the middle of the night for most of it, there really wasnt much to see. but dispite it all, the kids were amazing! they didnt sleep nearly as much as i anticipated they would. we were really hoping they would sleep there normal 9-10 hours during the night, but a movie at 3am is not something we would usually call normal! there was minimal whining/crying the whole 20 hours that we were in the van! what can i say, my boys are amazing!! frank and i even seem to be doing ok, although it sure will feel nice to go to sleep laying down tonight!

when i called kellie to let her know we were getting close, she asked how we felt about arriving to a lunch from chipotle! of course there was no arguement on that one...i think we have an unofficial goal set to see how many times we can eat chipotle in one week! it tasted just as good as we remembered it to be and it was gi-normous! kellie said the size was the advantage to eating in a college town!

once we got the van unloaded, the carseats switched over to kellie's truck and everyone showered/bathed...we re-packed up and headed to Kansas City to enjoy a fun filled dinner at the T-Rex Cafe (operated by the same people that created the rainforest cafe!) and connected to it was a Build-A-Dino, operated by the Build-A-Bear company. so the kids each got to pick out and make their own Dino (thanks aunt kellie and uncle randy for the awesome bday present!!) to my surprise, all 3 boys picked out their dino's by themselves and they each named them on their own too! Tuscan named his Rex, Teo's is Ducks and Cenzo named his Boogie!! they are so cute and the boys love them. they carried them around like a new puppy as we wandered around the outdoor mall.

dinner there was delicious, but the service was something to question. the prices were a reflection of the atmosphere, but all in all the most important part for us was the company! although frank and randy have only even spent a few days together (the last time was the week of our wedding, 5 years ago) they are definitely a good pair! kellie and i got lucky that our primary significant others enjoy each others company as much as we need them too!

the twins got a little fussy on the ride home tonight, but i guess thats to be expected after all we put them through in the last 24 hours! another 4 hours in the car was probably not our best choice, but we got it out of the way at least! and by the time we got home they were so sound asleep that we changed them into their jammies and they rolled over in their beds and we never heard a peep!

kellie and randy are working semi-normal hours this week, so tomorrow morning frank and i will be heading to the Manhattan Zoo with the boys and the GPS! we plan to meet kellie on her lunch break and im sure the evening will be filled with something fun for all of us! so stay tuned, my plan is to post everyday we are away!