Tanganyika

We had a day with everyone home and nothing on the schedule last week so we decided to head to Tanganyika Wildlife Park. It was a beautifully warm Saturday so I feared we'd be there with half of Wichita but for some reason the park was practically empty. We had a great time and I was impressed with how hands-on it was.

Check out all those legs and ears coming out of her pouch.
I'm glad we don't have pouches.

Hard to pick a favorite exhibit! They all put you so close to the animals and we got to feed so many that each one was special. We'll definitely be back!

Perks of the Job

Taryn's been playing some basketball. On purpose.

I know, I know, when you think of me and my offspring you think athletics.

Anyway, apparently she already sustained her first injury. She came up the other night holding her WRIST and said,

"Mommy, my arm ankle really hurts."

0 points for correct anatomy vocabulary
10 points for creativity

She's kinda nutty.

Leaves and Time

For no good reason I decided to look back at what we were doing on this day three years ago. Oh. My Goodness. I didn't realize what a heart-wrencher that would be. Seeing T so tiny and in all her cuteness, reminiscing about the simplicity of being just a family of three and the sweetness that comes from being able to pour your time into one kissable little girl and thinking about how I blinked and now she's 5 we have three other sweet loves living with us...can someone hold me please?!

It also reminded me about a fun fall activity that maybe you'd like to try! So here's my little girl (and our neighbor) from what seems like one week and 20 years ago all at the same time. 

 

 

Cuteness overload.

Here's the activity. We went on a fall walk and collected some leaves....

 



Then, we took them home and prepared our wax. I used a disposible pan and placed it on a burner over low heat.

The wax I got in the canning section of the grocery store.

 



Don't forget...the wax is hot! Make sure you trust the kiddo you're letting dip. It helps when you have long stems like these leaves did. Dip the leaf, lay it on wax paper to cool. You can see how it really brought out the colors and gives it a beautiful gloss.

 

Then, we strung ours on fishing line. Love my little helpers...

 

 

 

These lasted through the season then they started to get dry. Simple but fun!

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have not-so-little girl to go squeeze before she's 20 years old. 

 

The Dairy Farm

A benefit of being a stay-at-home mom? I get to join in on Taryn's field trips!

Taryn's class went to Klausmeyer Dairy Farms and Pumpkin Patch recently and I tagged along. I was impressed with all they had to offer and had fun watching T interact with her classmates. 

We stayed busy...

Milking cows.

Riding in wagons.

Running through the large hay bale maze.

Swinging on horses.

Running through tubes.



Watching the pig races.



Cheering for the winners.

Laughing at the running pigs.

Feeding baby sheep.

Petting bunnies.

Learning about milk cows.

Picking just the right pumpkin off the vine.

Riding with friends on the trailer.



Feeling what it's like to get milked.

Jumping hay bales.

Feeding the cows.

 It was a fun morning (despite the Kansas wind) and I loved getting to spend time with T and her class.  Such a great group of kids! 

Phone Purge

I recently got a new phone because my old one had a close encounter with the garage floor. I was due for the upgrade anyway so we went for it since my old phone left tiny shards of glass on my check when talking and thumb when texting and that's not as fun as it sounds.

So, this meant I had to get all the junk off my old phone. Now you techies are going to cringe when I say this but I think I had only plugged my phone into my computer maybe one other time in the two and a half years I had it. I know, I know...upgrades, music, apps, picture transfers, etc, etc.  Just not my thing. Needless to say, I had a *couple* pictures to get off of there. Here's just a few of the more recent ones...

I love her joy when sliding (and sliding, and sliding, and sliding).

 

A hug is a strangle you haven't finished yet.

Sweet rock counter.

Sweet sleeper.

Chatting with her reflection. They're good friends. 



This is how Aven's been crawling lately. Unique but one step closer to walking so I'll take it.  

She could dig forever.

Checking out the bobcat.

Summer softball in the yard.

Scored these awesome lockers for a steal So excited to put them to use.

Poor baby had a cold. It made for lots of cuddling and sleeping.

Hello piggy tails!

The girls recently started sharing a room. I LOVE getting to open this door each morning.

Sweet sisters.

Getting ready to be dedicated at church.

Well that's all for now. Maybe I'll think about plugging this new phone in more now-and-again. But -- probably not. : )