Kentucky Down Under

The kids and I went with Grandma and Papaw today to Kentucky Down Under. It is a really cool park in Horse Cave, Kentucky that is all about Australia. Grandma is the bird lady, so she quickly found some birds to talk to.
These two pictures are out of order. We visited the lorikeets first thing, so they were hungry. They practically attacked us when we entered their enclosure.
Papaw became easy friends with this cockatoo. He/She loved to have its belly rubbed. Grace kept reprimanding him, saying, "The sign says don't put your fingers in the cage, Papaw!"
Grace did not like the lorikeet attack. I love this picture because it captures the panic on her face as she yelled, "Mommy, help me!"

See . . . I told you . . . she's the bird woman.
Next, we went to the wool shed. Gabriel and Grace were chosen to feed the sheep.
Grace loved it, surprisingly. She said, "It doesn't hurt!" Did she think the sheep were being sent in to eat HER?
Gabriel and I took a try at milking a cow. It was pretty easy. I'm sure I wouldn't say that if I had to fill the bucket with milk.
Grace wouldn't look at the camera because she was freaking out about being so close to the animals.
Gabriel pet each one of them.
Our next stop was the cave tour. I ended up having to carry Grace through the entire cave. She was scared through the entire tour.
Who gave this little guy permission to grow up so fast. As I was looking at the pictures of our day, I just felt like all of the pictures of Gabriel look so grown up.
Grace and Papaw checked out an emu.
It was really cool to pet a kangaroo.
Gabriel was chosen to come up front and help play the digeridoo. (I have no clue how to spell that!) **Insert Gabriel walking backwards off of the "stage" here.** Luckily, he wasn't hurt.
He jumped back up on the stage and continued to play.
Grace couldn't wait for a turn to play one too!
Our last stop was Gross Anatomy. The kids had to put their hands in bucket of "stuff" and guess what the "guts" were. They guessed things like boogers, eyeballs, kidneys, and a stomach.
Really, it was tapioca pudding, spaghetti noodles, grapes, and boiled eggs.

We had a great day! It was full of fun new experiences, beautiful weather, and great company! Thanks for going with us, Grandma and Papaw!

Bass Pro

After dinner last night, we took the kids for a little trick-or-treating at Bass Pro. I mean, we didn't have nearly enough candy at home yet! Haha! The kids LOVE going to Bass Pro because there is so much in that store to see.
So, they trick or treated and collected a little candy.
And then they trick or treated a little more.
When walking through the ladies section, Daddy found these hats for Grace and I to try on. As soon as she put this Western hat on, she said, "Hey there, Partner!" Ha! Where does she come up with this stuff?!?!
While shopping in the camping area, we ran across this skillet. Both kids actually SAT in the skillet . . . it's that big! Can you imagine the camp meals Daddy could cook on that?!?!

Trunk or Treat

Gabriel's preschool had Trunk-or-Treat in the parking lot yesterday morning. Grandma and Papaw surprised him by decorating their car trunk and giving out treats.
Who is this masked man? I'll give you a hint . . . He said that he was dressed as an old man, and I pointed out that he didn't need a costume for that. (It was all in good fun!)
Trick or treating car to car is a pretty neat idea.
Here are all of the the four, five, and preK's in front of Grandma and Papaw's --- umm, the old man's --- car.

I think these kiddos had a good time!

Oooops!

Mommy made a little "ooops" tonight when giving Gabriel's hair a little trim. I forgot to put the guard on the blade, and I took his hair down to practically nothing.
It was too late to turn back, so the poor kid is nearly bald right now. No worries, though. His hair grows fast, and it will need another trim in no time. Hopefully next time, I'll remember the blade guard. Ha!

Doing Homework

Gabriel came home with a little homework tonight. His teacher had run out of time in class to work with Gabriel on his "work paper," so we brought it home with us to do. He had to cut out the numbers and match them to the correct groups of candy corn.
He did really well with it and needed very little help.
Of course, Grace was not going to be left out. She decided to use her scissors from her new art set and do some cutting and gluing of her own.

Shades

Tonight Grace and I ran a quick errand to the store to pick up treats for Gabriel's preschool and for Mrs. Staci's house. When I got in the car after buckling Grace in, I looked back at her to see this. She had put on the sunglasses she had in her purse and was grinning up a storm at me.

Safe Place

We had some tornado warnings Tuesday, and the civil alert sirens were blaring in Jeffersonville. At work, we had 50 first grade students in a tiny hallway where the boys and girls restrooms are located. Staci sent me this picture. She, 7 kids, and two dogs were in the laundry closet taking shelter. She said they were pretending to be camping, and the kids were having a ball.

Birthday Gifts

First thing Sunday morning Grace wanted to get out all of her gifts from her birthday and try them out. The Play-doh toys were first to be opened.
Grace started with the cake decorating set.
While Gabriel made ice cream cones. They played for the longest time with the new Play-doh toys. I see these getting lots of use when cold weather comes.
Oh . . . don't forget the lip gloss! This child had a shiny, sticky face all day Sunday! It didn't take long for her hair to become a sticky mess too.
Later she tried out her art set. She colored pictures of princesses and put stickers on her pictures. Thanks to all of our party guests for such cool gifts!

My Little Girl

Grace asked me to rock her last night when I put her to bed. And how could a mommy resist that request? She and I have not had much cuddle time lately because we've all been so busy, so despite being so tired from such a busy day, I was happy to give her a few minutes in the rocking chair. While I rocked her we talked a little bit about her party, and I reminded her that from now on when someone asks how old she is, she has to tell them that she's 3. She looked at me with a little frown and said, "But I don't want to get big." When I asked her why, she said, "So I can rock with you."

Melt my heart . . . I don't care if she is 30 years old. There will always be room in my lap to rock my baby girl!

Grace's Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated Grace's 3rd birthday with a party! We had our closest family and our favorite friends to help us celebrate our baby girl's big day! Pawpaw was one of the first guests to arrive. He got a little one-on-one time with Grace.
We had Tumblebus come to our house so the kids could enjoy some play time. Gabriel is an old pro at Tumblebus activities because it comes to his preschool every Thursday afternoon.
Ms. Ashley helped Grace do the monkey bars. Grace made monkey sounds as she went across.
Sam and Jackson are best buds.
Gabriel did a flip on the rings.
I wish I knew what these girls were talking about. Their expressions are so cute!
Grace LOVED doing back flips.
Dan decided to be silly with the name tags. Geez!
I think the kids liked the parachute the most. Look at Abby's face . . . she was having a ball!


The "swamp monster" grabbed Grace and pulled her under the parachute.

Jake and Darbi lost interest in the parachute and decided to pick up the popcorn balls instead.
One of the last activities was a sack race. Sam is quite a competitor.
Sam and Grace cheered on the other kids as they raced.
Before the Tumblebus left, Grace received a t-shirt for her birthday. All of the kids received medals and suckers for participating.
Aunt Alicia let Noah eat his sucker for dinner.
After pizza, we sang Happy Birthday to Grace.
She blew out her birthday candle.
Wayne and Cassidy
Cutie-Tootie Abby
More party guests --- Erin, Brian, Wayne, and Papaw
The boys in the basement --- Dan, Noah, Daniel, and Billy
After cake Grace opened her gifts. Alicia gave Grace some Hello Kitty make-up. Oh my!
Grace made my lips beautiful with lip gloss.
We read a card from one of the gifts. I love how intently she listened as I read the cards --- most of the time.
Cassidy gave Grace a computer. She was so excited!
More cards to read! It seems that everyone knows how much Grace loves princess. Almost all of the cards had something to do with being a princess.
The Lewis family gave Grace a Play-Doh cake factory.
Uncle Brian and Erin gave Grace a Jessie doll from the Toy Story movies. She was so excited when she opened that gift. She started chanting, "Yee-haw!"
Also in the bag with the Lewis' gift was a candy necklace. Darbi wanted a bite, and Grace was happy to share. Haha!
Alicia became Grace's make-up guinea pig. Grace put eyeshadow on Alicia's nose. It was beautiful!
After all of our guests left, Grace had to try on her Cinderella dress-up outfit from the Carpenter family. She looked so beautiful!

We are truly blessed with such wonderful family and friends. Thank you to everyone who celebrated our special little girl with us.