Birthday Celebration and Field Day

On Tuesday, we celebrated Derrick's birthday.  We are so lucky to call him ours as he is the most amazing husband and father. May this year be one of the best yet to come! 52 looks good on him!

The day before, Amelia helped bake this delicious lemon cake for her daddy:

Since it was a weekday morning, we started the celebrations early. We woke Derrick up with a song and a cupcake. It doesn't get any sweeter than that:

 Big bite of cupcake:

 The birthday boy and his two little munchkins:

And yes, I had a cupcake at work too:

In the afternoon, we continued the celebration by having more cake and unwrapping some gifts. The children were really excited about the clothes he got for his birthday (Derrick has asked for a couple of shirts and new head phones). 

Happiest Birthday to you my Love! 

Since we went out for dinner already on the weekend, we wrapped up the day by enjoying a family meal at home and hanging out together. These are truly the best years and we try to make the most of it by spending lots of time together. 

But this busy week was not over yet as Elliot had his Field Day on Friday at preschool. My little guy and his classmates were so excited about playing some fun games. They are ready to Go for the Gold!

Silly Faces while waiting for the next game:

I came to cheer on my boy and his classmates:

They played lots of fun games. Luckily, it was bright and sunny and the children dried off quickly after the water games.

But the concession break was surely the best part of the morning. I even enjoyed a cotton candy, which I have not eaten in years.

Here is a little video of the fun they had as well as the prayer, which Elliot wanted to say, before lunch:

Before I had to go back to work, I ate lunch with these monsters. Elliot had asked me for a while when I come and eat lunch with him and I'm glad, I finally was able to.  

While these two hours were noisy and quite draining (repeating the same thing over and over and trying to corral 9 excited 4 year olds), I'm fortunate that I work so close to home and the schools that I can join them on special days and not miss work too often. 

On the weekends, we try to sleep in. Or at least keep quiet so that the adults can sleep a bit longer. This is how I found the kids on Saturday morning after I got up:

After breakfast, we headed to East Nashville (as the rest of town was full of marathon runners) and visited a marina and then explored a Greenway trail. We are enjoying this beautiful Spring weather as much as we can as I'm sure it won't last too long. Summer will be here sooner than later. 

 

Have a blessed Sunday!

First Grade Field Trip

Yesterday was my daughter's first grade field trip to the Nashville Zoo. While we may have been many times before to the zoo, she was as excited as ever as her classmates would all be there.

Since my company offers their employees 2 volunteer days a year, I was able to tag along as  a chaperone. We had plenty of other parents chaperone this trip, which made the individual groups very small and easy to keep track of. Our little group:

Amelia, Lailah, and Rachel

The weather was a bit cool in the morning but by lunch time the sun came out and it was perfect. There were not many people at the zoo, which made this trip even more enjoyable. These three little "monkeys" enjoyed running around the zoo and visiting all the animals. 

The zoo keepers we met were helpful in answering the girls' questions and showing them details about the animals they were working with. Fun Fact: I love watching animals shows on TV and my current favorite is The Zoo (Bronx Tales), which takes the audience behind the scenes of the world-renowned Bronx Zoo in New York City.

The kangaroo exhibit was a must for all the kangaroo lovers in the group, myself included:

Recently a new Bear exhibit was opened and while we did spot the Andean bear before he laid down for a nap, Amelia's favorite part of this exhibit were the guinea pigs. Since a while now she is asking for one and we told her when she turns 8 years old, she will get one. Now, she is counting down the months. 

Selfie time:

 Mommy and her little girl:

Tackling the rope bridge:

These classmates are like siblings:

 Picnic lunch on the lawn:

After lunch, we had one hour left to ride the carousel, visit the giraffes and explore the jungle gym playground. While most children and parents headed back home after that, Amelia and I stayed a while longer. At 1pm, we watched the Wild Works Animal show at the Amphitheater, where we learned about how helpful cockroaches are to our environment and how we can save the animals in the rain forest by using less plastic bags.  

But by far, Amelia's favorite were the Lorikeets, who sat on her arm and the goats, which she loved to hug and brush. One of the Lorikeets picked on my jewelry...the keeper said they love shiny things.

And lastly, the petting zoo:

I was glad I was able to join Amelia and her classmates on their trip to the zoo and to spend this one-on-one time with my girl. But by the end of the day, we both were exhausted and happily went early to bed.