Zoovie Night

During the summer months, the Nashville Zoo hosts multiple family-friendly events. Yesterday was Zoovie Night and since we are members, it is free for us to attend. With the children now better adapted to the school schedule and the weather being much cooler in the mornings and evenings, we took advantage of this outing opportunity. We left right after school so that we have a couple of hours to see the animals before Zoovie Night activities began. I must say, our timing was excellent as there were not crowds and the animals were out and about (most of them waiting for dinner, I assume).

We loved seeing the tiger and bears up close as well as the Cassowary. 

The tiger exhibit is new and it was the first time that we saw it. Next year, a Komodo dragon exhibit is being opened and Elliot is already very excited. 

Cooling off:

At 6pm, we chose the perfect spot on the lawn and waited till the sun set. There were bounce houses, face painting, a carousel and some games to keep the kids busy. We packed a picnic dinner and enjoy that while waiting for the movie to start. 

Smallfoot was the feature and we all loved it (my first time watching this movie). 

A short movie of our zoovie fun:

It was a great start to this long holiday weekend. The kids did really well and those outings are now truly enjoyable as a family. 

August Update

August has come and gone and with that our first few weeks back at school. I will do a separate post on how the children are doing in school. Let's just say, they are still loving it. The month came with some much appreciated cooler days but then summer moved back in. But in the early mornings and late evenings, it feels great to be outside. Thus, on weekend mornings you can find us on the front porch:

 We even had our first breakfast on the deck on a especially fall-like morning.

Since I have to get up at 5:30am during the work week, at least I can enjoy the pretty sunrise while preparing lunch boxes:

Our guinea pigs are doing great and once in a while get a quick wash (they are called pigs for a reason...stink stink). We figured out that they don't mind the bath as long as there is some food:

They love cantaloupe too:

Our new "house guest", who lives under our deck, is very cute and comes out nightly when I'm watering the yard; however, he has also been eating my newly re-planted vegetables. No good, Mr. Bunny! So, I put up some chicken wire around my garden beds and we tried catching him and now he moved on to the neighbors yard. Derrick also took part off the deck down, which Bunny probably didn't like either. He was awfully cute though and came up close to us.

My husband working hard on the beautification of the yard (and I helped too):

 In mid August, Amelia was invited to Build-a-Bear by one of her best friends. Instead of celebrating with a party, Annamae chose to go to Build-a-Bear and asked if Amelia can come along. The girls each chose a new stuffie and enjoyed an ice-cream treat and a carousel ride.

And just like that, a mermaid was sitting outside the Aquarium restaurant and the girls got to talk to her. What a  great way to celebrate a girl's 8th birthday. 

One Wednesday evening, some co-workers and I met up at a local paint studio. There was food, wine, music and a fun artist teaching us how to paint a sunflower portrait. We really enjoyed the step-by-step guidance. 

As you can see, I variated my paint colors just a bit but really like how it turned out. Our troop:

 

August also means the beginning of the long-awaited football season. My guys are very happy about that. Go Gators!

Teaching Amelia how to use the Strickliesl:

Now, we are hopeful that Fall will come around soon so that we can enjoy all the fun activities that come with that season.

Birthday Celebration

On Saturday, our girl turned 8 years old. She was so excited to be finally 8, she woke up at 4am. Luckily, she stayed in her room till it was time to go down and unwrap some presents. 

A fairy garden, plenty of Lego Friends, earrings, a necklace, books and Barbies...this girl scored well. 

We had planned to go to the beach or the pool and then out for lunch with family but Amelia rather wanted to stay home. The first week of school is always a dozy and the children were worn out. This was the second year in the row that her uncle Lee and cousin Ryan were in town to celebrate her birthday with us. This year, Aunt Bahar and cousin Devin were also here and Amelia loved every minute of their visit. 

 Hanging with the (much) older cousins is always fun:

We enjoyed a delicious meal and then chocolate birthday cake. Elliot helped bake this cake for his sister. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent building Lego and planting a Fairy Garden. 

 Mommy and her little girl:

The next day, our Austrian friends came over for Kaffee und Kuchen. Three celebrations in three day, what a great way to spent the weekend:

 Playing with the cat:

Thank you for all the birthday wishes and the gifts. Amelia truly enjoyed herself and is  happy to be a year older.