Wild Wilderness Safari

taking a break from thrifted thursday this week to share photos from our recent trip to the wild wilderness safari.

it was so.much.fun.

we have been wanting to take the kids for a while and i'm so glad we did!
we all loved it.
it was AJ, sawyer & ruby's first time to go and the big boys didn't really remember it so that made it extra fun.

there are four big areas where you can go in and hang out with the animals, pet them, pick them up, chase them, whatever you fancy.

i just loved those cute little piggies.
there are all kinds of animals roaming around together, it was crazy!

there were tons of peacocks.
i think those peacocks like each other because they were everywhere.

this kangaroo had a giant baby in her pouch.
more like a toddler.
it looked painful!
big legs sticking out everywhere.
i think i'd be giving that baby the boot.

the safari is so much more fun that the zoo {i think} because you get to be in the pins with the animals.
you do feel like things could go terribly wrong at any moment.
we like to live on the edge.

this peacock seemed to be giving his lady a show.
he kept following her around shaking his feathers at her the whole time we were there.

wow. God's creativity right there.
so fun to talk about with our kids.
how God is the most creative of all and how He created every color every imagined and he provides for his creation with defense mechanisms. so amazing!!!
we spent the whole time amazed at God's handiwork.
also, that peacock there....the blue of his head was amazing.
the deepest cobalt blue but shimmery. breathtaking, really.

the monkeys put on a big show for us. so fun!

so fun to be this close to giraffes!
how beautiful are they?!!!

okay i know this is so many pictures, but i took over a hundred so it was hard to slim down! :)

it was one of those mornings that i wanted to last forever.
you just want to stop the clock.
it is so peaceful out there.

ruby got brave enough to feed the goats.
she loved it!

after all the petting and looking in cages, we went on the drive-thru part which took like an hour.
it was awesome!

the animals came so close!
seriously we were all giddy, exclaiming over every animal.

then she decided she wanted that window back. up.  ;)

zebras are so pretty!!!

hey there giant rhino.

there were so many cool animals....white bengal tiger, black bear, lions, hippos, etc. 

such a great morning....if you're local, i highly recommend it.

yay for summer!
summer foreverrrrrrrrr.  :)


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what we've been up to

i'm easing back into reality today.
today is the first day i've set an alarm in 2 weeks.
it's been blissful.
i do feel recharged and ready to face this new year.
so thankful for times of rest and relaxation to keep us going.
we all needed it.

our schedule is flooding back in this week.
i am trying to be very intentional about what i say yes to and put on my plate.
last semester was too much and i don't want to do that to myself again.

last week.....

last week we celebrated our avery's 10th birthday.
he asked for a fedora.
he's an old soul like his mama.

we also enjoyed the last of our sweet lazy days with AJ home.
we went bowling and had the best family time.
have i said that i love this little family of mine? i do.
so much.

then it snowed.

so thankful it happened while AJ was home so he could play out there with them and make it really fun.

he pulled them all over this yard on the sleds.
the sleds i've been saving for a year and a half, waiting for a snow.
the boys were so. excited.

we had a very mild winter last year with no snow so the boys have been dreaming of snow.

avery stayed out there most of the day and was even out in the yard in the dark.
even though i would be just as happy as a clam to always have mild winters, i was super happy for avery.

ruby stayed inside cozy warm with her mama. :)

we enjoyed the last of the glow of the christmas tree and then put it all away.
it's always a little sad to put away the decorations.
but it's also nice to feel a little less cluttery for the new year.
i'm sure you all feel that way too.

almost all of us have been sick with one thing or another since christmas.
for a few days i had a cold and a stomach bug at the same time.
not awesome but also not the worst i've ever had.
i do have amazing family who took great care of me.
so thankful for them.
finley loved on me so much and kept bringing me sweet pictures. :)

this weekend aj and i got to go to kansas city by ourselves!
oh my word, it was wonderful.
we were celebrating aj's mom's birthday so we met up with his siblings and parents.
we ate lots of yummy food and had so much time for adult conversation.
we haven't had that much talking time in years.
it was so great.
on the three and half hour drive home, aj and i pretty much talked non-stop.
it was so fun and much needed.
we need to make that kind of time more often.

before we left yesterday, we hit the first friday event in the west bottoms.
it's a thrifters paradise.
building after building full of vintage and handmade.

it was heavenly.
and so fun to walk around with my man.
we talked about booth ideas and house ideas and even picked up a sweet vintage quilt for ruby.

wish we had something like that around here.
i do feel super inspired for my booth and our new house....wherever that may be......

happy monday, y'all! let's make it a great week!



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ode to christmas 2012.

we are still in total vacay mode over here.
my kids don't start back to school until next tuesday so i hardly know what day it is around here.

i'm currently curled up on the couch with my finny fan and we're watching narnia.
the house could stand to be picked up but this is better.

the house gets messy so. fast.
seriously, we pick it up and it's messy again in 30 minutes....i digress.

we had AJ home for an entire ten days. 
it was dreamy.
and i needed it bad.
november and december were pretty rough so ending them with my husband home for over a week was the best medicine.

sadly, i've been terrible at taking pictures lately.
i'm sad that i don't have any photos of our christmases with my family here in arkansas, but i do have pictures from our trip to kansas.
thankfully, our family in kansas took lots of pictures.

we have so much fun with AJ's family.
with six little boys, it is lively, for sure.

we love hanging out together so we always look forward to our time there.

we do lots of hanging out and talking and as much relaxing as you can do with eight young kids.
we try to get outside as much as we can to get wiggles out.

the boy cousins love playing together.
they never want it to be over.

these sweet little girlies will surely love each other too.

auntie jill gets her fill of kiddos when we're together. :)

so thankful that we all love each other and get along.
i am so blessed to have them for family.

it was a merry, merry christmas.  :)


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