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The Bunch Finish Celebrating L's Bday and Get Back to Hiking


As you all know for some reason every year L's bday extravaganza gets extended into multiple events. I do the same thing for all the kids, but hers seems to go on forever. Each child gets a special outing that we go on as a family, a small outing/spend the night for friends, and a big party to celebrate with family. It usually works out that A and T have their family party together. T usually invites his friends to that and A is rather anti-social and could careless about friends coming over, but occasionally does invite a couple. L, on the other hand, is a complete social butterfly. She loves planning parties. As a result, it seems her birthday "month" goes on forever. We have now completed her family outing (which was NOT on her "real" birthday since daddy was working), her actual birthday (where she gets control of the tv remote and meal planning for the day), the big family party (which was Great British Baking Show themed) and now all that is left is her friend celebration (which can't happen until June because of everyone's schedules).
She works hard to decorate for her parties.

A and L are ready for the party.

She did a great job.

She made every sandwich herself.

She made a traditional Victoria Sandwich as her birthday cake. It was really good and not super sweet.

Her family outing this year was a trip to the FT Worth Zoo, which had to be on a Wednesday because it is half priced on Weds. It was a beautiful day. The high was about 67 and it was cloudy with a nice breeze. Best of all, hardly anyone was there! We had plenty of space to see everything and no fighting through crowds to move from one place to the next. It was great. FT Worth is re-doing their African Savannah to make it more natural like Dallas's. They did a good job, however, Dallas Zoo is still our favorite. It is just done better and has more opportunities for up close encounters during the trainer talks.  We really enjoy our visit every time we go to the Dallas Zoo. Maybe it is because growing up I always heard the Dallas Zoo was horrible compared to the FT Worth Zoo and when we finally did visit I had such low expectations that it really surprised me when it was so wonderful. I am not sure, but it is a fantastic zoo and our local favorite.
D pointing out the lemurs.

They were cute.

This rat snake was really soft and squishy.

Great Day.

Not very busy at all.

D getting a call to fight crime.

The boys

A

L

D helped carry the heavy lunch bag even though it was purple. Thanks!!!

A touch pool with all kinds of sea creatures.

When we started this pic years ago on our first visit, the kids could hardly reach anything. Now, they are too big to be in the same pic!

T

Doesn't quite fit the same as he did when he was 3.

Feeding the birds is always so much fun!
A and L have played 2 volleyball games so far. The first game they lost all 3 sets, but bounced back and won all 3 sets on the 2nd game. We entertain T during their practice time by walking to the park and playing. We get to walk a couple of miles and he also gets to play at one of the neatest parks that we have ever been too. The girls also avoid having daddy at practice helping to "coach" them. It is a win win for everyone.

We have been getting back to our less touristy camping trips. Since moving out to the country, most of our trips have been very touristy (visiting museums, shows, and doing things tourists come to an area to visit). We are just starting to really want to go back to exploring and hiking (A has been the most vocal about this, but all the kids have wanted to). So last Sunday after church, we went out to the lake and took a spontaneous 5 mile hike. It was really fun. There were deer that came really close to us several times during our trip. I can't wait until our big trip in a few weeks. We are spending a whole week visiting National Parks before moving on to St Louis and Chicago to do some more touristy things. Next week, we have our Scout Family campout {our last one :( }. We plan to do more hiking while we are there. So far, we have LOVED the camper.
Love the outdoors (during the day.... I need a real bed and a hot shower at night)

2.5 miles in.

I finished.

My life whenever I sit down.

Causality of a spontaneous 5 mile hike, 

I feel we have to wrap the dog up a lot! This time she won't stop chewing on her foot.

T out camping by himself in a tent like his friends from Boy Scouts are doing. He really wants to camp with his friends.

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