HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME !!!!!

I WAS GOING FOR A PRINCESS CAKE, BUT APPARENTLY AT 7pm ON A FRIDAY EVENING THEY WERE ALL GONE !!!! INSTEAD I GOT AN EASTER CAKE AND HAD THEM PUT HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON IT FOR ME.

THE BOYS ALL SANG AND WE ATE CAKE AND CUPCAKES FOR DESSERT AND THEN FOR BREAKFAST AND LUNCH THE NEXT DAY.

WE WENT TO AN EASTER EGG HUNT AT A FRIENDS HOUSE AND CAME HOME AND ATE MORE CAKE....

THANK YOU TO BRIAN, JENN, & ROBERT FOR MY LOVELY FLOWERS. THEY MATCHED THE TABLE PERFECTLY

more pictures of the zoo & the park ......

This big TREE is what greets you when you walk into the zoo. It is the welcoming center and the gift shop and the entrance and it also has the food area in there too!!!. So does that give you an idea of how small the zoo is ?????

There's trails that take you around to all the localized animals and their habitats. There are Mountain Lions, Lynx, Elk, Bobcats, Wolves, Caribou, Black Bears, Wolverines, Llamas, Wild birds, Turkeys (Free range hahaha) an Aviary & a petting Zoo too!!! We weren't able to see the Black Bears because the day we went it was the first nice day since Spring started a few days earlier, so they were bumming it and still hibernating.
Marcel was a trooper. He rode in the wagon for like 4 minutes and then was like "I got this mom"
Here's a shot of Ronan climbing on stuff as usual, my little Monkey Man

THIS IS WHAT I MEAN BY "FREE RANGE TURKEYS"

.......These things are huge...look at them, and yes they walk right by you and ruffle their feathers and show you who's boss. Personally I was freaked out by these big bitches and took these pictures with the zoom lense......

.

.:TEAMWORK:.

THIS IS THE CASTLE PARK

This is the park at the top of the hill. The zoo is off to the side and we came here afterwards, the kids LOVE it here. They run wild and look forward to coming every week.

The boys love the tire swing

and basically if Ronan can hang off stuff it's a winner!!

thats all for that.....

atleast that day is finished. Also note that it was in the high 40's and lower 50's this day and we all took sweaters and eventually took the off, except Ronan cuz he likes to keep his wardrobe intact.

ITS SPRING AT LAST.....

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!!!

WE HAVE ALOT OF CATCHING UP TO DO AND HOPEFULLY YOU DON'T GET BORED.....

LETS SEE...HhMmmm..

OKAY MARK IS HOME NOW AND WE GOT A NEW COMPUTER...

THE SNOW IS TOTALLY GONE...

MARCEL IS POTTY TRAINING AND ITS TOO HARD FOR ME, LET ME EXPLAIN!!

HE IS MY BABY...THE LAST ONE, AND HE JUST TURNED 2 ..... NOW I KNOW THIS IS A BLESSING AND HE IS DOING REALLY WELL...TOO WELL, INFACT, BECAUSE WE BOUGHT A POTTY CHAIR AND WE PUT IT OUT AND HE PUSHED TO USE IT...THANK GOODNESS ITS SPRING AND HE CAN RUN AROUND NAKED CUZ I CAN'T KEEP A DIAPER OR UNDERWEAR ON HIM ANYMORE. HE LOVES HIS FREEDOM LET ME TELL YOU. I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO DOWNLOAD PICTURES TO OUR NEW COMPUTER ( THE ONES THAT WOULDN'T ON THE OLD ONE) SO NOW I CAN SHARE WITH YOU, HOW WE SAW THE SNOW DISAPEAR AROUND US

THIS IS A SHOT OF THE RIVER ~DUH~ LIKE YOU CAN'T SEE THAT...

IT'S FLOWING AND ITS STILL FROZEN IN SOME AREAS ...SEE BELOW

ANOTHER SHOT CLOSER TO THE SIDE


THIS WAS COOL TO SEE IN PERSON BUT ALSO A COOL PIC TOO!!!

HERE IS A SHOT OF THE FRONT...

EVERYTHING DIED UNDER THE SNOW, BUT NOW ITS TURNING GREEN AGAIN FROM ALL THE RAIN AND SUNSHINE!!!

LATER THAT DAY

WE WENT TO THE COMMISARY AND YOU CAN SEE BY THE LOOKS ON THEIR FACES HOW THEY FELT ABOUT THAT!!!

SO....WHILE WE WERE GOING ON ABOUT OUR DAILY ROUTINES....
THIS IS WHAT DADDY WAS DOING....

BEING A SOLDIER

HE IS THE 2nd GUY FROM THE LEFT
AND THIS IS WHAT HE WILL BE DOING IN AFGANISTAN... THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN AT AP HILL IN VIRGINIA WHILE THEY WERE TRAINING...NEAT HUH!!!!

I MEAN THAT THEY GOT A PICTURE, NOT THAT THIS IS HIS JOB, THAT SCARES ME.

THE SECOND WEEKEND MARK WAS HOME IT WAS SOOO WARM

LITERALLY....

IT WAS IN THE UPPER 40'S AND LOWER 50'S

AND ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS

THE NIGHT BEFORE WE CAME TO THE ZOO WE HAD GONE OUT TO DINNER AND THEN SET OUT TO FIND THE ZOO ....

WE HIT THE JACKPOT

THE ZOO IS RIGHT NEXT TO A HUGE HILLTOP PARK, ITS OUR EQUIVILANT TO GRIFFITH PARK AND LIKE THE OLD ZOO, SINCE THIS ZOO IS REALLY SMALL.

SO WE DECIDED TO TAKE THE KIDS THE NEXT DAY...

PERFECT WEATHER, CLEAR SKIES, AND WE HAD A PICNIC...

WELL WE PUSHED OUR LUCK, WE THOUGHT WOW LETS BBQ TOMORROW!!

THAT SUNDAY IT POURED...BUT WE STILL BBQ'ED WITH OUR OLD NEIGHBORS CHRIS & ERICA AND THEIR KIDS

OH WELL...APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS

HERE ARE SOME ZOO SHOTS.....

THIS IS A BALD EAGLES NEST & BEHIND MATT IS ITS WINGSPAN
THERE IS A PARK INSIDE THE ZOO AND THE KIDS WANTED TO PLAY BEFORE WE WENT TO THE PARK TO GO PLAY!!! SUCH DORKS

ONLY 50 OR SO DEGREES AND NO SWEATERS

THEY HAD A BLAST....

AND NOW I WILL END OUR JOURNEY AND DEDICATE ANOTHER ENTRY TO ZOO AND PARK PICS FOR ANOTHER TIME...I'M SLEEPY!!!