TN Safari Park

The safari park was probably one of our favorite things we did. We got 4 buckets of food and drove though the "open grazing area" twice. We could drive through as many times as we wanted all day, but we'd seen everything and fed everything we'd wanted in the two times through. We loved the llamas, the bucks, the buffalo, and the camel the most. The emus really freaked me out with their huge eyes and how fast they pecked away at the food. I thought at any second they were going to peck me in the face! After the drive through part we ate our picnic lunch and then went to the petting zoo part. They had monkeys, goats, peacocks, and our favorite the giraffe! It was so cool to feed carrot sticks to the giraffe and see his long slimy tongue!

Swimming at our apt. pool

We had a great pool that just took a minute to walk to from our apartment in Memphis. With all of Bella's swimming lessons she decided she needed to practice every day she said! Benjamin picked up a lot just watching the lessons and he had no fear of swimming with his face in, jumping in, or floating on his back. This is scary because he has no fear! It sure is a lot of fun though!

In this picture he's telling daddy to move back more. He kind of shoos his hand and says "more, more, more" a million times until he thinks you're far enough away. :)

Strawberry Picking

We were so excited to go berry picking! We had driven by this patch several times and it finally worked out to go! Benjamin was going "full Auzy" on the strawberries picking every single one he could find as as fast as he could! He won't even eat strawberries, but he sure like picking them! Bella made sure they were good before picking and enforced taking turns so Benjamin wouldn't get them all. Can you see their sweet personalities? We just got enough to eat over the next couple of days, I could tell we were at the end of the crop and it was very slim pickin! The berries were all very small, but the experience was so memorable! The next day we drove by and the large sign and tent were down! I think we were the last customers.

Crazy Circus

The Piccadilly Circus was very rough! I found a groupon for it earlier in the week and it was just down the street from us so why not! Well, we probably should've not gone, but it was something to do and to get us out of the apartment for awhile! It was Benjmain's first circus, but I'm not going to count it because it was so lame. We show up and there's a notice that the elephants and tigers will not be performing today and there are no refunds! Well, than what animals will be there? So we go in and it's so dirty and not air conditioned. It's one of those circuses where the people working there all look extremely rough and you want to take the animals home with you because you feel so bad for them. There was a little petting zoo set up before where you could take a pony ride or feed them if you were willing to pay an arm and a leg! We settled on the $2 feed for the llamas and goats. Then we found some seats and enjoyed a little candy as the show started only about 30 minutes late! I guess that's when the elephants were supposed to come out? There were some silly clown and dog acts. They had some miniature ponies, but they were the most exciting animal there. Bella kept asking to leave and go home! You know it's bad when a 4 yr old doesn't even want to watch it! At least the Barnum and Bailey circus is coming to KC in September! We'll see if we make it this year since Bowen will be freshly hatched!

Memphis Zoo

Our first family outing in Memphis was the zoo! It's one of our favorite things to do in KC so we couldn't wait to try this one out. The weather was surprisingly very nice, only in the 80's so we hit the perfect Saturday to go! We made our way around the entire zoo and wore ourselves out! Bella's favorite animal were the huge Komodo dragon lizards which really surprised me. She couldn't wait to get her pictures with them. Benjamin loved the tigers and lions. We enjoyed our little picnic lunch, played, and saw the rest of the zoo. Benjamin didn't even make it to the car before he fell asleep. We got to go to the zoo for the 2nd time with our friends Amanda, Bryce, and Brady. It was so much fun having friends to play with and the highlight of the day were definitely the bomb pops and penguin pops!

Getting stretched

Wow, I don't even know where to start with this journey we've been on. Our year has been really full and full speed ahead! It all started with a new job offer that Brandon got out of the blue really. We weren't looking to get out of Builders Stone but one thing after the other kept dropping in our laps. We thought and prayed a lot about this big life change. We felt like this was going to be best for our family, so we said okay God and we hung on for dear life! Our business sold rather quickly which is extremely unheard of in this economy. Huge step #1 God took care of it. Huge step #2 Brandon accepted a new job at Meyer Lab as the VP of sales. #3 We found out we're expecting baby #3 in Sept! #4 Sold our Olathe house #5 Bought our Lee's Summit house #5 Moved into our Lee's Summit house and the next day Brandon begins his 6 month training process in Memphis, TN. Phew!!! #6 The kids and I head out to Memphis for 5 weeks so we can spend more time together. #7 The kids and I are back in Lee's summit to prepare for Bowen's arrival and get all the loose ends tied up that come with moving and beginning preschool, etc. So that's where we are right now and we have a few more steps before I think we'll feel "in rhythm" of what an every day life will feel like. We've got about 8 weeks until Bowen is born. We're planning to induce so Brandon can be here and it happens to fall of course on the same week as the first days of school for Bella and Benjamin. After Bowen is born, I think brandon will just have several weeks of training left so that will start to slow down a bit and he'll transition full time into his role of VP of sales. The most amazing thing is how God has been guiding us one step at a time this year. It's been one of the most difficult years and exciting years. For those that know me best, you know I like to have roots, community, family, purpose in my daily life. With each week away from home I was being stretched a little more mentally, emotionally , and definitely physically! I don't know how I kind of forget how large and uncomfortable pregnancy eventually becomes! Being in Memphis was one of the largest challenges I've had to deal with, but at the same time so great because our little family was all together and we had a great time exploring the cit. I learned a lot about how extremely blessed and comfortable my life is in KC. Never will I take for granted the short distance from the garage to the kitchen when unloading groceries! Especially being very pregnant! Also, being in community with other believers, friends, and family is so important for me mentally, emotionally, and just all around! I just felt so isolated and coming home I was so giddy to start our lives again in Lee's Summit and feel rooted again in church and where Christ wants me an to reconnect myself to home! I also realized how much I love Kansas City!!! We are getting readjusted and settled into our house here in Lee's Summit and I couldn't be more excited! My poor sweet kids have been moved around way too much since Benjamin was born! The last 3 years we've lived 5 places! That's beyond what a toddler or I can even handle! So please be patient with us as you see me chasing my crazy kids around. :)