Oliver

Oliver went and sat on top of these steps so he wouldn't disturb the animals. It was so cute! Gramma went and sat with him - it was too sweet not to snap a picture.

I just like this close up shot of Oliver - he's so handsome!

I'm not even sure what they were looking at but they all look reeeeeally interested!

The otter does flips and tricks for the kids. They all enjoyed the show. Oliver wanted to stay even after everyone else had walked away. The otter is one of my favorite things at the zoo.

more zoo

Oliver and Delilah played the Mount Cameroon game. Oliver is jumping over the laaaava!

Wyatt and Delilah checking out the flamingos

Oliver, Wyatt and Delilah all got to ride the "music-go-round" (that's what Oliver called it) Oliver chose an elephant. Delilah was on the cheetah right next to him...

and Wyatt rode a zebra. It seemed like they had fun but I was a little dizzy when we got off!!

from my birthday...

I totally forgot to post these pictures. I guess I thought I had already done it. Oh well, here they are. We had a GREAT time!!!

Grampa Dale walking with Wyatt...

Daddy holding Wyatt...

Oliver and Delilah riding an elephant statue.

This is the best picture I got of these three by the orchids.

big guitar boy

Oliver is such a rock star. He loves playing this guitar and he even sings now when he does it. He makes up songs and dances. It's hilarious to watch and also very sweet. I'm glad he's interested in music!

little musicians...

Oliver was very gracious and allowed Wyatt to play his guitar for a few minutes. Wyatt was very careful with it.

He had a little trouble holding it but he strummed some good music!

Then they got together and formed a band..Oliver found his harmonica and they played together for a few minutes.

They switched after a bit because Wyatt couldn't hold the guitar up anymore. Poor little arms. They made some..."music" together.

the little sword-bearer

Wyatt also got a sword. Here he is practicing his moves...

eeeeeeek!

Here they are jousting with each other.

and here's the little guy taking a rest in his throne

the knight and his noble steed

We got these swords and sheilds at Toys R Us - they were on clearance for a good price so both boys have a set now. They're foam so even if they get hit with one it doesn't hurt that bad. We got Gumbo, the horse, at the Dollar Tree. Oliver rode around all day trying to find a dragon to fight but alas there were none in this fair land.

So he went outside to practice his sword skills.

playing outside

This was actually a few weeks ago. We took a walk and when we got back the boys were still so full of energy that we let them stay out and run around. They chased each other all over the yard. I don't know what they were playing but they sure were having fun.

Bob found a lightning bug and the boys were very fascinated by it. It took a while to catch one since there were only two or three but Bob finally got one. Oliver wasn't afraid to touch it like he usually is. We let it go when they were done looking at it.

eating right

I'm thinking of changing our diet (as a family) starting June 1. I've been reading books and watching documentaries about food and I'm really disgusted! We will probably go meatless for the most part and start shopping for produce at the local farmer's market. For those of you in this area that's NOT the one on Sandy Ridge Rd in High Point - if you read the labels their food is NOT local.
I'm also cutting out excess sugar - no more soda, no more cake/cookies, no more white bread/pasta. I'll also try to avoid high fructose corn syrup and other artificial sweeteners.
I'm not sure what my goal is time-wise at this point but I'm thinking 30 days. This is going to be really hard - have you checked labels for HFCS before? It's in everything!
Anyway, I'll try to keep up with daily menus...maybe I'll start a new blog for that.

The playground

After we tromped through the woods for about an hour we found a playground. The boys and I hung out while Bob went to get the car. Oliver made a friend, a boy named Kendall, and they had fun running around together. Oliver is getting very good at climbing.

Not wanting to be outdone, Wyatt also climbed the ladder (with Bob closeby)

His favorite is still the tunnel, though. I love the static in his hair and he made just the goofiest face!

Oliver is doing lots of "big boy" things - he'll balance on just about anything. He went a good way around the playground on this edge.

Mother's Day Adventure!!

Setting out on our adventure in "the JUNGLE" on Mother's Day. It was pretty warm out. We had a little picnic before we hit the trail and we packed plenty of water in our backpacks. Oliver, Wyatt and Bob all had a backpack but Wyatt got tired of carrying his so I ended up with it.

Adventure boy!

The boys held hands so no one would get too far ahead. They look too cute together.

All the boys heading off right at the end of the trip.

the insectarium

We went into the insectarium to see the butterfiles but there were lots of other things there as well. Water bugs, a rhino beetle, bees, ladybugs. These were all on display outside the actual butterfly area. I think the kind of freaked Oliver out.

We saw lots of butterflies but I think the coolest one was this guy. The boys watched him crawl out of the cocoon!