Chicks, man.

Callie was happy about the 4 baby chicks in the barn.  Of course she wanted me to come take her picture with her holding each one of them.  But one picture with each chick was not sufficient for Callie.  Oh, no.  I had to take 20 pictures of her in different poses with each chick.  I did feel the necessity of holding a baby chick myself and Callie felt it vital to take my picture.  I know you do not care about all 500 pictures, but do take a moment to scroll to the last one.  I find it very amusing and yet, very wrong.  Joshua photobombed that shot.

And I give you.... Chicks, Man.

Fun with the Animals

We drove up to Iowa to visit Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Kristy and their family.  Getting to hang out with awesome family is fun, but to make it even better, they have a little FARM!  I know, how cool is that?!  Jonathan is living my dream.  I'd be bitter, but I have such a fabulous life, I can't be too envious.  Besides, if I have all the animals he has, I'd never get to go anywhere and moving would be quite complicated.

Anyway, back to the story.  We drove up on Friday to visit them.  The kids (and I) could not wait!  I knew they had some sheep and at least one cow, but the reality is even better!

 Callie is so cute.  She is holding Silver, the baby lamb.

I wanted to run over and grab that little bundle of adorablility right out of her hands. I want a baby lamb!

Instead, I let Marian hold her.  Silver is being bottle supplemented since her mom  isn't producing enough milk, so she is a friendly lamb.

Meet Louie.  He's a Great Pyrenees and he guards the sheep.  Isn't he big and shaggy?!

There are also egg laying chickens.  My girls do love the chickens.

 

Callie managed to grab this sweet bundle of baby sheep in the pasture.  I can't stand the cuteness!

Lamby's mom is a little worried, but Callie was good.

Yeah, I agree, there is such thing as too many chicken pictures.  Callie, however, hasn't realized that yet.

And Marian wanted a photo with the chicken too.

While not officially part of the farm, there are some significantly sized frogs there!  I was impressed.

 Did I mention they have 2 little piggies as well? I like piggies.  They are cute. Sadly, they are not available for cuddling.

Levi has been overwhelmed by all these new things to see and smell.  Unfortunately, his manners are not such that he can be outside without a leash and close attention.  Here he is, peeking out to see us having fun while he's relegated to the house.  I think he is getting better, but the cat now has it out for him.  It is rather amusing.  I take him out for a walk and if I take him down the driveway, the cat stalks us and when we come back, the cat tries to block the way.  Levi is terrified to get within 5 feet of the cat, so it makes for an entertaining return to the house as the cat tries to run Levi off, but I'm holding the end of the leash so Levi can only run in a 6 foot radius around me.  He yips like a little girl when the cat gets too close.  The cat managed to scratch Levi's nose, and I'd be happy to let him do it again.  Levi needs a lesson on leaving cats alone.

So we are in Iowa right now and the kids are having a blast with their cousins.  It is pretty great!

I love to see the Temple!

 We had the opportunity to stop by the Kansas City Temple.  So pretty!

 The kids were rather excited to get out and see it.  Aren't they cute?

 They may have had rather too much fun at the fountain.

Best part is that Miranda and I were able to get a babysitter and go in ourselves.  That was pretty awesome.

I know, first I took the picture, then I told the kids to get off the fountain.  I should maybe work on being more responsible.

 I love how delighted Delaney looks.  She wanted to go touch the building.  This is her after a successful touch!

Isn't it beautiful?!  I quite loved it.

Fun Times at Silver Dollar City

Mom and Dad have annual passes to Silver Dollar City, so we all went this week.  The kids were grumpy that we'd have to spend so many hours in the car to get there, but they had a marvelous time and can't wait to go back.

 They loved trying to push the big ball.  Lots of fun in one interesting thing.

 We waited forever for the little roller coaster. Granted, only 12 people at a time ride it, but the line was short and the wait was long.  Once we got up there, we learned why it was so slow.  The ride operator was slow, but super nice.  I was taking pictures of all the kids and trying to get shots of Camden on his first ride.  The ride operator offered to take this photo for us!  So I forgave him the long wait for the ride.  The kids loved it.

The kids were excited to go on the teacups with Grandpa.  I thought I'd be on the slow ride, with Rylee,  Camden and his Dad.  nope.  We spun so fast, I was surprised we didn't drill right through the floor.  Camden thought it was great, and Rylee said it was okay since I was holding her.  It was fun!

We made a little lunch stop to enjoy our sandwiches and snacks.

They really do have a great kids section of the park.  The girls loved being able to ride rides all by themselves.

Rylee wanted a picture, but Delaney was cross about something.

Waiting in line.

Most of the lines had very short wait times, or no waiting at all.  I'm not sure if it was because we were in the kiddie area or what, but it as nice!

Rylee and Delaney thinking they are awesome on the ride by themselves.

Callie is a little embarrassed that she's on a baby ride.  Probably even more embarrassed that she probably liked it!

Marian is flying high!

The kids had a very good time in the big ball play area.  I lost them for a while in there.  Delaney liked feeding the balls to this giant sucker.

 Rylee enjoyed stuffing balls into this vacuum.

We also spent a lot of time at the splash pad.  This is why most of my girls wore swim suity clothes! Delaney is waiting for the water to squirt up in her face.

Chasing the squirting water.

Bwaahahaha!  Camden got nailed and he loved it!

 Marian found a strategy that worked for her!  She really had a blast here.

Yep, we all rode the carousel!  I was surprised Joshua got on it, but he did!

Callie loved her white charger.

 Grandma thoughtfully hung out with Rylee so I could ride a horse.  Sadly, it was less thrilling than I had hoped.  Rylee was happy though!

I didn't get a shot of Delaney.  She dashed for the carriage and made a new friend in the process.  She had us in stitches with her conversation opener, "I was born in a hospital!"

We rode the fun boat ride where you get to shoot at targets.  It is one of my favorites.  Rylee wasn't scared of it this year... much.

(Yeah, I know she has a binky!  After our summer of travels I plan to end it, but for all the trips we are making this summer, I NEED it!)

We went on the ride where you shoot people with water cannons.  Unfortunately, they can shoot back.  this is us, after that very wet ride!  My shirt was soaked- mostly in the back.  Who shoots people in the back?!

Rylee sacked out for a bit.

 Me and my favorite kids. They were a great bunch to hang out with all day!

I let them talk me into getting some cotton candy.

It went fast!

Rylee.  Just being adorable.

 I opted to not go on the river raft ride.  These guys all went and got really wet.  Sure, we were a bit wet to start, but they were even more wet now!  Delaney is cold.

Hey, if Joshua wants to pose for a picture, I'm going to take one!

It was a bit of an uphill to get out and it was such a hoot seeing them push each other.

We had a fun day.  A long day, and an exhausting day, and a warm day; but a lovely day.