Happy 4th of July!!!

Oh my, what a wonderful day we have had!!! I can't express how much fun we had today!!

First, we got up, and Jason and Peytee made refrigerator cinnamon rolls (the tube rolls, don't laugh or judge, we like them :) ), and then we all got ready and hurried off to the zoo!!! We told Peyton last night right before bed that we were going to the zoo today, and she was very excited, and a bit put off that "breakfast" came before going to the zoo. She informed us... "NO BEFAST"...."ZOO"!!! LOL.....she is very chatty, and very animated! First thing this morning, when "Miss Self" as Jason and I call her, because she refers to herself alot as "Self", arrived in the living room after scurrying out of bed, the first words out of her mouth were, "I go ah zoo?". LOL.....that little monkey remembered what we told her last night!!! This age is sooo amazing as she is growing and developing! She is shocking us every single day with her new skills and language.

While at the zoo, we had a great time. Since we have a membership there, we pick and choose which exhibits we see each time so we don't RUN thru the zoo trying to see it all. Today we chose to see the primate exhibit, and the farm animals, and of course the elephants, giraffes, rhinos, and hippos....those are easy because they are in the central area and you go by them anyway, but they are her all time favs. We could spend our whole day looking at nothing but those! So we see the primates first, and honestly, she wasn't very impressed today....she kept asking for the cows we promised and the "aw-plants" = "elephants". So next we see the giraffes, elephants, and rhinos. Total hit...she loves them. Peyton informs us that they are hers...."my aw-plants"....right Peyton is all "mine", and my this and that....I guess it's a toddler phase. Anywho, next we go to the farm area and see the cows and other farm animals. Another hit....I think that will have to become a regular on our visits....she loved the chickens, and by the way, the zoo may not know this, but the chickens are hers too.

After seeing all this we were all hot, tired, and hungry. So since it's the 4th, we decided to splurge today and eat at the zoo and not pack our lunch like usual. The zoo has a new restaurant called the "Beastro", designed by WDM by the way. It's basically a really really nice concession. So we roll in with the "Hog", that's what we fondly refer to our new double stroller as (we love this stroller). We all get the goodies we desire, and find a nice booth to sit down, relax, eat, and discuss what we saw. Our little meal was quite pleasant, and we all ate and chatted. It's so fun to chat now with Peyton. The 3 of us can almost hold a little conversation. After we had eaten till we were satisfied, and cooled off, we proceeded to get everyone cleaned up and in fresh diapers. By this time poor Tyson had completely had it!!! The little dude had his fill of riding in the heat. So I suggested that Daddy and Peyton head back to the hippos as they were sleeping when we last saw them.....oh what excitement that brought Peytee!!! So off my little pair skipped to see the hippos!!! Tyson and I stayed in the restaurant and chilled. I laid a clean cool blanket out on the booth seat and laid him down for a nap.....awwwww.......he was one happy little camper....a full tummy, air conditioning, and a solid non-moving surface to nap on and Mommy close by patting and cooing sweet words. After what seemed like a very long time, Daddy and Peyton were back......and what a story they had!!!!! While visiting the hippos, they decided to go back and see the rhinos again. They went to the inside area where the animals live to see them there too. They had just put the big male rhino back in his area, and he was "marking" his living environment.....to put it lightly. According to Jason, the stream of urine shooting out of this rhino was phenominal, and this big dude proceeded to turn his hiney on Jay and Peytee and SHOOT!!!! ROFL!!!! If not for the barrier wall which caught the high velocity stream of urine, my little pair would have been thoroughly "marked" LOL!!! Jason said he grabbed Peyton and ducked and moved quickly.....he said he was thinking "no way, no no no.....no way......oooohhhhh nooooooooooooooooooo" LOL!!! So for the entire rest of the day, Peyton has been saying "rhino pee on us" and giggling!!! After her nap today, the first thing was "Mommy, rhino pee on us" in a very serious tone. LOL!!!

Tonight, we set off some little fireworks out the street, and Peyton had a ball "helping". She also got to do her first sparklers tonight. I tried desparately as usual to get pictures. But this child moves so much and so often that I can't get any good still pictures of her or her face!!! Seems like I can only get her back and side and even those are a blur!!

If you got this far reading my "book", then bless your heart!!! We just had such a good time!!! Here's some pics as a reward for reading!! :~)