Life with the Wallis Family: Zoomania!

Spring catch up here - I apologize for ALL the pictures in one post but my phone is about out of storage so it's time to clear them out! We've had some lovely weather lately and when the sun warms us up, we cool down with ice cream. Nothing like a little red velvet and cotton candy to make the kiddos look crazy.

One Sunday, I decided to renew our Indianapolis Zoo membership. You can tell they were excited, right?!? Or at least someone likes having their picture taken more than the other...

I hadn't been to the zoo since the orangutans arrived so that was my excitement for the day.

Everything has been moved around and some updates have been made so it was fun to go back.

By far, the kids LOVE visiting the birds.

I think it's because they have no boundaries (especially if you have food).

We ended our zoo visit at the White River Gardens to see the butterflies and Phoebe LOVED seeing all the cocoons.

I tried to get them to pose next to this quote, "We do not remember days, we remember moments."

I tried to get them to act all lovey-dovey at the wedding arch but they would have none of it!

Phoebe is quite the photographer, perfectly capturing my happy exhaustion.

This little one is growing up WAY too fast.

But then she has moments like this (literally two minutes later) because she didn't get the $20 penguin at the gift store. She cried for a good ten minutes on the car ride home and talked about it incessantly for three days afterwards. Oy.

And I'm sure you're all wondering what Ryan was up to while we were all at the zoo...he was getting in some much needed boy time out on the river. It's a hard life, right!?

Monday afternoon, while I was at work, I discovered that we'd missed the due date for the BIG first grade animal project. Phoebe'd turned in her written portion weeks ago but had yet to complete her diorama. So we spent ALL of Monday evening being crafty.

Proud of her finished project!

Papa came to town on Wednesday to get in some golf and see the Indy 500 but didn't go to the parade with us this year. They had sky writing which was pretty cool to see in action.

The kids made it about an hour before they had emptied out our snacks and drinks and were bored so we headed to the zoo since Ryan was with us and we now had a membership and were already downtown. I think every other person in the city had the same idea as it was packed! The rhinos were trying to stay cool in the mud so we got to see them up close and personal. Between the crowds and the heat, we didn't make it much longer. Then cue the drama about not getting the $20 penguin again and it was a lovely drive home...

Sunday we spent the day mulching. I think we visited Lowe's four times in two days with six check outs. It was a long day but we got it all done. Papa had a long day at the racetrack as well...

We had a rainy Memorial Day so we spent it running some errands. Got this big guy his own booster car seat as well.

Tuesday, Phoebe's school had a "First Grade Zoo" where all the students put their animal books and dioramas on display for all the parents to see.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle underoos. Ha!

Hard to believe we now have a second grader in our house! So proud of how this one worked hard all year long. She did say that she might have Mrs. Buonanno again next year as there was a chance she'd be held back. We LOVED her teacher this year and will miss her dearly next fall!

Friday was her first day of summer and she spent it not feeling well at my office. She finally puked around 1:30 and then all was right with the world. In fact, as soon as she threw up, she looked at me and asked, "Can we still go to the zoo?" Bless her heart.

So, we left the office early after my boss pointed out the the zoo had people there to clean up messes IF she got sick again...picked up Maverick and headed straight to the zoo. And lucky us, the stupid stuffed animals were on SALE so they were thrilled (don't worry, I took the money out of their wallets to pay for them)!

We didn't bring swimsuits so the kiddos just cooled off at the splash pad with a little sprinkle.

Then we went up for a gondola ride around the orangutan exhibit. I have yet to see any of them climbing around outside but the kids thought it was pretty cool to be up so high.

Then we went on the roller coaster. Maverick was so excited that he was tall enough to ride it but sad that he couldn't sit with Phoebe. After that first trip down, he was ready to get off but you can see he's still smiling! Phoebe sat behind us with her penguin, hands in the air the whole time!

Off to feed the birds. Maverick thought it would be a good idea to yell at them to get them to come closer...we're working on his gentle side.

Phoebe is the animal whisperer.

We were really excited to see the koalas AWAKE. When we'd gone the weekend before (their debut at the zoo), they were both asleep.

Any time my children can throw money in water, they jump at the opportunity!

Angry alligator or not!

The tiger exhibits always gets me praying, "Please Lord, let that glass hold."

We literally had the zoo to ourselves at the end of our trip. It was absolutely perfect.

Saturday morning, Phoebe had a soccer game and scored THREE goals! She's enjoying it so much she said she'd rather do soccer in the fall instead of cheer leading!

Uncle Steve, Bevin and YiaYia came out to cheer her on. AND entertain Maverick with bubbles!

Sunday afternoon, Phoebe had a birthday party to go to. While she was with friends, Auntie and I entertained Maverick with some bowling.

This kiddo gets SO excited!

Check out those skills!

LOVE his stance!

He did NOT inherit his mama's skee ball skills but there's still time to learn! His approach was more overhand which obviously didn't work very well...