Wild Thing...You Make My Heart Sing

Good times were had at the Louisville Zoo yesterday...and not just by the people! (more on that in a minute)

Yesterday was the last evening for the late hours at the zoo this year, so we decided to go and enjoy the not quite as hot and humid evening with our friends, the Brown's. The kids were able to ride the carousel as much as they wanted (for free!). Maryn probably would have been happy riding it all night, but we convinced the kids to go see some animals instead. Evening is a great time to see all the animals. During the hot day, they tend to hide in their habitats.

Well, the first animals we went to see were the tortoises. Normally tortoises are very lethargic and nothing much happens. But, as we were watching them not move, one of them decided he was feeling a little bit frisky. The next thing we know, this happens. (Warning: These videos contain footage of an adult nature and young children obviously don't know what they are laughing at) Oh, and listen very closely. Behind Kade's jabbering and all of us laughing, listen closely and you can hear an odd noise. That's the tortoise...I never new they were so vocal!

The discovery channel should be contacting us any day now for our footage. I always new that tortoises reproduced, but up until now it was kind of a mystery as to how it all happened--it seems so awkward, yet there are still many tortoises on the earth.

Ok, enough of the childish humor. Here are a few pictures from the rest of our zoo trip.

Riding the Carousel

Maryn and her friend Amanda

A cool spider Kade saw on a sign

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Summer is coming to an end, and I can't believe we almost went the whole summer without going to a baseball game. I mean, really, is summer summer without baseball?? We had planned on going to see the Louisville Bats on Friday, because they had fireworks after the game. Maryn caught a yucky bug on Thursday, so we thought we would have to postpone the fun. Fortunately she woke up from her nap with out a fever and seemed much more pleasant than the previous 24 hours, so we decided to go.

As we were walking up to the ticket window, a nice old man came up to us and asked if we needed tickets. We said yes, then he handed us 3 tickets. We tried to pay him, but he wouldn't take anything for them. SCORE!! Nice people make the world a better place.

Kade and Maryn enjoying the game.

Me and Ailee--she mostly just slept, the lazy bum. This guy sitting in front of me must have been a hard core Bats fan. Not only was he sitting, watching the game, he had it tuned in on his hand held radio...now that is a dedicated fan!

Another wonderful picture of our delicate flower.

And, what would a baseball game be without yucky, sugary, sticky cotton candy?! Mmmmm. We had a great time. The section we sat in had several Bats fans. They kept the spirit going during those long long innings. It made it a lot more fun to have them there. The fireworks after the game made it worth staying until the end. It wasn't exactly Thunder Over Louisville, but Maryn liked them.

Tickets to the game: Free (yeah!)

A strawberry ice cream cone for Maryn to replace the one that plopped on the ground: $2.50

A night with the family that didn't involve a movie: Priceless

Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting

Last Friday night we went to go see Kung-Fu Panda at the theatre. If you haven't read our movie review yet, we really liked it. I was pleasantly surprised. Getting into the Kung-funess of it all, Maryn spent Saturday like this:

Kung-Fu Maryn

Practicing our sweet moves

Then here are just some random pictures from our very exciting lives.

Ever wonder what Maryn would look like as a chipmunk?? Once again we are playing with our food (grapes) at dinner time.

Stealing some snuggles with the little one. I love that she's a snuggler!

My Life Is Over-Run By Kids

There are so many things around my house that just scream "I HAVE KIDS!!!" I was sitting here at the computer when I noticed one of those things: All the books at Maryn's level are pushed back on the shelf. My mom used to fuss at me for doing this exact thing. I have given up. For the next ?? number of years my books will be pushed back. My DVDs and CDs will have finger prints all over them. I will find toys in mysterious places. My kitchen floor will look like a feeding trough. There will be lip prints on the patio doors I just washed yesterday. My couch pillows will not ever be on the couch. My back yard will look like I run a daycare. The rug next to the bathtub will forever be wet. I will have fruit snacks and goldfish crackers as part of my food storage. I won't know what songs are in the top 10, but I do know every word to "5 Big Dump Trucks." My tupperware is no longer for storing food, but for carrying cars. The shirt I am wearing has food/spit up/boogies on it because apparently it is also a napkin. And, everything I used to own is now considered "theirs." This list could continue, but I'll stop there. Please, feel free to vent about how your life is not your own anymore either.

SIGH.

As we got home from the zoo today, I noticed the pretty flowers along our driveway were starting to die. I was trying to get a cute picture of Maryn smelling them. This one turned out to be my favorite. The look she's giving me ("I'm trying really hard to be patient while you boss me around")reminds me so much of Kade.

Mothers 'n Brothers

I'm sorry for being so lazy about posting lately. I have a newborn...ya know how it is. 99% of my day is spent feeding someone or wiping some one's bottom. The other 1% is spent trying to get a nap before those someones up.

A week after Ailee was born, my mom flew in for a visit for a week and a half. I'm so glad she came--I was sad she missed the birth, but it turned out to be the perfect timing. It was nice to have that support when my sweet little newborn turned into that baby who didn't want to eat, and even better to have someone else around to love on Maryn when she figured out she wasn't the center of attention anymore. Mom was great help and support. I can't thank her enough for everything she did while she was here. It was hard to let her go!

And of course I got in on some of the Corey Family Gathering traditions. I lost several times to my mom at Canasta and once at Scrabble. Kade and I did put the smack down on Pinochle, though. And what would make all this fun even better??? A big can of Nacho Cheese! Sams Club here we come! (A fair warning to all nursing mothers--nacho cheese gives your infant (and sometimes you) stinky gas)

That weekend, my brother, Ryan, also flew in for a visit. It was a short visit from him, but lots of fun.
Despite all the teasing while growing up (and sometimes as adults), I've determined that every girl needs a brother-- if anything, at least for entertainment value. During our game of Scrabble one night, Ryan was complaining of a headache that just wouldn't go away. I offered him a cold compress for his head, but it turned out the only one I had was one I'd taken from the hospital after Ailee's delivery. Well, these aren't just any cold compresses...these are made especially for women who just gave birth.

This is my brother with a Perineal Cold Compress on his head. Women want him, men want to be him!

I'm so proud to call him family.

Grandma gettin' in some snuggles with the baby.

Maryn and Grandma checkin' out the elephants at the zoo.

A proud Grandma--this is grandchild #19!

Three generations of babes!

We sure wore her out!