It's Fun to Learn

Every once in a while I try to do a few fun things to teach Lydia some preschool basics.  She is really smart and craves knowledge so I try to do what I can that is fun for her since she has a very short attention span.

One day I thought it would be fun to put masking tape on the floor in shapes and have her match toys with the shape.  Later I would call out a shape and she would hop from one to another.  She really did pretty well and had fun for a while.  Jason loved sitting in the middle of the shapes and thought they were pretty cool.

Then we worked on our motor skills by making necklaces.  She really liked this one.

Caldwell Zoo

We seem to be obsessed with zoo's.  I guess that's because the kids are at an age where they are really cool and exciting.  Whatever the reason, we have enjoyed being frequent visitors of the zoo.

The first weekend in Feb we made a last min trip to the Caldwell zoo in Tyler.  Can I just say, this might be my favorite zoo EVER!!!  It was so clean and beautiful.  The set up for the animals was ideal and we just plain loved the whole thing.

We got in at a half price with our pass to the Lufkin zoo which was nice so it only cost us $11 (the kids are still at the "free" age.)  We stopped and had lunch at the zoo and the food was good even though we waited about 30 min.  They were short staffed or something but it took forever.  We got a commemorative cup and bucket that Lydia's lunch came in which she was pretty excited to carry around.

We spend a good 3 hours in the zoo I think and then made the hour and a half trek home.  The kids were terrible on the way home and we couldn't get there fast enough, but we made it eventually.

Showing us on the map where we are going to go next!

There was a fun sand pit/play area where they could get some energy out.

 Jason loved it!

There was a rhino you could see up close.  Lydia didn't want to leave even though we were begging to get out because the room stank!

Gorgeous Bald Eagle

My favorite, the White Tiger.

Hmmm, where to now???

First Essential Oil Class

I held my first essential oil class in January and I think it went pretty well.  There were some ladies form my ward who had expressed an interest in learning about the oils so I decided to start teaching.  It turned out pretty well I think and hopefully is the first of many classes to educate people!

Jason Learns to Say Please

Like most other families, we like to teach our kids manners.  We start at a young age so hopefully it will become habit and both kids have done really well.  The week Jason learned to say please was when Kelvin was working in Kentucky.  He was called on special assignment early so he was gone for a week to check things out at that site so he would know where to start and be able to get to work after we moved.  I decided to treat the kids with Wendy's for dinner, (a rare treat) so they were very excited.  We had been working on Jason saying please but it was when he was offered ice cream that he really got it!  Lydia was so excited that she got to feed Jason and we all had a great dinner on our porch enjoying the nice evening.

Dancing Away With My Heart

Pony Ride and Petting Zoo

One of the great things about living in the country is some deals that you find.  We had to make a run to Nacogdoches (a neighboring city) and stopped at the Walmart in town.  While we were making our way out we saw a sign for a ranch that offered horse rides.  Our little girl is obsessed with horses!! We called them up and found out that you could take an hour long trail ride for $20 and they also had a pony ride and petting zoo for $5 for kids.  WHAT???  ONLY $5 FOR A PONY RIDE AND PETTING ZOO???  Heck yes!  So we asked if we could come right over and they said that would be fine (you have to make an appointment).  Lydia was SOOO excited and was practically squealing with excitement.  A picture is worth a thousand words so here you go!

"Yee Haw"

Leading the pony back to the stable.

The petting zoo.  There were sheep, goats, baby calf's, and mini horses. 

We ran out of battery at this point otherwise there would be a lot more pictures.  You can bet we WILL be visiting this place again.  WELL WORTH our money!  The kids had a blast and so did we.