A Surprise Trip to the NC Zoo....

Yesterday, we decided to take the kids somewhere really fun. We have been wanting to take them to the NC Zoo for some time now and decided we should do it before it gets too hot. We also thought it would be fun not to tell them where we were going. Regan is like her mommy and can't stand surprises so she was begging us to tell her the whole way. We started playing the guessing game on where we were going. Regan guessed a park, Reece guessed a playground, and our creative Riley guessed the "Statue of Liberty." :) Then, Daddy started throwing out ideas (trying to give them hints) but they never caught on. He told them we were going to see "Tiger Woods play golf" and they all screamed, "No Daddy!" and then he would say, "You don't want to go see Tiger?" Then, he said we were going to meet a famous football coach, "Bear Bryant" and they all screamed, "No Daddy!" (yes, we know he is long gone but they don't) and he said, "You don't want to go see Bear?" Then he said, "we are going to see a Navy Seals Museum" and the girls screamed again, "No Daddy!" and he said, "you don't want to see some Seals?" Then, I chimed in and said "we are going to Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant" (one of my favorites so they started to believe me) but they still said, "No Mommy!" I said "you don't want to see Buffaloes?" This continued with several other examples. They NEVER got it. So, finally when we were a few miles away from the Zoo (and Regan had missed a lot of signs b/c she was reading in the back seat) Tony asked Regan what all of the examples we gave had in common. He repeated the places/people and Regan finally realized they were all animals. And finally she guessed the Zoo. She tried to bluff and screamed "I don't want to go to the Zoo!" We said, "tough we are almost there!" :) Luckily, she was just playing with us. When we arrived, we realized everyone in NC had the same idea. It was PACKED!!!! We had to park in overflow parking. Never have we seen the Zoo so crowded. I guess going on a holiday weekend is not smart. We were hoping everyone would be at the beach. :) Eventhough the zoo was crowded, we still had a great time. The Zoo is so spread out you could not really tell how many people were there. And the weather was nice - not too hot and even a little cloudy. We got a few sprinkles during lunch which cooled us off and scared some of the people away. ;) It was a great day. We were there for 5 hrs. and the girls were troopers. They started to get tired toward the end but nothing a little cotton candy can't handle. Boy did that perk them up. Many of you know how our girls are with sugar!!! ;) We asked the girls what they liked best and Regan said "the Lions, the poison dart frogs, and the seals" Riley said, "the Elephants, the baboons fighting (some did get in a fight) and seals" and Reece said, "the seals, the baboon licking a stick and the baboons climbing on each others backs (she thought they were giving each other piggy back rides - we left it at that!) ;0 The beautiful Lion. We took this photo for Regan since her school mascot is the Lion. And because everytime we have gone to the NC zoo we never get to see the Lions up close because they are always sleeping or hiding. So, this was a first.The girls playing in a helicopter. Riley flying the helicopter - going to look for some elephants.This baboon was licking a stick. The girls thought this was so funny. Reece said, "he looks like he is licking a lollipop." Then Riley said, "No, it must be a popsicle since it is hot. A lollipop won't cool him off but a popsicle will." :)Beautiful Flamingos - Regan educated me on the Flamingos - She told me they are born either white or grey and do not turn pink until later. I asked "what makes them pink?" She said "the kind of food they eat turns them pink." I did not know this!!! What I did not learn in Kindergarten, I learn from my second grader! I am definitely not smarter than a 2nd grader (well 3rd grader now)!We saw a lot of neat birds in the Aviary. This was mommy's favorite part of the zoo.This bird was vibrant purple. You can't really tell from this photo. I LOVED this bird!This photo cracks me up! The girls were walking around the Aviary with their zoo maps on their heads because the birds were pooing everywhere. :)The girls really enjoyed the seals. The seals were doing laps and would swim right up to the wall where the girls were standing.Have to have a photo with the Gators. Here are our very own monkeys on the zoo playground. This is a very cool playground.
The girls enjoyed sliding down this slide that looked like a leaf.

Riley's Last Day of Preschool...

Riley had her last day of preschool yesterday, Tuesday, May 19th. It is hard to believe Riley is going to be in Kindergarten next year. She is so excited that she will be going to the same school as Regan. Riley has had 3 wonderful years at St. Luke's Preschool and 2 of those years she was blessed to have Mrs. Carol Ingold as her teacher. Mrs. Ingold is WONDERFUL!!!! Riley made a lot of friends and will miss them but is excited that her dear friend, Julianne, will be going to Trinity too. They are hoping and praying to be in the same class. :) The year ended with a fun and exciting Ice Cream party. The kids enjoyed ice cream with all kinds of toppings and then they had their last circle time reviewing all kinds of things. They recited their b-days, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, and even spelled out letters with their bodies. This got very silly, especially when Mrs. Ingold told them to form the letter "V" and they all had their bottoms in the air. The end of the day was full of picture taking, hugs, goodbyes and they received a beach bucket filled with goodies. And now we can say, "Ready or Not Kindergarten, here comes Riley!!!" :) I know she is ready!!!! And "Ready or Not St. Luke's, here comes Reece." Reece is so excited to start preschool next year. And I am so excited to have one more child going through St. Luke's. I was not ready to say a final "goodbye" to St. Luke's yet. Julianne and Riley enjoying their ice cream sundaes.Making letters with their bodies. I am not sure what the first photo is of but this one is letter X. Check out how big Riley's X is. I told one of the moms that is how she writes it too - BIG!!! :) X marks the spot!Mrs. Ingold and Mrs. Goss opening their gifts from the class.Riley with her teacher, Mrs. Ingold.
Riley with her other teacher, Mrs. GossBest Buddies - Riley with Julianne.Some of the girls in Riley's class - Ivy, Jade, Riley, JulianneRiley's friend, neighbor and carpool buddy - Caden LittleKindergarten Here I Come!!!!!!

Riley's New Gym...

The new Faulkner's Dance and Gymnastics studio (where Riley takes Gymnastics) opened this past weekend. And the best part of the gym is that it is located in the back of our neighborhood. Faulkner's had a big Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday, May 16th that we attended. According to the newspaper, over 1,000 people came to the Grand Opening Event. There were a lot of big names there and many professional athletes that attended and did autographs. Some of the ones we met and got autographs from were...

Jana Bieger, member of the 2008 USA Women’s Olympic Gymnastic Team and her coach Andrea Bieger, Former NFL Football Superstar Alvis Whitted, Alaina Johnson and Mackenzie Caquatto members of the 2008 Women’s USA Gymnastics National Gymnastics Team, and Bridgette Caquatto, member of the USA Gymnastics Jr. National Team.

Others in attendance were WTVD’s Lead Sports Anchor Mark Armstrong, WRAL’s Weatherman Mike Maze, Former Redskins Cheerleader and News Anchor from WRAL Valonda Callaway, and several others.

Riley's favorite part was when we got to watch the gymnasts perform. They were amazing and Riley's eyes were as big as quarters. It was also neat to actually meet them and get their autographs.

Riley had her first day of summer classes in Gymnastics today, May 20th. She was so excited to be in the new gym. She was not able to do everything because her arm is still in a brace but she did do quite a bit. Her teachers were very good with her and made sure she was spotted well. She was able to do most of the stretching, beam, vault (with help), and jump into the foam pit after vaulting (her favorite part). Her sisters and I were able to watch the whole practice from a lounge room that has TV screens that project what is going on in the gym. Regan enjoyed watching Riley. Now Regan is saying she wants to do gymnastics. I bet she is after seeing how fun the foam pit looks. ;)

Bridgette Caquatto, Jana Bieger, Alaina Johnson, Mackenzie Caquatto (and a singer Lucas Prata posing with them).

Mother's Day...

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there! I had a very good Mother's Day. Tony had Deacon of the Day today at church so that made for a tricky morning. Tony did his best to help me out with the kids before leaving for church. My friend Margaret also had the same dilemma because her husband was DOD with Tony. So, I was able to sit with Margaret at church and then she and I braved taking our 6 kids out to lunch to Jason's Deli. We had a great time together and the kids did well. Then, Regan and I came home and crashed together for a 3 hr. nap while Reece and Riley played. Tony and Regan made me a Spaghetti Dinner tonight and even did dishes. Then, we all enjoyed some fun outside as a family. It was a great day and my family made me feel very special. I am also very thankful for my Mother. She has taught me so many wonderful things about being a Mom and set such a good example. I love you Mom!!!! I was able to chat with her on the phone today which was nice since I could not be with her in person. I am also thankful for Tony's mother who is very special to us and has raised a wonderful son. I am thankful for her love toward us and making me feel apart of their family as well. Thank you Cook, love you and good chatting with you today too! We have such special moms and feel very blessed! And I feel blessed to be a mom to 3 very sweet girls.

Regan setting the table

Making Spaghetti and Meatballs.Regan showing the meal to me (Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad, Bread, and their version of a cookie cake). Tony went to Sam's and they did not have a cookie cake (my fav) so he bought cookies and put his own icing on it. They were yummy!Doing the dishes for mommy - How Sweet!!!!

Regan's Field Day...

Regan's school had Field Day yesterday. She had a great time. They played many fun water games, relay races, ate popsicles, and had their face painted. Regan got her face painted like a Lion (Trinity's Mascot). Although, we thought she was a tiger. :) I did not go to field day so I do not have photos of the actual events but I do have a photo of our lion.

Riley's Cast Off...

Riley got her hot pink cast off yesterday. Yay!!! The x-rays showed that the brake has pretty much filled in with new bone. But, the new bone that will surround the brake still has a little more to go. So, they made a removeable brace for Riley to wear for the next 3 weeks. She got to pick the color of velcro and she chose a light pink this time instead of hot pink again. :) I could not believe their big selection of velcro colors. She has to go to Physical Therapy once a week for the next few weeks and she has stretches she has to do 3 x's a day. Whew, not sure where we are going to add all this in to our already busy lives. But, we are thankful the cast is off. We will go back to the doctor on May 26th for more x-rays and hopefully at that point the doctor will give Riley the all clear and she should be able to resume Gymnastics.

Riley also lost another tooth this weekend. She is now missing her two upper front teeth so she can sing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."

Fun with Mama Cook and Papa Doug...

This past weekend Mama Cook and Papa Doug came to visit. Friday was very busy with Grandparent's Day at Trinity and then the children's musical at church that evening. But, Saturday we did not have anything scheduled. We went hiking Saturday morning at the Eno River Park. We saw all kinds of critters there. We saw a big black snake, a cute snail which the girls named "Sammy the Snail" and he hiked with us for a while, frogs, centipedes or millipedes - not sure which, spider webs (Regan was naming the type of web for us and telling us what spider makes each of them - she just learned all this in school). We saw several Black Widow webs but luckily the spiders were not in it. We also saw a turtle and a large snake skin floating in the water. Reece fished the snake skin out of the water with a stick. We enjoyed jumping on the rocks in the river - even Riley did it with her cast on. It was a fun morning and the girls did incredibly well with the hike. After our hike, we had worked up quite an appetite so we went to the "Time Out" grill in Chapel Hill - YUM. It is a hole in the wall restaurant that we saw featured on Food Network. They are known for their Cheddar Cheese Chicken Biscuit. It is VERY GOOD!!!!! They also have good Mac N' Cheese. After we gained all our weight back that we had just exercised off (LOL) we went back home for a nap. In the evening, we grilled out and then went to Andy's for Ice Cream and played outside for a while. It was a great day. We were sad to see Mama Cook and Papa Doug leave so early the next day. :( But, Papa Doug has a busy week at both of his jobs this week so they had to get on the road bright and early Sunday morning. Thanks Mama Cook and Papa Doug for coming up and sharing such a special weekend with us. Love You!!! Reece teaching Papa Doug how to do a puzzle. Notice her finger - she is telling him where to put the piece of the puzzle. Little Miss Boss. :)The suspension bridge at Eno River Park Our encounter with the big black snake. Regan actually got very close to it. Regan picking up her new friend, Sammy the Snail. She brought him on our hike for quite a while and wanted to bring him home but we convinced her to leave him in the woods where he would be much happier. :)Playing on the rocks in the river.Reece caught a snake skin!!