Easter and zoo pics

A lot has happened since I last blogged...

1. The tornadoes devastated parts of Alabama. We are so thankful that none of our family/friends were injured but our hearts ache for those whose lives have been changed so drastically because of it.

2. Anders was attacked by a dog while I was walking her. She had to get a staple in her leg and had quite a few small cuts. I had some deep burns on my fingers from pulling on our extendable leash.

3. John won 50% off of regular priced items, and 10% off of clearance items at the Gap for an entire year! We only shop the clearance sections at the Gap b/c it is expensive but for the next year, we can shop in the regular priced section. Thank you, God, for such a blessing!

The girls had a great Easter! Addi was so excited that the Easter Bunny left eggs for her to find. She squealed and ran all over the den collecting eggs and seeing what was inside them.

We headed over to Mark and Sarah's to spend time with the Woolard side of the family.

The kids had a lot of fun searching for eggs that Jordan and Harry hid.

Then, we went to the Brock side of the family to celebrate Easter.

It is always great to see Memommy and Ken (not pictured).

Mom and Fin

Addi and Eme hunted eggs together.

The girls decorated Gigi's famous bunny cake. Cute!

Addi used the playdough that Gigi gave her to make a model of her teacher, Ms. Lindsey. She even put a bow in Ms. Lindsey's hair. Too funny!

Finley loves her Annie!

The girls have learned how much fun it is to wrestle.

Addi and Daddy planting cherry tomato seeds

We went with John's family to the zoo and had a fabulous time! I'm so excited about the renovations that they've done. It's much more engaging for kids (not to mention- cleaner!!!).

I love that they've moved the butterfly house to a more natural area. We had so much fun! It was like being at Callaway Gardens with the number of butterflies that landed on us!

Addi found an injured butterfly. She really enjoyed holding it and taking care of it.

The new playground in the Trails of Africa is so nice! Finley enjoyed playing the drums.

I just cracked up at the Dung Beetle part...Finley and Addi had fun rolling "poop" around. Hysterical!

Here's Addison standing on a ball of poop with a Dung Beetle! HA!

It was a fun day! Both girls crashed after our late lunch at CPK.

Crazy busy!

Life's been a little hectic lately with work and sicknesses. I hope and pray that we will all stay well for a while. With stomach viruses, fever viruses, multiple ear infections, multiple antibiotics, and horrible ear drops...I'd about had it! Here are some updates on the girls...

Finley has finally started sleeping through the night. (It's about time after 10 month, sweet girl!) She now sleeps from 7:30 or 8:00 until about 6:00. She also decided that she was done with nursing. I'm trying to dry up now but am still having to pump some. She is into everything! She's discovered that if she puts her pointer finger between the crevices in our appliances that she can pull out a wad of dust to eat. YUCK! Guess I need to clean a little better. I keep trying to get her to say, "Mama." No luck there. She says, "Dada" and "duh duh" (for dog). She is the sweetest little cuddle bug! Her teachers at school say it's hard to put her down because she loves to cuddle with them and climb in their laps. Fin has 2 bottom teeth and the beginning of 2 "fangs." Her top teeth are trying to come in. I hope they win the race- we don't need a little dracula- ha!

cyring b/c Addi took her toothbrush

got the toothbrush back- she can turn it off when she wants to!

Addison seems to be growing out of the terrible 2's and 3's. She doesn't have near as many fits as she used to. She says the funniest things! I always think, "Ok, you've got to write that down," and then I forget. She is such a good helper! She dresses herself completely every morning. She cleans up her room. She helps me clean the house (and loves it!). She helps take care of Finley and entertains her. No one can make Finley laugh like Addi! Addi loves to tell stories and have stories told to her. She enjoys pretending and playing school with me. She is taking soccer and gymnastics. We are so proud of the young lady she is becoming!

And where would we be without John...he is an amazing husband and father- balancing family, working on his PhD, full time work, and his on-the-side-snake business. I don't know how he does it all so well. The girls and I love him to pieces!

I am very blessed!

Happy Sweet 16, Emily!

This afternoon was so much fun! We headed out to Aunt Glenda's to celebrate Emily's 16th birthday (a surprise party!).

Emily was very surprised and was worried that she wasn't dressed nice enough. She looked cute!

I love this picture of Eme! She was spinning around a black pole and decided to bring the paint with her.

Finley and cousin Will bonded. They became good buddies, and Finley let him hold her the whole time.

Emily got lots of nice gifts!

Dylan and Finley enjoyed playing with the paper.

Ellis was very happy and sweet!

Grayson and Finley having Mum Mums together

Dylan played hard and was sacked out!

This part of the post is about saying good-bye to our "chickens" (no longer chicks). We really wanted to keep them but with our sicknesses, etc. have just not had the time to build them a proper, outside pen. They were starting to stink up our playroom so John asked his friend Angie if she wanted them and she was thrilled! She said, "When can I meet you to get them?" We gave Addi the chance to say good-bye to them and then John took the chickens to Angie. Angie later sent a picture and said that her sons were watching "Shrek" with L and Em (the names they gave the chickens). We are so thankful that our little buddies have a nice home!

Finley squealed and laughed and wanted so badly to get in there with the chickens. She LOVES animals!

Addi really loved them! We told her we'd get some more one day when she's a little older and we can build a nice pen.

Here are some pictures of John's newest hatchlings. Addi, Finley, and I got to watch as John slit the eggs.

These are some pictures from our day at Aldridge Gardens. I didn't know that "Fairy Land" existed until a lady at the park told me about it. One day, we plan to let the kids build their own natural fairy houses to leave there for the fairies.

John got a little nervous as this goose began to hiss at Addi. Thankfully, she didn't hear it or realize that it was getting upset.

We saw at least 6 snakes while we were there. I decided not to put all of the pictures on here, though it was really neat!