Oklahoma Aquarium

Monday was the trip to the Oklahoma Aquarium and the kids had a BLAST! We were there ALL DAY! We enjoyed many exhibits about ocean, river, and lake animals but the interactive/touchable opportunities were, by far, the kids favorite!

We spent about a hour in this area touching the horseshoe crabs..
... star fish and other creatures. (Shrimp, urchin, hermit crabs...)

Can you see all three fish in this picture?

L and A were delighted to be able to feeding the turtles little carrot slices...

After seeing the way they attack the clothespins to get the carrot out we now understand the reasoning behind the makeshift pole! OUCH!Petting the stingrays and sharks in the touch tank. (That's a shark right in front of us!)

Look at how wet Amanda got!

Now feeding the bigger stingrays in a different tank. They gave us flexible poles to skewer the shrimp on.

And there was a underwater viewing window so you could see them trying to eat the shrimp.

Here are my boys waiting in the underwater viewing tube for the shark feeding to begin.

I LOVE her face on this one. She was looking at one that was swimming over the top of the tube while this other one swam up behind her!

Eric.... "Do you hear something?" dun-da, dun-da, DUN-DA

I had to get creative to get the shark feeding video to post here. Check out the link below.

Aquarium 223.MOV

If ever you find yourself in Tulsa Oklahoma I highly recommend a trip to the aquarium but check out their feeding schedule before you go... They only feed the Sharks on Monday's and Thursdays!

Monkeying Around

We had planned to head to southern Missouri this weekend for the kids (and dogs) first ever float trip but with the weatherman predicting thunderstorms we decided it best to make other plans. I've been wanting to take the kids to Tulsa for quite a while so that's just what we did. Our first stop was the Tulsa Zoo. Here are some photos of my Two Little Monkeys doing their thing! : )

Comparing their body size to a Chimp.

Zoo train... through the tunnel.

Outside the rain forest building... Logan is picking the statue's nose!

Beautiful Amanda is giving him a loving kiss.

She's a sucker for statues.

What's THAT?!?!

This building was very tall and the cool trees and plants were growing everywhere. Hidden amongst the branches and leaves were free flying birds and a momma sloth and baby (somewhere!).

And, of course, more MONKEYS!!!

It was CRAZY humid since it kept raining on and off while we were at the zoo but we still had a good time. Next stop, the Oklahoma Aquarium!!!

Dirt-free Driveway

Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL cool, cloudy day here in Kansas and we took FULL advantage of it. We spent ALL DAY outside playing and working and I got the last of the dirt moved off the driveway! YEA! It takes a long time only working with it's dry but not blustering HOT!

Here's the "final spray down" to wash off all the baked on dirt... the kids are down hill playing in the mud we created.
I don't know what it is about mud, but my kids absolutely LOVE it. Here they are making a dam

Trying to walk up the steep hill in slippy, slidey mud.

Isn't she just BEAUTIFUL!?!?

Bats and Fireflies

Last night the kids stayed up late to partake in a summer rite of passage...

CATCHING FIREFLIES!!!!

We also saw TWO bats flying around our backyard catching those pesky mosquitoes but they were kinda hard to catch on film. Still VERY COOL! I LOVE living out here! : )

Toothless... for now

Logan lost two more teeth in the last two days. He now officially looks like a hillbilly with both bottom front teeth gone and now one of his top front gone. However, he won't be toothless for long. He already has two little white teeth poking through his gums on the bottom.

Two Monkeys' Father

If you ask Logan and Amanda
To tell you about their Dad
I know that they would tell you
How lucky they are and glad

To have a loving Father
Who thinks of them each day
And imagines things to do
If ever skies turn gray

A father who looses sleep
When he worries 'bout his kids
A father who will weep
When bad news comes our way

You see, their dad is different
From other Dads I know
He wants to watch his children
And help raise them as they grow

He plays with them
He teases' them
He tucks them in each night
He laughs with them
He learns for them
And he won't give up the fight

He loves his children more than life
And will move the earth for them
A wonderful husband and father
A truly precious gem

- Happy Father's Day, Eric
From your ever faithful, loving wife

This One Made The Cut

The camera hunt is over. This one made the final cut. It takes great pictures AND video, is small and compact, has a nice zoom lens, and has some really cool features to boot. Check out some photos I took with this baby!

Zoom, Zoom, ZOOM!

This momma bat and baby were CRAZY backlit by the skylights but I was still able to get a great shot with the awsome zoom lens.

Logan... tired but enjoying himself... "Take a picture of that, Mom!"

Elephant bathing... picture taken from the Tram ride 100 yards away! Not too shabby! : ) The kids were too tired to get off to watch so this is all we got.

And here are some pictures I took playing around with the fun features the camera comes with.

Color Accent - in green...

... and blue...

...and red. SO FUN!