Top Secret Pixie Dust! A Surprise 13th Birthday PTR! NEW! TRIP REPORT LINK PAGE 220!

[Charleston Princess]

This sounds like me when Elizabeth was born. I went to the doctor that Wednesday. I told him I thought I was having contractions (I was young--25, first child). He checked and told me "Nope, nothing's going on down there. It's just Braxton-Hicks." That was around 3 on a Wednesday afternoon.

The next morning at 6 a.m., I saw him in the hospital, with my water already broken. His first words to me were, "Well, I guess those weren't false labor pains." ! :laughing:

My water broke, too, but then, nothing happened until I was given something -- for both of mine.

Mine asked me at my appt. the week I was due with DS if I was planning to eat lunch in the area before going home. It was about a 30 minute trip home and we usually did eat lunch by her office. I told her yes and she replied " Good, spend some time go to the mall and walk a bit, i would hate for you to get all the way home and have to come right back."

I think I went in the next morning ( my due date) and she broke my water and he was born 3 hrs later. He just needed that push and then he was in a hurry. He is still the same way now!

Too funny that your DS still needs a bit of a push to get going.

 

[Charleston Princess]

After getting our fill with the gorillas and their own unique Easter egg hunt, we headed out to visit the rest of the inhabitants of the zoo.

In Atlanta, we have red clay which gives a certain “je ne sais quoi” to the elephants.

Our boys were enamored with them.

PUMBA! How nice to see you!

Connor, as always, was a bit concerned about the warning signs.

Why, I don’t know, since every time we see lions, they are sleeping.

The funniest thing to the kids and me was, that while Nala is lacking many lion characteristics (including the fact that she doesn’t have any feline in her whatsoever), she has a freckled chest just like the lioness.

TIMON!!! We just saw Pumba a couple of exhibits over!
We watched the meerkats while we ate Dippin’ Dots (mine were strawberry).

My beloved giraffes and I had to visit for awhile.

Hello, my darling.

Our very own wild things! Chelsea insisted on wearing this hoodie for most of the day despite the 75 degree weather.

Then, it was off to see the giant pandas. As we walked up to their exhibits, they had signs telling the story of their arrival, and their special cages they were shipped in.

The daddy panda and one of the baby pandas were out and about. The keeper was telling us that the mommy panda has a two-day cycle once a year, and it was about that time. They were keeping her off exhibit in the hopes of her becoming pregnant.

Chelsea informed me that crossing her arms made her cool. Whatever.

After seeing the pandas, we all got our hands stamped with pandas. We were starting to fade a little, but all four kids perked up when they saw that rarest of all creatures -- the Georgia chipmunk. Go figure.

A Tamarind -- you can’t really see it in this picture, but she had a two-week baby clinging to her back. So cute!

Non-jumping kangeroos.

Will and Connor ham it up!

We were pretty much finished at this point. The tigers, naked molerats, and reptile house were all closed off as they are doing renovations in that part of the zoo. Connor was very upset by it as evidenced in the following picture. We were resting and enjoying a drink before heading back to our car. Chelsea finally decided she was too hot in the hoodie and took it off.

See my pretty Vera mailbag? It was perfect! I also went out on a limb and wore my Teva Mush flip flops (I always wear my tennis shoes for park touring and such, but the Tevas were perfect.)

Upon returning home, we headed to my MIL’s for dinner and egg dying.

 

[MegansMom]

Love the pictures....can't believe how much the kids are changing...Chelsea is becoming such a pretty young lady...starting to look so grown up!!! My how quickly time flies!!!!

 

[MeMom]

Dare I make a 'hiney' comment?

The daddy panda and one of the baby pandas were out and about. The keeper was telling us that the mommy panda has a two-day cycle once a year, and it was about that time. They were keeping her off exhibit in the hopes of her becoming pregnant.

That's very interesting. I know every successful time at breeding must thrill the keepers, then.

A Tamarind -- you can’t really see it in this picture, but she had a two-week baby clinging to her back. So cute!

I see a skinny little arm hanging on.

 

[praisehisname]

Love all the pics, especially the lion and giraffe ones!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Great pictures!

I didn't realize that you had red clay in Atlanta, we have that too - lots of it, and it's a real pain trying to get that out of baseball pants!

 

[carissanboys]

I remember when I moved to North Carolina years ago (from Maine), I was so amazed by how red the "dirt" was!

I love the meerkats. Could watch them for hours. We have a small exhibit of them at our zoo and they crack me up.

I spotted Chelsea without her sweatshirt in that last shot!

 

[micandminforever]

All the Zoo pictures were great. I don't know why I am surprised Chelsea looks so much more mature. I guess I forgot how middle schoolers really go from children to young adults between the 6th and 8th grades especially girls.
She is going to be a beautiful young lady.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Loved the pandas! They are the cutest things ever! I really want to find a zoo that has those. My DD would go nuts over them. And no wonder they have trouble breeding them. WOW! Two days, once a year.............. I know that has all the human ladies very envious!

Kids and looking cool....... I don't look forward to that phase at all! She just looks so grown up though! It's amazing how Connor looks the same and I didn't even recognize her in the first picture. I had to do a double take. UNREAL! You are going to have your hands full very soon. Does Charles have a shotgun? If not, he better get one!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I love the pandas and the red elephants! It looks like it was a great day.

 

[KathyRN137]

Thanks so much for sharing your day at the zoo... it was so much fun looking at all the great pix of animals and kiddos!!


Kathy

 

[eandesmom]

pretty mailbag is right! too bad Chelsea covered up that adorable top all day. That is SO something Kendall would do! Mushies are great for long walking days.

What a fun fun day and great animal pictures.

 

[jillyb]

Love the VB mailbag!

 

[Happydog]

Of course I love the mailbag, and it looks like the Zoo was a hit! I still cannot get over how your daughter looks so much older than 7th grade! I guess I don't see many middle schoolers... regardless, wow! I swear it is the eyeliner!!!

Hope you had yourself a wonderful spring break!

 

[disneyfan61]

Love all the zoo pics. Looks like you had a great day!! Also love the VB mailbag!
I agree with everyone else-Chelsea is looking so grown up now & she will be breaking young mens hearts I'm sure!

 

[wsushocker]

In Atlanta, we have red clay which gives a certain “je ne sais quoi” to the elephants.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Love the pictures....can't believe how much the kids are changing...Chelsea is becoming such a pretty young lady...starting to look so grown up!!! My how quickly time flies!!!!

It has certainly been flying by lately! Chelsea is almost as tall as me as she likes to point out on an almost daily basis!

Dare I make a 'hiney' comment?

I almost did!

That's very interesting. I know every successful time at breeding must thrill the keepers, then.

It does -- the keeper was saying how it hadn't been successful the past two years.

I see a skinny little arm hanging on.

It was so cute, and when the mom jumped from branch to branch, it was holding on for dear life.

Love all the pics, especially the lion and giraffe ones!

Thank you! Those were some of my favorites, too.

Great pictures!

I didn't realize that you had red clay in Atlanta, we have that too - lots of it, and it's a real pain trying to get that out of baseball pants!

Oh, yes, lots of red clay up in this area of Georgia -- it's a real pain to get out of soccer clothes, too.

I remember when I moved to North Carolina years ago (from Maine), I was so amazed by how red the "dirt" was!

I love the meerkats. Could watch them for hours. We have a small exhibit of them at our zoo and they crack me up.

I spotted Chelsea without her sweatshirt in that last shot!

The red clay makes planting anything a real challenge -- it's very difficult to dig in.

Yes, towards the end of the day Chelsea finally took off the sweatshirt. Then, she wanted me to carry it which I flatly refused to do since I had told her to take it off before we got out of the car.

All the Zoo pictures were great. I don't know why I am surprised Chelsea looks so much more mature. I guess I forgot how middle schoolers really go from children to young adults between the 6th and 8th grades especially girls.
She is going to be a beautiful young lady.

Thank you! Yes, kids really do change dramatically during those middle school years.

Loved the pandas! They are the cutest things ever! I really want to find a zoo that has those. My DD would go nuts over them. And no wonder they have trouble breeding them. WOW! Two days, once a year.............. I know that has all the human ladies very envious!

I know I was envious. When I was little, they had pandas at the DC zoo, too, and I fell in love with them. I wonder if they still have them...

Kids and looking cool....... I don't look forward to that phase at all! She just looks so grown up though! It's amazing how Connor looks the same and I didn't even recognize her in the first picture. I had to do a double take. UNREAL! You are going to have your hands full very soon. Does Charles have a shotgun? If not, he better get one!

I think I already have my hands full with Chelsea.

I love the pandas and the red elephants! It looks like it was a great day.

Yes, we had a great time exploring the zoo. I just wish the naked molerats had been out and about -- Connor was very upset about not being able to see them.

Thanks so much for sharing your day at the zoo... it was so much fun looking at all the great pix of animals and kiddos!!


Kathy

I am glad you enjoyed it, Kathy. We had a good time.

pretty mailbag is right! too bad Chelsea covered up that adorable top all day. That is SO something Kendall would do! Mushies are great for long walking days.

What a fun fun day and great animal pictures.

Sometimes Chelsea's version of logic eludes me.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Love the VB mailbag!

Thanks! I can't wait to try it out at a Disney park. I guess I will have to content myself with trying it out in Hilton Head first, though.

Of course I love the mailbag, and it looks like the Zoo was a hit! I still cannot get over how your daughter looks so much older than 7th grade! I guess I don't see many middle schoolers... regardless, wow! I swear it is the eyeliner!!!

Hope you had yourself a wonderful spring break!

Chelsea has grown up a lot over the past year. She is definitely turning into a teenager. Yesterday she went with my SIL to downtown Atlanta and ate at the Varsity. While there, she was taking pics on her phone of "this really cute Brazilian boy."

We did have a nice spring break -- it just went way too fast.

Love all the zoo pics. Looks like you had a great day!! Also love the VB mailbag!
I agree with everyone else-Chelsea is looking so grown up now & she will be breaking young mens hearts I'm sure!

Thanks! I love my VB mailbag, too.

I think Chelsea is going to be a heartbreaker, too, but I may be biased.

 

[Native NYer]

I love the animal photos, especially the lions, pandas, and giraffes.
Chelsea looks so grown up compared to the photos you shared in your first ptr/tr. WOW! I don't know how she was able to keep that hoodie on in the heat.

Your Vera is so cute. Love the print.

 

[jillyb]

When I was little, they had pandas at the DC zoo, too, and I fell in love with them. I wonder if they still have them...

They were there in August last year but I think they were going back to China soon so I'm glad we got to see them. And we got to see the baby too!