the zoo!

we have been desperate to get outside lately.  even on those freezing cold days last week, if i brought cora outside for even just a second, she would throw a HUGE fit when i brought her back in.  frankly, no matter how long we spend outside playing, getting dirty, and scraping our knees, it never seems to be quite enough for these two!  well, finally the weather is in that sweet-spot of 50-70 degrees and we are doing our best to take full advantage!

on friday, we went to the zoo, and it was PACKED.  

these cute girls photobombed our train picture...

hazel usually requests that we go see the fishies first thing.  

we sang the byu fight song with the cougars and cora tried (unsuccessfully thanks to my efforts) to feed her fingers to an angry rooster.

"mom, take picture climb elephant!"

the zoo!

we went to the zoo, and i'm obsessed.

winter wonderland

a few days before we came out to utah, we got one of those magical snow dumps. it was the perfect kind- one that lasts a few hours and then melts by morning. it was amazing because there was just enough light when john got home to go outside and play in it. i never want to forget how wonderful and perfect  that moment felt to our family. 

the springfield firehouse

our play group went to the springfield fire station yesterday and took a tour.  after we left, hazel kept talking about how fun it was.  i'm so grateful for people in public service jobs - firemen, policemen, nurses, etc.  they truly make our community a safe and wonderful place to live.

 

look at the joy on hazel's face in the fire engine!
firefighter 7!  be still my heart.

honey's in town!

honey has been hanging with us in new jersey the past few days!  we are beyond excited to have her here.  the girls are in heaven, and i'm in heaven, and we never ever want her to leave!  here's some photos from the zoo the other day:

look at our cora girl! she is the sweetest thing.

spot the cougar, and also, there were almost tears when hazel thought that she wasn't going to get the tiger.  

we really love our honey and the zoo.

i don't know why this video turned out so pixelated!

BUT, you get the idea.

the leaves right now are unreal from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

we love outside.

- especially this time of year.

zoo days

here's a bunch of photos from our weekly outings at the zoo!

on the train - it's the first thing we do every time.

hazel loved holding the bird.  she was so calm and careful with it - it was sweet!

we love having friends come with us to the zoo.  

down the shore again.

there is something so magical about being on the beach.  the sand in your feet, the sun on your face, the cool breeze blowing in your hair... it's breathtaking.  we decided to make the drive on saturday and i'm so glad we did!  we drove in the foggy morning and stopped at meemaws for the crazy monkey french toast: banana bread french toast with maple syrup, bananas, chocolate chips, cookie butter, vanilla marscapone, and powdered sugar:

then we headed to the shore to dip our toes in the {still warm!} water and play in the sand.

we played in the sand, watched little sand crabs, swam in the water, collected sea shells, and the girls even got a nap underneath the umbrella.

i set cora in the sand and she straight away took two fist-fulls and shoved them into her mouth.  

after the beach, we went to hoffmans and got ice cream.  they have a cookie monster flavor that is everything i've ever wanted in life.  it's vanilla {colored blue} with cookie dough and oreo pieces.  aka pure heaven.

i will think back on the perfect day so fondly.  love my family so much.

happy friday!

it's friday!  hurray!  what should we do this weekend?  probably something glamorous like get a car's oil changed?  haha.

well, here's a few photos i snapped a couple days ago when the weather was glorious and we spent over an hour outside; hanging out on the camping blanket my mom gave us for our wedding, eating cool ranch doritos, watching clouds, and playing with sidewalk chalk. 

hope you find something more exciting to do this weekend than getting your oil changed ;)

the farm and r&j come to visit

we had some very fun visitors this weekend! hazel kept asking for uncle ryan, janessa, and cousin claire today and we had a serious fun-hangover. for instance, we went to alstede farms again and picked peaches and raspberries. (john and i are eating peach cobbler right now and it is delicious!)

hazel likes to pose for photos. look at her little hand on john's leg :)

and cora has the best pouty lips!

we shared a homemade strawberry ice cream cone. but if we're being totally honest, hazel kind of hogged it ;)

sheer joy on hazel's face as we talked to the goats!

buzel 

life lately.

just some photos of this simple, wonderful, low-key life of ours.

zoo for days!

when we first moved out here, i bought a zoo pass to the little zoo near us.  it's only a 15-minute drive from our house and the perfect size for a 1 or 2 hour outing.  plus, hazel asks to go to the "zooon!" every. single. day.  needless to say, we go a lot.  

these pictures are actually from two different zoo days.  a penguin came right up to hazel to chat, and cora got an up-close look at the fish.  (hazel also asks for "nemo" the second we get into the zoo.

"we're on the train!" - hazel

cora, smiling at her sister moving up and down on the carousel.
this time, hazel chose the tiger:

we are now securely in the phase of weird smiles when i tell her to smile for a picture.  it's amazing.

the turtleback zoo:

we have had such an amazing and crazy couple of weeks!  we have been going and going and i am pretty exhausted at this life trying to be a fun mom to my girls and sometimes i feel like i am going just fall over dead but i am so blissfully happy with this life of ours.  life is good, God is good.  anyways, we had a great time at the zoo last week.

hazel thought this giant cow was pretty cool, and loved standing up in front of it!

not happy at all ;)

and hazel chose the bald eagle on the carousel!

the nj state fair.

one of my favorite things to do is try out a new state fair.  i like eating different delicious fried foods, and showing the animals to our girls, seeing the bright lights of the carnival rides, and people-watching.  while the food didn't really live up to the "big tex" state fair, (and no ostrich races, what a tragedy) the nj state fair did have its strengths.  for instance, they had a demolition derby going on.  i had never seen one before, and i don't believe they are safe, but peeking over the fence into the arena and seeing the wreckage was kind of fun.  hazel loved seeing the animals, and she even got to pet a sheep.

sure do love this family of ours.

we went to the beach!

last saturday, we went "down the shore", as people here say.  we tried out sea girt beach, and had seriously the best time.  i already said to john, "i had so much fun on saturday, i would totally go again this saturday".  i'm sure we will make it out to the beach at least once more this season.  i can't imagine a more perfect day.