Fun at the Austin Zoo

Ready to see the zoo!

Another fun thing that I did with my "Littles" when A, B and C were at Burn Camp was to take them to the Austin Zoo.  We spent the morning and afternoon there and it was so much fun.  On the way home, I had all 4 kids asleep!  It had been a long time since I have had a car full of sleepers.  Enjoy our photos.  I think the peacocks were my favorite animal of the day.

This beauty was the first animal we saw as we walked into the zoo.  The peacocks are roaming free and they are currently in mating season so they really preformed for us later in the day.

This peacock was showing off in the tree.

We purchased a bag of animal feed when we arrived so we headed over to the petting zoo to feed the sheep, goats, deer, and llamas.

D feeding a goat.

D, E and F posing with the animals.

The goats were super friendly and not shy about asking for food.

Baby G wasn't sure what to make of the llamas.

After the petting zoo, we decided to head to see the "bigger" animals as they would most likely be napping in the afternoon.  We visited the bears and bigger cats.

Watching the bears

My Bears

F absolutely loved the tortoises.

On the move

Up close

We brought in our own picnic lunch but I let the kids each have a snow cone for a special treat.  All three of them chose 1/2 cherry and 1/2 blue raspberry snow cones!

A girl and her peacock

While eating their snow cones, the peacocks loved being around the kids.  It turns out they eat practically anything and anytime the kids would drop a bit of their snow cones, the peacocks were right there to enjoy it.  E kept asking me when the peacocks would display their feathers as she wanted to see them.  And the peacocks did not disappoint, they gave us quite a show.

I loved their feathers!

A peacock displaying his feathers.

And another one...

Side view

The Zoo is full of great photo opportunities including this amazing mural.

My E duckling.

And my monkeys...

Baby G was exhausted!

I would not recommend having this kind of umbrella stroller at the zoo.  I thought I had brought my other one that has a shade and basket underneath but when I arrived I realized I had not brought it and I made this one work.  Luckily, we were able to find quite a bit of shade and we had our hats so that really helped.  You can bring in your own food and drinks which is a huge plus.  They also have a snack cart available at certain times of the day.  We did not ride the train but that is also an option for a small fee.  All-in-all we had a super fun day and we would definitely go back again.

Label Daddy - Save 25% Now

Have you heard of Label Daddy?  They have some pretty awesome customized labels for all your needs - camp, back to school, clothing, allergy, all purpose - you get the idea.  And right now you can get ready for school and save 25% on Label Daddy peel and stick custom name labels!  I love that there is no ironing and no sewing...just peel and stick.  Their laminated coating gives the labels an extra layer of protection and durability.  You can label clothing, books, bags, sports equipment, musical instruments, electronics and so much more.

Save 25% on your entire Label Daddy order by using the code USFAMILY25 at checkout here.  Let me know what you think of your labels!  I'll be sure to post after my order comes in.

Disclosure: Thanks so much to USFamilyGuide and Label Daddy for allowing me to participate in this campaign. I will receive my own Label Daddy customized labels for review.  All opinions are my own.

Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day 2017

This year my youngest 4 children and I celebrated Chick-fil-A's annual Cow Appreciation Day without the oldest 3 on July 11th.  A, B, and C were off at Burn Camp for a week having a fabulous time and the "Littles" as we call them and I had a blast doing fun things and staying busy.  One of those fun things included dressing up as cows and heading to our local Chick-fil-A for some fun and free food.  Enjoy the photos!

D, E and F as cows!

 Baby G Cow

Trying on his brother's hat.

A close up of F, love his smile.

We used D's emoji shirt to show her cow love.

Kissing my baby cow!

Cow Play

 I think someone is really enjoying that waffle fry.

See below what Baby G thought of his 1st Cow Appreciation Day.

Save Money With Groupon Coupons

If you are like me you love shopping.  And even better than shopping, is saving money on your purchases.  I love coupons for this reason.  Now, you have probably heard of Groupon.  Have you heard of Groupon Coupons?  It is a partnership between Groupon and over 9K national retailers with the aim of saving you money!  Groupon Coupons is a free and efficient way for shoppers to find thousands of coupons and promo codes from popular stores like Amazon, The Home Depot, Target, Ebay, Walgreens, and so many more.  If you are doing any on-line shopping, checking out Groupon Coupons is definitely in your best interest.

I personally have been doing quite a bit of on-line shopping in preparation for our upcoming school year.

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Shopping another store, no problem.  Just check out Groupon Coupons and see just how much you can save!  Let me know what awesome deals you find.

Disclosure: Thanks so much to Groupon Coupons for allowing me to participate in this campaign. I am eligible to receive a prize as part of this campaign.  All opinions are my own.

Disney's A Wrinkle In Time

I have a super fun movie trailer to share with you!  Did you ever read Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time?  It was one of my favorite books growing up.  Guess what?  Disney is turning this book into a movie and I couldn't be more excited.  The movie is due to release March 9, 2018.  This film is an epic adventure which will take audiences across the dimensions of time and space, discovering the nature of darkness vs light and eventually, the triumph of love.  Check out the trailer below and let me know what you think.

Port Aransas Beach Vacation

Sunset 

We have been back from vacation for several weeks now but I feel as though I have still been at the beach a little bit.  Oh, I miss it so.

The water on my toes.

It was so great to see family and for the kids to spend time with their cousins, they love these trips so much.  And it was my first time to Port Aransas.  David is the only one of us who had been there before.  If you haven't been to a beach this summer, I really hope you get the opportunity to go soon.  I find it so relaxing!  Enjoy our family photos.

The front of a souvenir shop.

F in front of a mural in the same souvenir shop.

Our kids at the beach.

Beach photo

A ready to ride.

 On a wave...

B jumping

Mermaid B

B with her sand octopus.

C ready to swim

C and crazy Uncle Brian.

D jumping

D being goofy.

E at the beach.

E on a Boogie Board

F jumping over waves.

F riding a wave in.

Baby G raiding the Whataburger.

All tuckered out...

Snack time

The boys having fun.

 Beach free play

 Seagulls

This company is awesome!

 Amazing food.

 Headed home in their souvenir shirts.