Arrived!

Yes, we arrived in Ohio!!! Yesterday we were able to leave by 1 pm. After the van got fixed and then stopped for lunch at Wendy's. So we were able to arrive here by 9 pm. The ride was great and went very smoothly. We arrived at the Loeffler's and the kids got some time in with their friends then it was to bed by 9:30 pm.

Thursday brought beautiful weather so we headed over to the zoo! We love the Columbus Zoo. They are always doing some expanding. Next will be the polar bear exhibit. We were able to see some animals with the weather being nice the zoo was pretty crowded. We got to see Beco the new baby elephant. This is the zoo's second baby elephant in the last 5 years! This zoo is amazing with what they have to offer and what they do. We miss it tremendously. As we miss the rest of Ohio!

The kids really enjoyed being outside today. Abigail really enjoyed playing in the backyard!! She was out there for hours. She is my nature girl and let me just say that she would have stayed out later it was getting dark but it was time for dinner.

Zoo and GPS

Thanks to Dana - one of the homeschool Moms in Ohio - we had the opportunity to go to the zoo today and view it a little differently.  (Once again Carla made sure we could tag along on this field trip too!  She is so good to think of us!)  The time was spent as us being "detectives" walking around Asia Quest with a GPS and following clues to a mystery. Well not really a mystery but we had to help the zookeepers keep a criminal in jail, who had been caught the night before after hours in the zoo, with all the different clues we found. It was a fun idea. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE the zoo, however, it is always nice to do and experience it in different settings. That occurred today as we were more interested in following our little GPS's then even looking at the animals. (I did happen to take a few photos of some of the animals - but most are of our group during the adventure.)

Let me just start by saying if anyone knows me you know that I like to run a tight ship. With that being said, at one point I kinda went overboard and had to raise my voice (shocking I know (and this is why Carla will stop inviting me) - lol) to remind the group I was with to wait for everyone.  Now I need to back up and explain something. You will see from the pictures that we had about 30 children present but each "team" was about a group of 6-8 children. The group I was in had the 8. So after the first couple of points we went to, which was very chaotic, I lost it and made sure they understood that we ALL needed to work together and not going running ahead. You see for every 2 kids there was a GPS and each set had a different role and each point we went to spoke specifically to certain roles (I hope this is making sense.) Once they realized they could not get the information if they were not the correct "people" for that point, it went better. 

Carla was the secretary and took down the notes from the clues.  (Also notice the boys taunting the goose - that decided to take flight and not attack.  Crazy boys!)

Two of my favorite 6th grades girls. (not in my group) Reilly and Tana.
Doesn't it look chaotic?! There were still two other teams not in photo!  Note the children looking down at screen.
Reilly, Olivia, and my Abs! The happy face is that Kelly was running the show.  (A zoo worker that Abigail has known since she was 4.)
This table has the group I was with!  It consisted of Ryan, Stephen, Casey, Brendan, Patrick, Kyle, Thomas, and my Josh!  Yes, all boys!
Overall loads of fun!  And it is all about the kids - so as long as they had a good time so should I right?   You would think... so at 4:45p my friend invited me over for some appetizers and a glass of wine.  Do you think I said yes?!?!?!   Thank you, Suzanne!  ;}

Zoo with the Stampers

We were able to take advantage of the homeschool program at the Columbus Zoo. We participated last year with the Stamper family so Carla asked if there was space for my kids and yes there was. So we headed over to the zoo for our 2:00p class. (The things you miss!)  My kids had a great time. For two reasons - 1. Love hanging with the Stampers - 2. Love being at the Columbus Zoo. While the zoo is a small zoo it packs a punch. In the 5 plus years that we have lived here the zoo has gone through many expansions and remodels but all worth it. They are currently undergoing a Polar bear/Arctic area! Can't wait! We love the Polar Bears! If you are ever in the Columbus area and have some free time, I can't stress enough that you need to visit this zoo. Sooooooo worth it!

Afterwards we were able to have some play time together at our home! Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

And more fun occurred for my kiddos as Suzanne (remember I said she was wonderful) invited all my kids to sleep over her house! The older two made it. The youngest, yea, not so much. He cried, so she did not feel comfortable keeping him. But before he went home he did have a big bowl of ice cream. (You ROCK, Mrs. Best)!

On another note, my wonderfully, fabulous, amazing husband of 13 years decided to come in for only 16 hours as we are dealing with house issues! Plus, he missed me! ;) He did not arrive in the airport until 12:15 am. Please continue to pray for us with the house as we are really trying to make the correct decisions to get this beast sold. 

Kids love to have their picture taken on the sculptures and I love taking pictures of the kids.  Here we have Stephen, Thomas, Joshua, Abigail, Kyle, Casey, and Tana!

Inside the reptile house as the zoo was about "Venomous and Poisonous Creatures."

Casey and Stephen!  It is great that they both enjoy each others company.  What a blessing!
Our kids sat down front so they got to go up and see the different animals.  There were scorpions, spiders, etc.
The entire row is our kids - The Stampers and The Sheas!!!