Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park

Last week, on a beautiful 70 degree sunny September day, we went to Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park in Alto.  I'd heard it was pretty cool from a lot of friends and I'd seen pictures ... but let me tell you, it was cool.  Granted, we went on a beautiful day and it wasn't busy.  But what was so cool about it, especially compared to the Zoo (which we also loved), was that so many of the animals were so close (touchable) and so active.  They also have a safari bus that tours through the larger / wilder animals (ostrich, wild boar, bison, zebras) which was also a lot of fun.  Tyler LOVED it.  Sam and Lucas were totally into it too, but Tyler was having a blast.  The absolute coolest part was the giraffes, by far.  They are in the main area (in a huge fence) and you can feed them.  And they play the part -- as soon as visitors came looking, out came the giraffes.  SO COOL.  We had a great time and would recommend it to anyone!

Western 'Stache Bash

Round 'em up:  The 10th Annual Party at the Ploegs has come and gone.  The Western 'Stache Bash was a success with fabulous facial hair, fancy cowboy boots, and funny costumes.  See for yourself!

New Beginnings

Along with everyone else (or so it seems), we started something new this week.  Today, my boys had their first day of real day care, complete with preschool for the twins.  We have so loved having the boys at home these last three years (almost three years exactly since I went back to work) and have had some wonderfully loving caretakers over the years.  But it was time for them to have a little more stimulation and structure.
After searching high and low for something that was 1) logistically convenient considering my changing work locations, 2) could do preschool + daycare for all three kids considering I didn't want to deal with mid-day drop-offs and pick-ups, 3) would handle my kids' crazy food allergies, and 4) was at least relatively affordable, I found Little Smiles Day Care.
I heard of them through three Facebook friends from three very different parts of my life.  They each knew the owner, a fellow momma of twin boys (hers are only 6 months), in different ways and highly recommended her.  While the transition was met with a little apprehension (mostly by me), they did great today.  And, to ease my worries, I was sent these super cute pictures of the kids throughout the day.

Tyler takes a nap.

Sammy takes a nap.

Lucas takes a nap.

One of Lukie's favorite ladies from the Kroc Center, Ms. Kayla,
also works at Little Smiles!  He loves to back it in and read books!