E is 3

We celebrated Ella's birthday on Saturday evening, with a little Princess Belle and a little Kentucky Derby as the theme.

She was ready at the table, and asked me to turn centerpiece Belle around so she could look at her.

There's Belle watching the birthday girl.

Ella's mommy made awesome Belle cookies,

and Derby cookies celebrating that E is 3!

Her special cupcake.

A hug for Uncle Adam.

Ready to sing!

Happy Birthday, dear Ella,

Happy Birthday to you!

Blow out your candle.

Yay!

Her daddy helped with the paper...

and she knows how to eat it.

Yummy icing!

We turned Belle around to get a look at the other side of the room.

Haleigh helped her 'read' her cards.

An Audrey Bunny book for Ella, who has her own special bunny that sleeps with her. The book is written by one of our cruise 'friends', Angie Smith, who signed it for Ella.

And just because three-year-olds like to be silly, she tried out Baby Noah's exersaucer. Silly girl!

She's Three!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Ella Kate, 
who is three years old today!
May the 4th be with you!

Your Granny loves you! xoxo

Orangutango

I had the opportunity to visit the Indianapolis Zoo on Friday with Darci and the girls. Kirsten had given Darci passes to a 'Friends and Family' event, which included a visit to the brand new orangutan exhibit, that officially opens on May 24. The event didn't start until 1:00, so we had time to enjoy the other parts of the zoo first.

Ella liked looking at the elephants. We also saw giraffes, lions, rhinos and the rest of the plains animals, before making our way back to the carousel.

With our special wristbands, we got to ride the carousel for free.

There were happy smiles all around.

Even Aunt Betsy took a ride, side saddle, Mary Poppins style.

Happy Haleigh.

Ella chose to ride a tiger. ROAR!

Haleigh loved her 'dolphin-whale.'

The orangutan habitat is an impressive church-like structure, with lots of glass. There are also outdoor towers where the orangutans will be able to climb and swing, and visitors will ride ariel cable cars to watch the action. That part wasn't open yet, and the orangutans were all indoors for now.

Inside, Haleigh got to compare her hand to a model orangutan hand. They have long fingers, a short thumb, and fingernails just like ours.

It was hard to photograph through the glass, but they were so interesting to watch as they came right up to the window to interact with visitors.

There are 8 orangutans total, and there were six in the large enclosure yesterday. They range in age from 36 year old Azy to 9 year old Rocky, the 'little boy' of the group.

I learned from an online news article, that Rocky and his adoptive mother, Knobi, recently found their way out of the enclosure. They are clever ones. Thankfully, they didn't get far before they were discovered and returned to their home.

The kids were fascinated, and the orangutans seemed equally so. They must get a kick out of watching all the crazy humans on the other side of the glass.

Hellloooo Haleigh!

Rocky roamed all around the enclosure, and seemed to like showing off for the crowd. I read that he was raised by humans in the entertainment industry, and did not live with other orangutans until he was 3 1/2 years old. He loved to pose with his two hands and one foot hanging on above his head.

This one hugged himself, and the kids did it right back. I love the little girl's face.

They are shaggy and expressive, and I was so interested in watching them, that I didn't even take time to read the information on display in the exhibit area. Next time.

This is 36 year old Azy, who reminded me of Chewbacca. He didn't move around much, but he is said to be the peace-keeper of the group.

Haleigh posed in front of Azy.

It was such an interesting exhibit, and I know it will be a favorite attraction at the zoo.

After the orangutans, the girls were excited to have their faces painted.

They both chose (with a little direction) the princess mask.

Looks good, Hay!

Next, it's Ella's turn.

Great job holding still!

Pretty pretty princess.

With faces painted, we saw the tigers and the bears. When Haleigh asked if she could see the bats, her mom told her that she didn't like bats much. I told her that I thought they were creepy. She took my hand and said, "Granny, I will be right by your side." We went to see the bats. :)

We finished up in the waters building, where we saw the polar bear, then circled back around to see stingrays, penguins, and the sharks.

I don't think they actually touched the sharks, but they did watch them.

Here, sharky sharky.

We had a great day, with lions and tigers and orangutans, oh my! And two pretty princesses with their mommy.

Run for the Roses #TBTStories

In honor of the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, I'm sharing my Throwback Thursday Stories photos from our trip to Churchill Downs in 1995. Our stop in Louisville was at the end of our fall break trip, which included the Beaumont Inn, Shakertown, Keeneland, and a celebration of Adam's 5th birthday.

I have been researching trips forever, or at least long before the internet was a thing. My research tools included  AAA Tour Books and brochures I ordered by mail. Mail! Books in hand, I would read to the kids in the car as we approached an attraction, to optimize the tourist experience. In 1995, the internet was coming into popular use. It was slow and cumbersome, and I still remember the sound of the dial-up modem as it tried to establish a connection. I may have used the internet to make the plans for this trip, and to determine that the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs was a stop we wanted to make.

The kids loved the museum. They always love museums, but they found this one to be fun, interesting, educational and interactive. There was a scale to weigh in, just like the jockeys.

Sometimes, I think getting into that starting gate might be the trickiest part of the whole race.

The museum admission included a track tour, and the tours left the museum every half hour. Each time they called for the next tour, I encouraged our little group to move to the tour line. They were not interested in leaving the fun of the museum, and we probably spent three hours exploring every single exhibit before they were finally ready to see the track. There were video monitors where we could choose a year and watch the Derby from that year. I think we watched all of them at least once, and watched our favorites multiple times. It was fun. We always bet on the winner. :)

Finally, we were ready to move to the track, to watch some real horses, on a beautiful fall day in the shadow of the famous twin spires.

Our trip to the museum inspired Jonathan to make his own model of the twin spires for his 3rd grade state project. It included a drawing of the track, photos from our trip, and information from brochures we picked up while we were there. He did such a nice job, that I encouraged him to insisted that he write a letter to the Derby Museum, thanking them for our great experience, and including the photo below of him with his project.

A short time later, I received a call from the secretary at the elementary school. She had received a call from the museum, raving about Jonathan's letter, the project, and the darling young man in the photo. :) They were so impressed that they asked (and I gave) permission to post the photo on their (still new) website. (It's not there anymore. I checked.) It was quite exciting, and we were very proud of Jonathan. It was a good lesson in the power of a simple letter of appreciation.

Just for fun, in case you are in the mood to watch a horse race now, here's a clip of one of the greatest, Secretariat. After winning the 1973 Derby, he went on to win the Preakness, and was in a position to win the Triple Crown if he could hold on for the win at Belmont Park. And hold on he did!



Linking up with Jessica at The Mom Creative for #TBTStories.