Mark and I celebrated 16 years of marriage on May 20th and the next day we celebrated the marriage of some friends.  They had a beautiful wedding and welcomed formal attire.  This meant that the girls wanted to get dressed up and several of the boys followed suit. Ceili Rain picked out her hair do in the early afternoon and with the help of a neighbor’s curling iron, I was able to pull it off. This kid is growing up way too fast. So is this one!  My kids are good lookin’
Such a little man. These three are missing the fourth member of their team of destruction.  But they are still adorable. Do you think he knows how cute he is? We’re nearing teen years with this one. And this girl is a young lady now. Zoe asked for a Gibson tuck and a braid on the side. Ya’ll.  Have you met Mark’s twin?

After the vows were said and we rejoiced in their new covenant, we danced the night away.  Well, until everyone was exhausted.

Well, the sea lions.  Our local zoo just opened a new exhibit of sea lions and an harbor seal.  They had a preview week in May and it just so happened to start on the day we came back from vacation.  And the zoo just so happened to be on our way home.

Getting there was our motivation to keep trudging and not stop except to fix sandwiches for lunch.

We got there early and decided to trek over to the botanical gardens and try out the new splash area.  It did not disappoint but we made a few mistakes.  First of all, it is a far, far walk to the botanical gardens.  Sure, they have a tram but there was a line and we thought, “Oh we can make it.”  We had a large shopping bag full of swimsuits and towels, an umbrella stroller and a 4 year old who was too tired to walk the whole way.  Mark carried him.  I pushed the stroller.  A kid carried the massively heavy shopping bag.

We made it to the gardens and then had to search through the gardens to find the splash area.  The gardens were beautiful but there was absolutely nothing telling us how to get to the kids area.

Then Ceili Rain stubbed her toe on the brick edging in the garden.  It ripped the skin off one of her toes.  Did you know that toes can bleed about as bad as lips?  Well, they can.  Her flip flop was covered.  We probably left her dna all over the garden.  I had zero band-aids because we left everything in the car but the basics.  A brief stop and we wrapped the foot in one of the towels, Mark picked her up (she’s 7 ya’ll…not a light toddler) and made it to the splash area.  Mark went with the big kids while I searched for a first aid station only to be told that I had to find a person in a green shirt.  In the meantime, Ceili Rain found a sweet park attendee with a band-aid.  After she was bandaged up, and everyone was changed, we were all set to go.

We made a pit stop at the carousel.

And there were lots of tears.  Every time we went to the zoo when Emmie had the halo or brace, she refused to ride the animals.  She loved the carousel but she was content to sit on a bench and ride around in a circle.  So, we would sit and smile at others and wave.  But, then we went this time.  I started to sit with her on the bench and she said, “No.”  And pointed to the animals. She chose a panda bear and smiled and laughed and waved.  Mark and I both about lost it.  Our little Super Ems was gaining even more confidence.  I had to look like an idiot crying while she rode, but if we could only show everyone how far she has come.  How many battles she has fought.  It was definitely a triumphant moment for us to witness.

I don’t think any of us ever outgrow the carousel!

Then, we finally headed to the sea lion exhibit.  And ya’ll.  This was so spectacular.  They have a viewing area above and below the water and some very social sea lions who  were swimming right by the viewing window over and over.

There were some other sea lions who just wanted to sun bathe.

We had a wonderful time, made some great memories and headed home completely exhausted.

After being blessed with a generous gift, we decided to combine anniversary and special day gifts to surprise the kids with a trip to Pirate’s Voyage in Myrtle Beach.    I tried to video their reaction but they faked it.  My kids don’t really freak out with fun surprises.  Oh well.

They had an awesome time though!  And we loved the meals!
We arrived early to check out the souvenirs and watch the pre-show.  It turned out to be very entertaining, especially when the giant sea lion meandered up on stage.

The kids are already talking about going again.  Mark and I have to let our pocket books recover first!

We were able to take a mini-vacation the day after Emmie’s birthday.  Mark is saving up vacation for Y the Brave trips.  But, we managed to squeeze in a three day getaway.

Although it was a little cold, we had a blast!

This girl thought the sand and waves hitting her feet were awesome.

On Sunday, Zoe and I were not brave enough to get in the cold water.  So, we headed down the beach for a walk and then hit the outlets for a quick trip (our gigantic skillet needed to be replaced and the outlets were conveniently close by).

While we were walking, we noticed a large group of people.  As we got closer, we realized it was a baptism.  The congregation was Spanish-speaking.  We stood close by and listened to them praising God and watching the new believers be baptized.  It was such a beautiful scene! We also saw several dead jellyfish.  Pretty neat being able to see them close up.  We studied ocean animals this year in Science.  Now we got to study them up close.

My partner in crime on the beach.