Peach Pickin' (or not)

Friday, after Lazy 5, our task was to get 4 boxes (pecks?) of peaches for the family.  The plan is always to pick them ourselves but the fields were closed again so we got the easy way out.  4 boxes were presented to us, w paid and then got some ice cream.  That's 3 years in a row!  But yes, the ice cream was delicious!

Lazy 5 video clips

These are so fun:

More Lazy 5

After doing the driving tour, there is a garden area with more animals, a great playground, and even ice cream.  It was really hot, so we made the rounds to see the animals quickly.  I loved the prairie dogs in the past but not one poked its head out for me today.

See, Chris and I were on this trip too!  I thought this bridge and view was pretty.  Photo cred - David Nelli

It is always cool to see a camel!

And a porcupine!

Tortoise.

Lazy 5 Ranch

We decided Isaac would really enjoy a trip to the Lazy 5 Ranch so we made that our big activity for today.  We would have liked to have taken the horse drawn wagon tour but they said it was too hot for the horses so we ended up doing the drive your own vehicle tour with lots of animal feed.



Animals everywhere!

 

Peacocks in the Pavilion.

And I think Isaac's face says it all here!  Yes, the animals would stick their heads right in the van.  Isaac moved to the back seat!

Zebras!  Right by us!

Pot bellied pigs and even a baby pig!

Alpaca.

These are ostrich (emu?) eggs just lying on the ground.  We argued it must be hot enough to not require Mom to fit on them...?

Longhorn in the road.

And apparently some of those random eggs lying around do hatch.  Check out the babies!

And a fantastic way to end the tour... David got to feed the giraffe.  Isn't that cool?

I have a couple of great video clips too... I'll post them when I get to the hotel.

Carowinds!

We arrived in Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon.  Our travel day was fairly smooth with only the small surprise of a 1hr 45min delay of our flight.  Isaac is potty trained like a champ on his little potty but is unreasonably terrified of the big potty so we chose to travel with it in a large reusable grocery bag.  I was surprised and pleased that no comment was made as we took it through airport security.  I'm guessing these guys see everything.

We met 3 out of 4 of Bill and Kristen's kids at Carowinds on Thursday morning for a day of fun and family bonding through scary roller coaster rides!

Isaac was quick to take on the idea that cousins = fun!

He was shy with Olivia for only a few minutes but she worked for his trust and he must have still have all those memories of her holding him as a baby!  She quickly became his favorite!

I stayed with Isaac most of the day but enjoyed a few rides with by big kids.  

Isaac is very timid about all things new and does not like to move too fast.  He was not sure about these kiddie rides and had to watch them from afar for a few cycles before he agreed to go.  Since Chris and I are too big, we had Lia go with him to cheer him in and ease his nerves.  She really didn't want to do this.  In fact, I think she was mortified.  You can see her yawning in the background.

But these boats... now they are cool!

I think he's getting the hang of it.

Marching Band

Happy 4th of July!

4th of July, The Woodlands style!  We have everything 4th of July!  The shirts the kids made last year still fit so we were able to dress our part in style.  Emily reported to her first high school parade band practice on the night of the 3rd, met her band director and section leader and was thoroughly lectured on the importance of hydration!  You don't want to be that kid who faints or vomits!



Emily reported to the parade start at 8 and the rest of us assumed our viewing positions at 9.  Yes, it was hot, but some of the parade treats involved popsicles this year!

Since Emily was in the parade, I got to wear her shirt!

Here's Emily with her friend Ella at the parade start.  They represent our two hometown high schools and were super excited to be a part of it.

Cute selfie from the symphony the night before.

And this is just, well... cute!