The Zoo!

The zoo speaks for itself. There were wild animals, there were kids running free, there were senior discounts, and that was before we got in the entrance. It was actually pretty mild the day we went, compared to the rest of the week; it only got up to 96°F before we left. We had a blast, so much fun that Alexa actually took a nap in her stroller.

The water baby in Alexa was in full effect. She wanted to take a quick dip.


The Lewis Family


It was a hot one, but the shade was plentiful.


We found a huge amethyst in the kids research area.




Ryan was there too, and he got himself a hat and an alligator head. Score.



Of course, Alexa has an eye for cool stuff.


She settled for a tap on the shoulder.



She didn't know what she was looking at in the beginning...


...but she got her courage pretty quickly.




These were more ducks; she does a great duck impression.



Hand in hand with her cousin Ryan.


Inside the bird enclosure, there were some neat sights.


This chicken relative, whose name escapes me, was pretty tame.


This is Alexa "feeding" a bird.








This is a king fisher relative, sunning it's neck to get rid of bugs.


Pics don't do these guys justice.




Nap time!




Grinning ram.


Grinning ram.



Grinning Ibex.


Awesome llama; weird haircut and sideways smile.

Fun in the "park"

We went to a little creek with some shops around it, to enjoy the day and have a little lunch. Down by the creek was a duck with some ducklings. Alexa took notice, to say the least. Now that she can walk, combined with the fact that she has been learning her animals, she was hot on the trail of the wildlife.

4th of July at Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge is a kid paradise. There is an indoor water park with multiple pools and some pretty fun slides for all ages. There's also an outdoor section; it was quite expansive.
They have plenty of activities to keep the young ones entertained. Alexa was a little young to really appreciate everything fully, but there was enough that she did like for her to enjoy herself immensely. Some great photo ops were had.







































It was really fun to see Meemaw and Papaw beaming at the sight of their descendants. We're quite a diverse crew.
















One highlight was her getting to spend some quality time with her cousins Dillon, Ryan, and Jack. There might not be many kid smiles in this picture, but they really had a blast.