The Mother of All Zoo Posts

Those of you who have been following my blog for awhile, know about my obsession with the zoo. Well, yesterday we went to the Guadalajara Zoo with the Biggs family & the Powell family. I had read that the zoo here is better than most U.S. zoos, so I had high expectations. I'm sure that you can tell by the number of pictures I posted, that I was even more impressed with this zoo than I expected to be!

They had cute little monkey statues going all the way down the stairs at the front entrance...

Cool flamingo exhibit...

I'd never seen a polar bear before!

Hanging out with my girl...

 Mr. Alligator...

And just to show once again that we really are in Mexico, I'll post a close-up of the peso on his back... :)

 They had a pretty impressive assortment of snakes there, although Kylee was NOT impressed...

Camel relaxing...

Time with Linc! Hooray!!!

Beautiful birds...

How awesome is this picture? A chimpanzee napping with her baby...

The orangutans at the Phoenix Zoo have always been my favorite, and they were at this zoo as well. This orangutan was just chilling in front of the glass, eating his peas (can you see them on his arm?) and smiling at us...

He totally freaked Kylee out...

Linc & the kids pretending to feed the orangutan from Kylee's bottle...

Monkey hands...

Another really neat thing about this zoo was all of the scenery. This waterfall was our favorite...

Family picture! (It was way past Kylee's naptime!)

I know, I know...you're jealous of my drumming skills. And my good looks.

He's a natural...

Leopard...

Anteater...

Kylee in front of the anteater exhibit...

They had two aviaries that you could walk through with the birds in the same room. See the bird above my head? I was trying to get as close as possible to it to get a good pic...

I got a little closer...& that bird hit the back of my head as I was taking this next picture. It obviously scared me half to death...

Doesn't this one look like a stuffed animal sitting there?

The mighty lion fast asleep...

(Unfortunately, he woke up a few minutes later & had some crazy ideas involving the lioness. Since this is a G-rated blog, I won't elaborate or post pictures of what they were doing. :) )

Next to the lion exhibit was this bin of fresh meat waiting for them. Only in Mexico!!!

Next it was SAFARI TIME! We all paid extra money to go on the safari that they had at the zoo, and it was worth every penny!

A quick family pic before the safari started...

(Can you tell that my eyes are puffy? I had an allergic reaction to a bug bite a few days ago. The meds I'm taking are helping, but I still look a little bit funny.)

Our awesome tour guide! Don't you love his outfit?!

The BEST part of the safari was feeding carrots to the giraffes! This giraffe knew that we had food & was not afraid to come right up to us to get it!

Lincoln feeding the giraffe while a random guy poses with it...

Ostriches!

Kylee & I with our cool safari truck...

We had a very fun day, spent in a great place with good friends & beautiful animals. We will definitely be going to the Guadalajara Zoo again!

Easter Break Begins!

 Yesterday marked the last day of school for Lincoln until May 2nd! He has now begun his 2-week Easter break, which we've both been looking forward to since he started school. :) Linc will go back to school for a month, take his last final a week later, & then we will be headed to the U.S. for his 4-week summer break! 

A few things we've experienced since Linc started his break yesterday afternoon:

1) No running water. We've had no running water for the past 28 hours & won't have it for about 16 more hours. Apparently during the dry season here, they turn our zone's water off from Thursday night to Sunday morning, so all we have is what is in our tank. How did we not know this? (Let's just say things have been interesting...cleaning ourselves & our home with baby wipes, filling buckets up with pool water to flush our toilets, & so many other fun things.)

2) Awesome BBQ & game night with friends. Heather & Josh (who goes to school with Linc) and 3 of their 4 kids came over last night to celebrate the beginning of Easter Break. We used our little built-in grill for the first time & stuffed our face with peanut butter cookies & brownies (at least I did). Kylee slept while the other kids watched movies and the adults played an absolutely hilarious game of "What If". Definitely a memorable night!

3) Sick Kylee....again. I really have no idea what is going on. Kylee has been sick so many times since we moved to Mexico. Grrr. Even though Kylee  has a terrible time teething, this seems like more than that. She has had a pretty high fever for 4 days, is very cranky and clingy, & will hardly eat or drink. The doctor we go to is on a 2-week break since he works for the school. We'll see what we end up deciding to do.

As far as the rest of our break goes, we are planning to:
Visit the Guadalajara Zoo!
Rent movies
Take a bus trip downtown
Have a visit from the Easter Bunny!
Finally get our house somewhat decorated
Put the final touches on the kitchen curtains I sewed
Eat brain tacos
Play games over Skype
And anything else that we can think of!
(Lincoln may throw a few hours of studying in there. :) )

And as long as I am talking about things I am excited about...our trip to the U.S. is in 7 weeks! I am INCREDIBLY excited for:
 Staying in Mazatlan & eating tacos on the beach again
The annual Hiatt Family Reunion in Pine
Ashley's baby shower (Dr. Seuss style)
A trip to DISNEYLAND
Relaxing days in Snowflake
Shopping at Target
Seeing the new orangutan exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo
Bahama Bucks
People who signal, stop and follow rules when they drive
Swimming
Mountain Dew (that one is Lincoln's of course)
And a million other things, #1 being spending time with our FAMILIES & FRIENDS!!!

Happy Easter Jackson

I've mentioned before that I end up missing Jackson at unexpected times. A couple of weeks ago, I started thinking about him a lot and talking about him more often than I usually do. I know that Jackson is where he is supposed to be, & that he is happy & safe. I do wish that I could see him and talk to him though. I just don't know how to be a mother and not feel a void when one of my children is missing from everything that we do. With that being said, I am SO, SO thankful to have the knowledge that I will see him again and that he IS a part of our family, even though he isn't here with us. I love Jackson so much & feel incredibly privileged to be his mother.

I was talking to my friend Lindy a few days ago, and found out that she was in Snowflake visiting her parents. I decided to ask her to go to the cemetery when she was able to, to put a few flowers on Jackson's grave. I've never asked anyone to do that for me, but this is the longest I've gone without being able to go to the cemetery myself, and I won't be able to go for 2 1/2 more months. 

The next day I received these pictures in my inbox from Lindy...

Lindy's daughter Brooklyn is the same age as Jackson would be. This picture made me smile so big. I'd like to think that Brooklyn & Jackson were friends before.

Lindy offered to go to the cemetery again the next day and put a little note on Jackson's grave from us. I tried to find a cute quote & background, but realized that a little note from the heart was better than anything...

It says "Happy Easter Jackson! We love you and are so excited to see you again someday. Love, Mom, Dad & Kylee."

I hope that everyone who went through Jackson's death with us knows how much we appreciate their support & love. I am so thankful to have a friend like Lindy who has so much compassion and understanding. The Easter bouquet that she (& her mom) put together for Jackson is beautiful and the little Easter sign that they made is so sweet. This was one of the best gifts I've ever been given. Thanks so much Lindy!

7 Years!

It has been a FULL seven years of marriage for Lincoln & I. We've had our ups & downs, but hasn't everyone? Now we are enjoying living a calmer life with dreams that have been fulfilled and hopes of things to come. I sure do love this guy.

A year ago, on our 6th anniversary, I was flat in bed in a lot of pain, awaiting my hysterectomy. Lincoln picked up some food for us and we sat in bed and watched a movie, while I cried because I didn't feel good enough to go out and celebrate with him. 

Our lives have changed so much since then. This anniversary celebration was so much better, because we didn't have to worry about anything and just enjoyed spending time together. Life has been very good to us. I can't wait to spend many more healthy, active, exciting years with you Linc! LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

We did a little photo shoot on our actual anniversary (this past Sunday) & tried recreating a few "classic" poses that we used a lot when we were engaged & newly married. I must be getting old because the whole "let me jump on your back so that we can take a picture" didn't feel quite as 
graceful or comfortable as it used to. Oh well. :)

I'm excited to see what this next year of marriage brings us!!!

Celebrating our Anniversary

Lincoln & I recently celebrated our 7th Anniversary! We went to a really good French restaurant near our house & brought Kylee along. I can't believe that it has been 7 years!

Had to get a pic with Kylee...

(She's biting herself in the picture. Seriously, teething drives her crazy!)

The restaurant that we went to is called Chez Nene & it is so intimate & cute. We walked in to see the menu written on a chalkboard...

Waiting for our food...

This place doesn't really cater to kids, & doesn't have any kid-sized meals, so they made one up for Kylee. She ate pasta with cream & cheese and they gave it to us for free. Our waiter also brought us an orange crepe with a candle in it for our anniversary...

Gerard (our friend who owns the restaurant) brought Kylee some free ice cream too. By the end, we were STUFFED!

 After dinner, we put Kylee to bed at our next-door neighbors' house & headed to the Cinepolis V.I.P. movie theater, where they have recliners to lie on and waiters to bring food and drinks to you. Unfortunately, the movie that we wanted to see was sold out. So we went to Blockbuster & bought some American candy & rented a movie...

This movie is VERY funny to watch while living in Mexico. :) We turned it on again the next day & Kylee was running into the couch & falling down (on purpose) during the wrestling scenes. It was hilarious!

Wives Club Easter Party

We have a Wives Club here that gets together often for lunches & activities. Most of the girls in the club are wives of medical students, but there are a few others whose husbands are dental students or in their masters program at UAG. Yesterday we went to a family Easter party that the Wives Club organized. It was SO much fun. The family who hosted the party live up on a mountain about 20 minutes away from us. The scenery was pretty different from what we are used to seeing here. We loved getting away to another part of town, meeting new people, & spending time with friends.

The decorations were so cute!

Kylee got her own bunny ears to wear...

Kylee has always been afraid of bounce houses, but she actually got in it & jumped this time. I'm sure a lot of the reason was that Daddy got in with her & made it seem like a lot of fun...

I LOVE seeing these two together. I'm telling you, they have a bond that not many people have. I noticed it the day we met Kylee for the first time. I'm pretty sure that these two will always be really close...

Playing with Kirtlyn...

I love celebrating holidays with a kid. It makes it even more fun!

Kylee hanging out with Linc & his friends...

After we ate the yummy food & treats that everyone brought, it was pinata time! Here in Mexico, they sing this really cute pinata song (in Spanish of course) while each kid takes their turn hitting the pinata. I want to learn it so that I can sing along next time! After all of the kids got to hit the first pinata (except Kylee, who just wanted to watch), a few of the adults took a turn whacking the second one. They had to spin around 5 times with their eyes closed & got two hits. Here's Linc mid-spin...

To finish off the party, they had an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Kylee wasn't sure what to do at first, but quickly caught on. They don't have plastic Easter eggs or Easter baskets here in Mexico, so we had to improvise. Kylee found lots of suckers & candy on the grass, as well as some hard boiled eggs. She was obsessed with finding the eggs...

Putting candy in her bag...

I was so grateful to be able to attend this party, since one of the things I will miss most this year is our huge Allen Family Easter Party. It was nice to celebrate with friends, so that I don't feel like I am totally missing out on all of the Easter celebrations back home. HAPPY early EASTER everyone!!!

Some Randoms

I am quite proud to say that I am learning to sew! Sewing is something that I thought I would NEVER do. It never interested me & I never thought I'd be any good at it. My friend Montse took me to a few fabric stores & found a project for me to do. Since I just sewed for the first time a few days ago & I've only done one project, I'm not sure how good I am...but I do know that I really enjoy sewing & want to do more!

Here's a pic of my 1st project: a little drawstring backpack for Kylee...

Montse & I took a trip to a vinyl store & let the kids go on a ride in the plaza. Kylee & I chose a Shrek donkey ride. I don't think I need to tell you how she felt about it...

I had another game night with the Moak's over Skype. It definitely didn't disappoint. Especially since I won in Citadels. :)

And here's a family pic from the other day. Linc is willing to make weird faces for the camera now. He is a changed man...

Hotel Camino Real

Last week we went to a breakfast buffet at the Hotel Camino Real to celebrate my friend Montse's birthday. The weather was great & the food was delicious. The girls I went with are awesome...I really enjoy being around them.

My friend Verenice informed me that she was taking pictures for me to post on my blog. She knows me so well. :) Kylee was feeling sick that day, so she wasn't very excited about smiling...

When I found out that Verenice had taken a picture of my food because I "always post pictures of my food", it made me laugh. But now of course, I DO need to mention that the fresh mango juice was my favorite.

This poor girl didn't want to eat anything. I think she is teething again.

Yari, me, Montse, & Verenice (plus the kids)...

Thanks for the fun time girls!

Kitchen Remodel Day #4

Well, I really wasn't planning on dedicating so many posts to our kitchen remodel. Even though it is exciting to get a new kitchen...it isn't that exciting. We thought the remodel would take 2 1/2 days, but that obviously hasn't happened. Oh well. At least the faucet is in & we have a working sink now!

The tile should be installed tomorrow. Between being sick & the kitchen being under construction, I haven't cooked a full meal in almost three weeks. I'm kind of excited to cook again!

Kitchen Remodel Day #3

Well, yesterday didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped. They did get the sink installed, although the faucet isn't in yet...

The oven was installed yesterday as well. Lincoln got it hooked up to the gas, so we are good to go. While this is still a gas oven, it is MUCH easier to use than our old one, so I am very excited about it!

We had to make a late-night trip to Home Depot to buy tile, grout and some other things.Tonight we are going to have to go back and exchange some of it. Hopefully tomorrow our kitchen will be finished. We are also having some work done to our downstairs bathroom & having the grout on our stairs redone.

We will be happy when the remodeling is done & we are back to our regular routine. We are used to having Lincoln do this kind of stuff, so it is kind of hard just sitting back and relying on others to do it. But since the owners are paying for most of it, that is how it goes. Can't wait until it is finished!

Kitchen Remodel Day #2

Today we got new counter tops! It's been exciting to see what comes for our new kitchen each day. Since the owners are the ones who picked everything out, we have no idea what the kitchen will look like when it is finished.

The mess outside our kitchen door...

Because we have no kitchen to cook in, we decided to eat at the local buffet. We tried taking a quick family pic before we left. Kylee wasn't excited about it...

Monday should bring our new stove & sink. The tile should be put in on Tuesday. Then we are done!