A Visit to the Zoo

Well the family took a trip to the zoo this weekend and had a great time. Lily got to experience everything the Birmingham Zoo had to offer in the middle of the summer...including the smell!! We had a lot of fun riding the train around, going to the petting zoo, and taunting the alligators. We made a little compilation video so I hope y'all enjoy. P.S. This very post may be updated with more pictures and commentary so stay tuned!



We started the day out with the Lorikeets... friendly little birds! Once they got to know us- they got a little 'clingy' and didn't want to let go... (or get off)!

Second attraction was Flamingos! Lily thought they would like to be friends as well. She asked them, "How is it that you do that with your neck?"Unlike Lorikeets, Flamingos like a their own space... "We are perfectly fine being friends as long as nobody crosses this here fence!" Although a little stand offish, Lily accept and tried to play... the game of twist her your neck in circles!

Giraffes... Lily thought their necks were pretty funny too! Hogs... now here are some animals Lily didn't want to make friends with. A little too messy for her taste! Now most of you may know Lily is learning and trying her very hardest to crawl. Mr. Turtle had a few words of advice... "Slooow and steady wins the race" Lily was just glad to see this was one knee race she would win!

Did Old McDonald have a llama?
I didn't think so, but he did have sheep, duck, pigs and goats- and Lily got to see all of them at The Barn!

Lily counted and reported that... Sally the camel had two humps...

A hot summer day at the zoo quickly required a cool down with some refreshments. A train ride around the zoo did just the trick! Lily opt for an ice cold beverage as well.Once we were back on our feet, we were ready for the big time zoo animals!

LIONS...

TIGERS...and...

and Auburn Football???

We had a great time at the zoo! Lily met a lot of animals and made some new friends... soon she will be asking to keep one at home...

Here Kitty Kitty....

Party Sensation

Lily had a weekend full of partying. Friday night she did it big for her Memaw's birthday.
Happy Birthday Memaw!!!

Lily rocking out with Aunt Jen.
After a full night of wild partying Lily managed to get up bright and early for round 2 and make an appearance at Aunt Kate's Wedding Shower.

Aunt Kate's 'running buddies' held a really lovely Pampered Chef Wedding Shower to equip Katie's kitchen.

Lily was the perfect entertainment for a room full of adoring women.

Katie and Mama... Looking very summery

It was really great to have visited with lots of the women of the family. This is four generations of Youngs. (L-R) This is Lily's Great Grandmother (Grams), cousin thrice removed (Debbie), Allison and Camryn and Great Great Great Aunt Pete!

My grandmothers best friend Lillian and Lily's Great Great Aunt Joanne

Lily enjoyed being held and oodled over, she thought she was the star of the event.

Katie with her beautiful future in-laws Erica,Liz and Becca

Lily got to meet her new cousin Camryn Brown.

Lily and Camryn will be great friends. They share one big interest... catalog shopping!

Lily even arrives color coordinated with her granny!

Baby Laughs

This is just a little bit that I ran across on youtube. I'm really glad Lily has a little more girly laugh than this baby!!

Getaway Weekend

Okay, so I am going to break the rules of posting on the Lily Pad which is supposed to be just about Lily and her activities.

Charles and I were very kindly invited to a beach wedding by his good friend from high school Adam Mestre. The wedding was so beautiful and we had such a great weekend at the beach I just had to share.
Charles and I drove to the beach early Saturday morning to attend the rehearsal brunch at Another Broken Egg in Destin, FL. YUMMY! Definitely a place to revisit for breakfast or lunch! Then we drove back north a little ways to check into our hotel. We stayed in a gorgeous bed and breakfast in historic Defuniak Springs. Every room in the hotel was so thoughtfully done in beautiful antiques and pretty designs. After a short nap and wardrobe change we made our way back to the beach for the wedding of Adam and Nikki. The wedding and reception were held in Seaside.


The Tupelo Pavilion- the entrance to the ceremony and where the band played soft, slow lovey dovey tunes throughout the ceremony


This was one of the sweetest and most beautiful weddings I have ever witnessed (Maybe I am biased because the beach is my favorite place). The ocean rolling in in the background was all that was needed to set the mood. The bride wore an all lace gown = gorgeous!


Everyone, guests and wedding party, was decked out in the beachy wardrobe.


Right down to the bare feet.


As the minister announced Adam and Nikki as Husband and Wife, the band kicked up with the classic hit "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You"- And the party began....


This was the luxurious getaway car that the bride and groom zoomed around Seaside to and from the reception! (I am going to safely bet this was 100% the bride's idea- miniature & PINK!)



The reception was also held in Seaside- we had a lovely dinner that was, of course, followed by lots of CAKE! The bride chose a cake that was delicious and appropriately decorated for the theme.

For an idea that was clearly not the bride's- check out the groom's cake-a rare T-bone steak. Unusual but very well done... (haha). The icing was perfectly painted and the cake was to die for...Red Velvet. I guess it could be worse or roadkill (a bleeding armadillo _ SM).

We danced the night away with old friends and had a splendid time! The whole trip was fabulous- we had good company, good weather, good food and good relaxin'! We were very sad to have to leave this beautiful place.

ColorSplash

Lately we have been leaving the camera at home when Lily goes out. Mostly because we have missed place a cord crucial to the battery life of the camera. This has resulted in no pictures available for the blog. We are dedicated to our readers and really want you guys to stay tuned so we had to come up with a temporary hold over. I found this program that lets me play with pictures and add artistic effects. I am posting some of the pictures I have doodled with, hope you enjoy them!

This is how it works: Take an ordinary picture...


And make it a little crazy!


This is my favorite!


This picture I converted everything to black and white except for her body.



Captain Lillian Rose



Andrew Thomas in blue!

Pool Party

We have had the wonderful company of Elizabeth and Andrew this week and were able to get over to the pool a couple of times. This was the perfect opportunity to try out our matching floaty apparatuses. As it turns out taking pictures around water poses a lot of issues including, but not limited to: dropping the camera, receiving spashes on the camera, hair dripping on the camera, and of course wet hands. Luckily we were able to avoid all of these pitfalls, but all of these impede crazy picture taking dads from accomplishing their missions, 1000 pics an hour. We were able get a few and put this clip together...ENJOY!!!

Lily ready to be 'greased'...
It's great to see Lily a fanatic about healthy skin, starting out a life time of good skin care habits!

She is particular about her skin care products... what a girl!

We started out with swim lessons with pop and pepaw!

We began with a simple stroke- the butterfly, ha!

She will be in the Olympics 2016!

Andrew relaxing in the pool, enjoying the Alabama scene

The whole family joined in on the fun!

Running low on fuel, we had to fill up! Lily opt for some delicious red apples with peanut butter! This was a first and certainly a big hit!

Lily munched away on appes slices like they were the next best thing to smashed peas!

"Who said we cant play with our food?"

And we wrapped the fun filled day with a little more bathing in the sun!