Spring Break Zoo Trippin'

Last week was a total blast!!! The weather was so nice that we practically lived outside. It was the perfect week for Chassidy's spring break. We used one of those gorgeous days (not gangster mob Tuesday) to go to the zoo. Me, Benji, Chassidy, Grace, Katherine, & Ella Bella all met that morning and made a day of it. We took a picnic lunch and everything. The first thing we headed for was the new Teton Trek exhibit. We had not seen it yet. The whole experience was absolutely amazing. The lodge is beautiful. The inside makes you want to stay for some kind of stew dinner. LOL. The wolves were rather docile and elegant. They were just chillin' in a little bit of shade.

The bears was a truly unique experience. They were so playful and running and knocking each other around. I think spring has already sprung on them. =) One of them even caught a fish straight out of the stream.

The girls caught some fish of their own as we were going through as well, albeit they were of the goldfish variety.

This is the bear area and the back side of the lodge. You can really sit up there in the rocking chairs and just chill. The porch is all the way across the front and the back!

This was taken inside the glass observatory breezeway that the pool ends into for the bears.

These are not even zoomed in from far away. We were literally on the other side of the glass from them as they played.

The girls watching the replica of "old faithful" from Yellow Stone.

After being successful in keeping Yogi and BooBoo from our picanic baskets the girls played hide and seek...kinda. LOL This picture looks like Ella is saying "Dude, I can so totally see you."

This is Grace jumping out after being found and Rarrrrring at the girls. She has some thing about saying she is a "baby dwaggon" right now. No clue where she got it.

We then went to see some of our other favorites...the polar bears and sea lions.

Everyone was out enjoying and relaxing in the sun.

Benji snapped this one of Katherine and I (and Grace hitchin' up her britches) because he said we were trying to get a pic of the girls from behind (a butt shot as he called it) for the 500th time since they were born and he figured that we needed one too.

One of the MANY butt shots of the day: I love to watch the panda bears eat...we can only dream of being so content.

It was an absolutely beautiful day. We all crashed when we got home.

Pop Stars Only!

Chassidy is now 7 years old. For the past 3 years she has been begging to have her party at a place called Glitz-N-Glam. It is a little boutique style shop in the old part of Bartlett, that caters to the fairytale crowd. Until this year we could nto justify spending that much on a child's party when she was still too young to truely remember it. Chassidy is into Hana Montana and anything to do with a good beat right now, so it was a no-brainer. We chose to do the Pop-Star-For-A-Day party. The girls had a blast! First they dressed them up in all kinds of shiny wardrobes... They even let the pop star moms get a little crazy...Then it was time to get their nails and makeup done...

It was then time for a quick craft and then on to the main attraction of the evening...the pink carpet photo shoot! Then it was on to the "concert" where they performed for an extatic audience. The "after party" was great too. After working hard on being the best pop star they could be for their adoring fans, the divas were able to rock out and learn a few new steps. Then cake and icecream refreshments (the favs of any true star) were seved and gifts were opened. It was the perfect end to a hard working star's day.

He Wept for Me

I am a bit of a crier. I believe that crying is a gift given by God. Crying is the means by which your body pours out overflowing emotions. When your heart, mind, and soul cannot take anything more, you weep. The family and I spent this evening at a gathering of the MidSouth Great Banquet hosted by Advent Presbyterian Church (Cordova). Our master of ceremonies for the event was the wonderful Rev. Cindy Schwartz. Cindy delivered a message that made my emotions overflow. Speaking from Luke 19: 41-44, Cindy reminded us that as Jesus approached Jerusalem, Jesus wept for the city and us.

Luke 19: 41-44 When the city came into view, he wept over it. "If you had only recognized this day, and everything that was good for you! But now it's too late. In the days ahead your enemies are going to bring up their heavy artillery and surround you, pressing in from every side. They'll smash you and your babies on the pavement. Not one stone will be left intact. All this because you didn't recognize and welcome God's personal visit." - The Message Bible

Knowing the things to come, before His triumphant entrance to Jerusalem, Jesus wept for me. His body could not contain His emotions. My Savior cried because He knew that all we had to do was accept Him as Messiah. As I approach Holy Week, I am reminded that I must actively choose Him as Messiah. I pray that you will too.

Ella's Adventure to Aunt Christin's & Uncle Benji's

Today my Ella Bella stayed with us all day. This was the first time she has ever been over without Mommy, and she had a blast! I fixed pancakes for breakfast, but she decided I make awesome blueberry bagels with strawberry cream cheese, and therefore ate half of my breakfast. The girls did so well together. They played and ran and loved on Brea. Ella nuggled with Brea for about 15 minutes before she finally woke up enough to play so Brea got good lovins. While Ella woke up Grace chillaxed and watched a bit of TV. After that Ella "read Grace a story" and then they were off. Uncle Benji got a "big hug" before walking out the door for school and then it was nap time. They were too giggley to take their naps together, so Grace slept in my room and I set the tent up in the girls' room for Ella (so she would feel more at home, that is how she sleeps at night). All was finally silent. They woke up and then we hurried to get dressed before Mommy came home (we had a jammies day, shhhh) LOL. It was so much fun and they really enjoyed playing together. The bedroom was proof of that...when Chassidy came home and saw the room she got all upset because she thought she was going to have to clean it all. It really was the worst I have ever seen it, or well you couldn't really "see" anything. The toys were about 6 inches deep with the tent on top of it all. No floor to be seen ANYWHERE. They are such good cousins. I am so thankful to be so much closer to my Ella Bella now. Cousins make great sisters!

~~~Aunt Kissin =)

A Birthday Celebration

We had occasion to gather for the celebration of seven years of life on Saturday. Chassidy Marie Akridge was born on March 25, 2003. Family and friends converged at the home of Eric and Katherine Brown for what would turn out to be a great day of cake, presents, and play. Chassidy, her cousin, and friends spent a lot of time sliding and swinging on the playset. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries even though Uncle Eric accidentally broke a crossbar on the playset. All of the children (some adults too) were enthralled by the Miracle Bubbles. The cupcakes were a big hit for the birthay girl. The day continued with the kids running, chassing, yelling, and climbing. We took time to photograph the girls sitting in a Brown family tree. Christin and I are grateful to our wonderful friends and family for celebratig our daughter's day of birth with us. We are especially thankful to Eric and Katherine for allowing us to use their beautiful home.