Franklin Drive-Thru Safari

Yesterday Ryan took the day off from work.  We decided to check out Franklin drive-thru safari in Franklin, which is about 40 minutes from our house.  I have to say that it was one of our favorite days ever and I haven't heard Cannon laugh that hard in a long time!

First we did the drive-thru part.  They had all sorts of different animals: deer, camel, emu, ostriches, pigs, longhorns, buffalo, ducks, geese, llamas, donkeys, and some other type that I didn't recognize.  They give you a bucket of food and some smaller cups to feed the animals.  Some animals were a little more timid, like the deer, and they preferred you throwing some food onto the ground.  But others were not shy about putting their whole heads into the car!  We were excited about the camels, but the breath of one camel stunk up the whole car!  And after we would drive ahead a bit, he would follow us.  Several times we would all be looking out Ryan's window and then all of a sudden there would be a huge camel head in front of my face!  Cannon thought it was hilarious!

Cannon wasn't sure about feeding them directly.  This picture makes me laugh because I think it was an ostrich beak coming towards him. 

 

 

Nothing like a big buffalo head coming into your front seat!

Baby ostriches! 

Then we walked around the area to see some of the other animals they have fenced in, like the baby camels, wart hogs, monkeys, lemurs, birds, kangaroos and wallabies, a large snake, and one giraffe. 

We were all laughing at this guy just hanging out.

 

 

Then we did the petting zoo which had goats, sheep, chickens and baby chicks, baby alpacas and baby llamas, calves, and pigs. 

 

We loved holding this baby goat!

And then he started eating my shirt.

 

And then we went into the baby room to hold some baby animals: wart hogs, lemurs, monkeys, and an otter. 

 

 

 

The little monkey wearing a diaper is a capuchin monkey.  He just wanted to cuddle, which was fine with me! There were two other lighter colored monkeys, a brother and sister, and boy were they curious and playful!  As soon as we walked into the room one of them jumped on Ryan's back!  And they would chase each other and jump around.  Cannon kept laughing at them so hard!  The boy one kept teasing the lemurs and pulling his tail.  The guy with us said the lemurs are kind of like cats.  They don't like to be carried around, but they will let you hold them and they like to be pet.  The otter kept laying on Ryan's shoe.  He was very sweet and liked his belly rubbed.  The wart hogs kept picking on him though. 

 

It was so special for us to be able to hold these animals!  We had such a fun day and will definitely go back another time when it's not so hot.  





Ryan's Birthday

Ryan was out of town on his birthday, so we had to wait until Saturday to celebrate.  Friday before he got home, Cannon and I had made him a strawberry ice cream cake.  I got the recipe on Pinterest and it did not turn out at all like the picture!! 

We spent Saturday just being together.  Cannon had helped me wrap Ryan's presents and then he hid them in the house on Friday.  On Saturday morning Ryan had to find all his gifts.  Cannon was too anxious for him to find them and he gave away some of the hiding places.  Cannon had also picked out a game that he and Ryan could play, as Ryan's birthday present from him.  He chose Battleship and was very eager to play with Ryan first thing in the morning!

Then we went to a park that had a large field so Cannon could shoot his arrow as high and far as he wanted.  It was so hot outside, so Blue and I stayed in the shade most of the time.  After we got home we sprayed off Ryan's car because it was covered in dust from the airport.  Then that turned into playing with the hose. 

Blue loves to attack the water!



 

 

Then we went swimming at Aunt Barbara's house and picked up pizza for dinner.  We sang happy birthday and ate that amazing Pinterest fail cake.  Happy 33!

 

 

 





Father's Day

Our Father's Day was different than we had planned.  Since we had trouble with our flights, we ended up staying in Austin for Father's Day.  We had dinner at Kylene's house and she made baked ziti and her éclair cake that I can't get enough of!  We also celebrated Mom's birthday on the same day. 

On the drive back to College Station we talked to my dad.  Cannon seriously talked to him for 45 minutes telling him every detail of our trip!  I can't believe that he remembered so much and I can't believe my dad had the patience to listen to him! 

Ryan had Monday off from work so we decided to celebrate his Father's Day that day.  We went bowling and just had a nice day being home and being together. 

For dinner I made lemon ricotta pancakes.  A long time ago we ate lemon ricotta pancakes at a little dive in Austin and ever since then Ryan has been talking about those pancakes!  So I found a recipe and they came out pretty good! And Cannon drew him a picture of our family. 

Ryan loves Mountain Dew!

 

 

We really do love Ryan and he is a wonderful father and husband!

East Coast Trip, Part 3: Connecticut

Monday night after the shoe fiasco we finally made it up to Danbury, Connecticut.  Instead of staying in a hotel we chose to stay in a cottage.  It was an old three bedroom home right on a little lake.  It was really charming.  While Ryan was at work on Tuesday Cannon and I played. 

Front

Back

Cannon really wanted to go fishing, but we couldn't find any fishing poles.  However, we found nets and we figured out that if we threw some bread in while our nets were in the water, the fish would come and we could scoop them up.  This actually worked and we caught at least 10 fish!  And after looking at them we would gently put them back in the water.  At one point Cannon fell in the lake, which really freaked him out at first, but then it became a funny story for him to tell.  He said that the fish were probably really surprised when he fell in!



Cannon took all of these pictures

We caught these kinds of fish

This bull frog kept us up all night!

This picture below pretty much captures a perfect moment.  It was late afternoon and we had been playing outside for most of the day.  The temperature outside was perfect and we had the backdoor open to let the breeze in the house.  It was peaceful and quiet as we listened to the birds sing.  I sat on the couch and watched Cannon build with his Legos until Ryan got home from work. 



One of the best things about traveling with Ryan is that he usually finishes his work early, almost always before 3:00 or 4:00.  And then we get to go out to dinner with him.  That night we had some of the best pizza ever at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napolentana.  Great stuff!  Then we went for real ice cream made from the cows at Ferris Acres Farm.  Fantastic!



Happy cows in their meadow

On Wednesday we had to say goodbye to our little cottage and head out with Ryan on his audits.  The first audit was less than two hours, so we dropped him off and Cannon and I found a place where we could take a little hike. 

Then we picked up Ryan and drove around with him.  He had several audits, but they were super quick.  They literally took five minutes or less.  He had one audit right next to the Yale campus, so we ate at the Shake Shack for lunch.  Great chocolate shakes!

We made our way to Mystic, our final destination. 

We stayed at the Old Mystic Inn, which is right on the harbor. 

The view from our door

The view from on top of the rock ledge overlooking the harbor

We enjoyed lobster dinner...

...and time at the beach.

The water was freezing and I can't believe he got in!

Horseshoe crabs mating

Mystic Pizza, for anyone who saw the movie

Again, while Ryan was at work, Cannon and I played outside all day!  We had lots of great adventures!  We even went canoeing one day and saw lots of huge crabs!  But mostly he wanted to play wiffle ball and play with this rope he found.  I love his imagination!

On Friday it was time for us to say goodbye.  On the drive back to the airport we stopped in Stamford to get lunch at a delicatessen.  This was a classic NY deli with awesome sandwiches that cost $18+.  Ryan and I split one and it was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had!

Getting back home was not so easy.  Our flight was delayed and delayed and delayed.  I had Ryan get us on a different flight the next day.  We ended up staying in a hotel in Newark near the airport.  To make a long story short, our bags ended up in Chicago, Cannon and I made it to Austin Saturday afternoon, but Ryan got stuck in Houston and didn't make it back until Sunday. Ahh! 

But Cannon got to be a cheerleader to welcome the Special Olympics teams into Newark!

We were ready to be home, but I LOVE the East coast!  I miss New York and I want to go back!  There was so much we didn't get to see!  I could seriously live there, but maybe I'll get another chance to visit again soon. 



East Coast Trip, Part 2: New Jersey

Ryan's mom is Italian and up until this trip, I had never met any of that side of the family.  Family is so important to me and Cannon is very interested in his family history and heritage, so it was a top priority to make time to see family during this trip.  I showed Cannon some pictures of his aunts and uncles and cousins (technically his great aunts and uncles and second cousins?) beforehand so that he would be somewhat familiar with them and their names. 

Sunday after church we drove out to Toms River, New Jersey where they live.  Our first stop was Aunt Meg's house.  I told Cannon that Aunt Meg is grandma's sister.  So we met Ryan's aunt and uncle, Meg and Jim; his cousins Alexa and Lisa; and Lisa's husband, Chris, and their children - Greg, Brandon, and Christopher.  They got Cannon some Star Wars things and he was thrilled! 

Cannon and Christopher

Coco

We had a delicious BBQ lunch and Cannon and Christopher swam in the pool.  It was so fun to meet everyone and spend some time talking.  The weather was gorgeous and we spent a lot of time outside.  Ryan and I were laughing because many of Aunt Meg's gestures are just like his mom's!  I loved being there and felt right at home.  Cannon enjoyed playing with Christopher and had a great time as well.

After we left we took a short detour to the beach.  I just wanted to say that I went to the Jersey Shore.  I love going to new beaches and I've been missing my beach time every since we left Florida.  Ryan's mom has many fond memories there from her childhood, so I felt like it is a special place.  It was all ruined from the hurricane, but they have been working to rebuilt it. 

Cannon took this picture

The next stop was Aunt Angel's house, Toni's other sister.  We met Ryan's aunt and uncle, Angel and Joe and their three children - Jenell, Joseph, and Angela.  And Toni's brother, Johnny was there too.  They got Cannon a wiffle ball set and he was thrilled with it!  He ended up playing with it every day for two weeks!  Angel made her famous baked ziti which was delicious!  It was so enjoyable talking with them and getting to know the kids.  Again, we were laughing because Angel does some of the same facial expressions as Toni! Uncle Johnny and the kids (well, they are teenagers) played wiffle ball with Cannon in the backyard.  They were so cute to play with Cannon and to take time to be with him.  And we saw a gopher family in their backyard!

Joseph, Cannon, Angela, and Jenell

I was pleasantly surprised about Cannon though.  It usually takes him a long time to warm up to new people and new places, but in both homes he really acted like his usual self.  Actually, he was hilarious!  I don't even remember all that he said, but everyone was cracking up at him and he was loving it all! 

We felt so at home in both places, but I felt like we didn't get enough time with everyone. And I wish I took more pictures! I didn't even get pictures of everyone, but it was nice to just enjoy each moment. I hope that we get to go back again soon!

p.s. I also think it deserves mentioning that I learned what a jughandle is.