Grady County Fair 2012

Mom, Dan and Noah took the kids to the Grady County Fair this year. 

Joe and I met them when we returned from work...

The big kids had a fantastic time!  And Millie couldn't do anything, she loved the Gatorade Mammy provided her. 

Pre-K ROCKS!!

Oh my....oh my....

My big girl is starting all day Pre-K.

What will I do with myself?!?!

On Friday, Ainsley got a sweet postcard from her teacher saying how excited she was to meet her.

Mrs Jared is her name.  

Monday, we headed to the meet and greet.

We got to meet Mrs Jared and see Ainsley's classroom.

She was so excited!

Her cubby

Her chair at her table.

She even has her own locker!!

After we left the classroom, we went to the cafeteria so she could see where she ate lunch.

We walked around and checked out the bathrooms...and the sinks....

We strolled through the halls and checked out the library and the gym before heading outdoors to see the playground.

She loved all of it!!

This kid couldn't hardly stand to wait to come back and go the library!

Bright and early Thursday morning (today) we headed to BWEE for Ainsley to have her very first day at "real" school.

This precious kid of mine did fantastic!

I was a nervous wreck because I had no idea what would happen when I left her there all day.

Thank God, we had KK in her class.

I didn't request it.  I thought if it was meant to be...it will be.

I have said so many thank you prayers in the past couple days.  :)

We had to take the obligatory pictures before the first day...

Aren't they the most precious little girls ever?!?!

 It turns out, she liked it.  She said she didn't love it....but she liked it.

And people, that's as good as it gets with her!

She likes her teacher.

She likes her room.

She likes that KK is there.

She didn't get to the library (yes she told me this), but she can wait a few days. 

And she wants to go back!

HALLELUJAH!!

So here's my beginning as a "school mom".  I've waiting my whole life for this and so far (just the one day) it's everything I have hoped for!

Ainsley, I am so proud of you....my BIG GIRL!  The first of many first days of school.  I will be there for every one.  You can count on it.  Even if you don't like it!

I love you....and love you...and love you..

Mom

Back to School Pics

A sweet friend from high school and an exceptional photographer...Lindsay McDaniel....took the cutest photos of Ainsley.

I LOVE THEM!!

This is her first year at school. 

I will forever have this year embedded into my mind.

And her sweet little face....

She is so excited!

The tigers says....

Ainsley, Millie and I headed to the Tiger Safari in Tuttle with our friends Erin, Jaden and Cruz.

We went early thinking we would miss the hot....but we were wrong!

However, the girls had so much fun with the animals.

The babies...well, that's debatable. 

After we purchased our tickets, we headed out to see what they had in store for us!

The first thing was to feed the deer.  They got handfuls of animal crackers and fed them through the fence.

They were very pretty animals!

Then we moved on to the smaller fun animals...that you could hold!

There were some animals that weren't excited about the heat...so they weren't very cooperative. 

More like just plain asleep! Or hiding in their beds.

We got a quick glimpse of the porcupine.

We got to hold some of the quills that had fallen off...they were very stiff and hard.

Then some small cats...again, not very friendly due to the heat!

But these birds were fun! We all jumped up and down and they jumped with us!

And the baby one laughed while we did it.

The girls really got a kick out of that!

A few of the bigger cats were lounging...

This is Raja. (Ainsley is completely convinced it's REALLY Jasmine's)

 Clearly the male lion...laying with his feet up and snoring!

 The lioness.  I think she was longer and bigger than the male. 

And the tour guide told us she was the dominant of the two, as well!

There were a few tigers that were up and about...

Look at these beasts!

Our guide was a sweet kid and let the girls really help out.

They even got to feed the tigers!

He put a piece of chicken (bone and all) at the end of the stick, 

and the girls lifted it up high through the fence...

And the tiger stood up to get it!

 Kind of scary....

The lion in the next enclosure was up and running about, as well.

The guide let Ainsley spray the hose on her.

It was just like a kid playing in the sprinkler!

We walked around and saw a few more animals....

The babies were so hot, but loved to see the animals move around. 

 a kangaroo...

And this fun little creature (I forgot what it's name was) was the most entertaining!

Every time you laughed, it just squealed very loudly!

And we got to sit a little in the shade.  It was getting hot by this time!

The next animal made Ainsley a little nervous!

She stayed right by Jaden and far away from the cage.

THE BEAR!

After the Grizzly...we went to the "petting zoo" part.

The kids got a bowl of food and let loose to feed the smaller animals.

Millie was a little restless by then, so I got a bowl and let her feed a llama.

She was pumped!  She giggled the whole time!

And the llama followed us....

Yes.

This was, of course, Ainsley favorite part!

She had to feed them all equally. And she loved that "little, fat pig"!

As our tour ended, we went inside to see the reptiles.  Ewww...Not this mama's cup of tea. 

But as long as she wanted it, I obliged!

She wasn't on board with the 9ft snake.  But the baby one she "looked" at.

And the BIG ENDING...what we paid extra for...

The baby white tiger.

She almost couldn't contain her excitement for this animal.

I think if she could have brought him home, she would.

I would pay my entire worth to see her smile like that!

I'm not an "outdoorsy" kind of girl...but for this kid, I would do anything!

C'mon ride the train!

Ainsley and Millie were invited to a birthday party at the Oklahoma Railway Museum.

The party was held in an actual "caboose".  Ainsley loved climbing up in the top seats!

Then everyone got to go for a REAL train ride!

They LOVED it!

Thanks, Thornton's, for inviting us!

We had a blast!