Our family got to enjoy a mini vacation for Andy's birthday. Being the day after the 4th of July, we usually get away with having some time off work to celebrate. This year we ended up with 5 days straight together- a real treat. The first thing we did was head to Granbury to spend some time out at the lake. Sophie loved playing with the sand and water table at Grammy and Bumpa's.
I tried to plan one fun adventure each day. On day 1, we started small by visiting the local park. It was really hot, so we had to be careful on the playground equipment and the rocks ended up burning our feet a bit. But we still had sweet moments together. She even let me put a ponytail in her hair!
Andy and I got to stay up and enjoy some TV (we decided we aren't missing much) and listen to fireworks. Granbury celebrated the 4th the previous weekend, so the only fireworks we saw were the ones the neighbors set off. They put on quite a show! Luckily for us, Sophie slept through it all. The next day was Andy's 29th birthday! We celebrated at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. It's a drive-thru zoo. The animals come up to your car and you get to feed them!
As we entered through the gates, we saw that our first encounter would be with an ostrich. I was not so sure about this. Here's the big guy at the car in front of us.
I am not a fan of birds. I was a bit uneasy about the ostrich sticking his head in our car. I was afraid he would peck me. I tried talking Andy into getting him to come over to his side, but let's be honest, Andy was a bit unsure about the ostrich too. When he came over, nervous turned to scared. I ended up throwing the food out the window to try and get his head out of the car so we could quickly drive away. This happened four times throughout our zoo trip, each time on my side of the car. There were panicky squeals from me, nervous laughter from Andy, and confused whines from Sophie.
Sophia LOVED being in the front and getting to drive the car. The only trouble was when we had to go home. She didn't understand why she had to get strapped into her car seat in the back anymore. Tears. Lots and lots of tears. :)
We had our hearts set on feeding the giraffes. Unfortunately it was hot enough by the time we got to them that they would not leave their shade to see us. Sophia was captivated by the giraffe. She stared and stared, not able to take it all in. Andy stuck the camera out the window so we could see what her face looked like as she watched them.
Half way through there is a place to stop with a gift shop, restaurant, petting zoo, etc. Sophie thought it was pretty cool to get to walk right up to these animals and pet them.
We did get a special encounter with the timid zebra, who after 15 minutes, trusted me enough to take some food from my hand. It was beautiful!
After a nice nap, we headed to the pool! I was sunburned already, so I had to wear a big baggy t-shirt.
As you can see, Sophie would not let go of these water squirters she found. Her favorite thing was running into the kiddie pool, so we did that about fifty times. :)
The next morning we ventured to the beach at Lake Granbury. We were some of the first to arrive, so we had a very relaxing time enjoying the sand and water.
That afternoon we headed back home to spend the rest of our weekend. Thank you Grammy and Bumpa for letting us use the house while you were away! We had such a special time together. Andy soaked in all these fun activities and a few days away from work with his girls. We are so blessed to have him with us. Happy Birthday Daddy!
