MEMPHIS TRIP: DAY TWO AT THE ZOO

I already wrote about our first day in Memphis, and this post will wrap up our very quick trip.  We've gotten to do stuff with friends the last two spring breaks (last year we went to Branson) - friends make life better!

We did breakfast at one of the oldest (maybe the oldest?) restaurants in Memphis - the Arcade.  It's a throw back diner with lots of tasty goodness.  They seated us in a room with a TV that we changed to cartoons, so our children were quite happy during our wait.  The french toast did not disappoint, and I was thankful that we would be heading someplace to do a lot of walking after eating most of this plate.




Next stop for us was the Memphis Zoo.  Two more families met up with us there which made us into a party 32 people strong - 12 adults and 20 children.  Amazingly, it did not feel super crazy.  I think as our children get older, things get easier.  We can trust them a bit more, and they are slightly more compliant as a group.  (though you might notice one of mine is face down in this pic, ha!)




We LOVED our day at the zoo- it really is a great attraction and well maintained.  We took in the sea lion show before checking out more animals.




(Pandas are always one of my personal favorites!)

The grizzly bear feeding time gave us an up close view of these massive creatures - this was a real crowd-pleaser.  The day turned beautiful as it wore on.

One of our last stops was petting and feeding the sting-rays, which is probably the thing the kids have talked about the most since we left.




(Everybody 9 and under pretty much ended up soaked.)

(the little cups of cut up dead fish made me want to gag, but the stingrays gobbled them up)

It was an unforgettable day with friends and sunshine and fun.  My heart overflows with gratitude for moments like this in life.




Let us all pause to marvel at the group picture featured above.  This was taken with a self-timer.  A SELF-TIMER sitting on a stroller!  And still everyone is more or less looking with so many smiling.  It must be said that we have likely worn down our children's anti-picture taking wills overtime - but still - we were all amazed at how easy it was to get this picture.  Almost eerie.  Most definitely awesome.

As John and I left Memphis, we really were thankful for the fun that we were able to have as a family.  We've had some less than stellar moments in the last several years, but trips like this give us hope that our future family time will not always be quite so intense.  Our car travel was really good considering the participants, and though there were certainly a few harried moments - on the whole, everyone really enjoyed themselves.  There is hope on the horizon, and we are certainly glad for the incremental improvement!

And in a story of undeserved grace, I left my phone on top of the toilet paper holder in the restroom.  I didn't realize it until we were out in the parking lot, and I ran back in to find it right where I had left it.  Thank you, God, for giving me far more than I ever deserve and letting me keep my phone.

Now I'm getting back into the swing of non-Spring Break life, and it is an adjustment - but routine certainly has its place!

(to see Court's take on it, click here!)

HAPPY EASTER!

Easter truly is special.  Celebrating all that Christ has done for us in his death and resurrection is such a gift.  Here are our highlights!

Attending church and getting a family picture in.

Impromptu Mexican lunch with friends.



Heading home and trying to get a few more pictures of the kiddos.  The sun came out right as I got them settled.  (laugh cry emoji)



We tried by the trees with not much more luck.  Such is the way it goes.  Gran Gran and I worked together on their clothes, and I'm so pleased with the results!  William can totally rock that suit.



After nap time, we did an egg hunt where I re-hid the eggs they already hunted for the other night + a few more.  It's so fun that the twins actually care now, and the big girls were so kind to always be helping them find eggs.

(When did she get so big?)

(She loved hunting eggs!)

Savoring the bounty as the sunset on the gorgeous day made everyone so happy.

There are always a million layers going on in our world, but today stood apart as a joyous day.  We celebrated what Christ has done for us and what he continues to do in our lives.  We are messy always, but he meets us in our mess to make us more like him.  Which I always need more of and am so grateful for.

Happy Easter - He is Risen!

MEMPHIS TRIP: DAY ONE, HIGHS & LOWS

We've realized that at this stage in our family's existence, it works better for us to do trips that aren't very far from us and do them for a shorter amount of time.  This reduces the overall stress level reached over the course of the trip, and it worked out really well this Spring Break.  We traveled with two other families this first day and met up with a third there in Memphis.

High:  Memphis is a mere 2ish hours from us, and our car travel was much better than expected.  (Please keep in mind that our expectations are at rock bottom low based on past car trips.)

High:  Our first stop was lunch at Central BBQ, a Memphis standby which did not disappoint.  We had a private room reserved which always helps to control our chaos.

High:  Stop #2 was Sweet Noshings - the popcorn/candy/ice cream store that we always visit.  In fact, they recognize us now, which is impressive since we don't live in the city.  We got our fill of candy for the kiddos and popcorn for everybody.

High:  Our first views of and checking into our spot for the night.  There is a giant pyramid in Memphis that recently got converted into a Bass Pro Shop/hotel called Big Cypress Lodge, and we'd heard great things about it.



There is the obvious strange paradox that you are in an outdoorsy environment inside of a glass pyramid, but it really is so cool.  And well-done.  And amazing.  Our children were in absolute heaven.

(our room was directly above the aquarium and under the logo!)

High:  After getting settled, we met up with friends to ride the "tallest free-standing elevator in America."  It's 25 stories to the top of the pyramid and overlooks the Mississippi river and Memphis for a killer view.  Our children ran a bit wild and some of them got cold, but overall, it was a fun little excursion.

Low:  Trying to get a family photo with the view.  I don't know what made this so very hard, but it was.  It did provide a lot of entertainment for my friends trying to take the picture.



It should also be noted that at this point in the trip, Violet decided she wanted to be in every photo.  I'll be posting those for entertainment value as well.

Low:  After exiting the elevator, we were heading to check on our dinner reservations and lost track of William.  We had a bad five minutes while some adults doubled down on the other twelve children and the rest fanned out to hunt for William on the Bass Pro Shop floor.  There were only a million places he could have gotten to and very quickly.  Thankfully, a friend found him wandering through the fishing poles and brought him back to us.

Low:  After a series of miscommunications between our group and the hotel and the restaurant and bowling alley, we ended up waiting and frustrated at dinner time.  At long last, they did end up giving us a room to ourselves, which was a bright spot in the experience.




The dinner and service turned comically bad at almost every turn, though they did offer us a discount in the end, which was appreciated.  We didn't end up doing the Fish Bowl, which was disappointing to the kids, but there was simply no time after everything that had already happened.



High:  It was my birthday, and my sweet friends brought cupcakes for me and everyone to celebrate.  The adults all got drinks.  The kids sang to me enthusiastically no less than three times, and everything that happened at dinner was so epically bad that it will be forever ingrained as a hysterical shared memory.  Plus, the children had a delightful time through it all.


(Violet needed to be photographed with the cupcakes.)

High:  Though we didn't get to bowl, we did have an Easter Egg hunt planned for the kiddos.  We used the hotel lobby, and it truly was a massive hit.  Each mom said we'd bring a couple dozen eggs, but we ended up with 260 - it's never been said that we go half way on stuff.  We got the children all into pjs while the dads hid the eggs, and then released them all to the hunt!

(Big Cypress was even decorated for the occasion.)

(Violet wanted to be in on the Ross's family picture.)

High:  Being with sweet friends that are like family.  It really is a treat to spend time with these people whom I love.



(and Violet!)

We hit the hay after all the fun of the first day, glad to have each of our children tucked into their beds in our cozy rooms.

(here's Court's take on the day!)