Lofgren-Gunstream Annual Zoo Trip

It's Spring Break...

so you guessed it...

annual Lofgren-Gunstream zoo trip!

Five years ago Erin and I decided to take these two...

to the zoo for the first time.

Fast forward...

here we are with twice as many kids,

none of which will look at a camera,

and we are keeping our tradition alive.

We started in the Reptile House...

and Lexie was already in heaven.

When we were finished there...

we of course had to make a stop 

by Landry's favorite...

elephants!

Side note...

I dare ANYONE

to try and take a picture of FOUR 

children...and get them to ALL to

look at the camera...

at the same time...

with their eyes open...

In my defense...

Carter is AMAZING 

at making awesome faces...

on purpose...

to add to the flavor of the picture. ;)

We made a quick visit to the petting zoo.

Lexie was in goat heaven!

This girl LOVES animals...

I can still hear her squeal of delight.

So many goats...so close!

While Lexie was trying to get a goat...

Landry was busy...

brushing a log. HA!

We made our way through the zoo to Stingray Bay.

This has always been a "hit or miss" place

for Landry. We have shed many a tear here.

Yesterday...

all smiles!

Amazingly...

no children were

lost in Stingray Bay. :)

After our fun at Stingray Bay...

we were headed to Africa!!!

We got to meet the newest members

of the zoo...meerkats!

All morning Amy was DYING

to see and feed the giraffes.

We kept promising that we were making our way

there. Imagine our "surprise" when we 

found out that none of the giraffes, rhinos, etc.

were out because of a "gate issue." :(

Amy took it like a champ...

and later we joked that at least she got to see one giraffe. :)

We made it to Sea Lion Cove just in time for the

zookeeper talk.

How cute are they?

Eeek...four cuties.

We "may" have left some fingerprints behind.

Oh how I love the way that he loves her!

Cue the super adorable picture of

my kiddos and me...

Nope.

Let's try that again!

Speaking of cute...

how cute are these three?

Don't mind my photobombing baby.

Again...Lexie was in LOVE!

She "may" have licked glass.

And who would have thought that one 

of the highlights would be the railing?

And...that's a wrap!

Another Spring Break zoo trip in the books.

I love this tradition of ours...

and I love our friendship!

You know I couldn't end without some reminiscing...

Our littles through the years...

Our group through the years...

Our Little Sunshine turned 1!

On Sunday we celebrated

"Our Little Sunshine!"

Being that her birthday is in March,

and the weather can be a bit unpredictable,

I decided to host her party at Branch and Vine Barn

in Madera Ranchos.

(picture from Branch and Vine website)

As you can see, it is a darling barn

that you can decorate to go with whatever your theme is.

I chose Lexie's party theme based on two things:

1. She always wakes up full of life, so I have always greeted her with,

"Good morning, Sunshine!"

2. I loved the idea of color scheme of yellow, pink, and Tiffany blue.

Here are the tables...

simple centerpieces of mason jars 

filled with gerber daisies, stock, and baby's breath.

One of the things about the barn that I loved

was all of the tables, accent pieces.

They provided these neat wooden tables...

perfect for our lunch buffet.

We enjoyed sandwich trays, a variety of salads, and Sun chips...get it. :)

I made the fabric garland and added prints of 

Lexie's one year pictures and flowers to brighten up the area.

Since there was rain in the forecast...

and I was worried about keeping the kids occupied,

I created a little kid's table with coloring pages,

sunglasses for their favors,

and bubbles.

Over the table I hung pictures of Lexie,

ranging from 1 month...all the way to 12 months.

These sunglasses were a steal from Dollar Tree!

Of course it can't be a party without dessert!!!!

The cake and cupcakes came from Vons...

and was super yummy.

I used my Silhouette to cut the suns,

and I found the "hello sunshine"

wooden words in the $3 spot at Target.

I think it is safe to say that

one of the hits was the favors...

Girl Scout Lemonades cookies.

They were the perfect touch!

Lexie was so excited to celebrate with everyone!

She loves her Nawnie...

and the feeling is definitely mutual. :)

Auntie K.K. made it back in time! :)

We tried to get a picture of the three of us...

and at first Lexie didn't want me in the picture.

She actually pushed me away from her.

Yup...Daddy is already her favorite.

Grand Papa and Fran greeting the party girl.

G.G. means "Giddy Grandma"...

and that is definitely the case here.

Luckily it was a BEAUTIFUL day...

we totally lucked out!

The "older" kids had a blast playing on the swing,

"driving" the tractor,

and feeding the chickens!!!!

With the threat of rain looming over us,

I was worried that the kids weren't going to be able

to play outside...

so...

I bought a bounce house!

Best. Purchase. Ever!

Before we let the birthday girl dig into her cake,

I wanted to get a picture of her in her cute outfit. :)

Our attempt at a family picture.

Time to sing, "Happy Birthday!"

Yes, she was determined to grab the flame of the candle.

Time to blow out the candle!

And now...

it's time to eat cake!

She started off small...

taking little bites...

and then she got more brave...

and went for it!

Nothing sweeter than a daddy and his little girl!

Love this look...

"Don't even think about taking my cake!"

Once she got the hang of it...

she was all about it.

Even though she kept looking at me,

waiting for me to tell her, "no." :)

I am in LOVE with this picture!

After cake, it was time for presents!

Could they be any sweeter?

We had a wonderful afternoon 

with our family and friends,

celebrating our sweet, 

spunky, and sassy Lexie Ann!

Like I shared on Facebook and Instagram...

you know it was a good time when

you leave with frosting in your shoes and tutu!