Happy Birthday J!

Today is J's birthday! (Shout Hooray!) I just wanted to give a big Happy Birthday shout-out!  I am so grateful to have such a loving husband.  He is an amazing father and those who know him know how great of a man he is!

Yellow River Game Ranch

Our adventure this weekend was the Yellow River Game Ranch.  It was a lot of fun; Zuri enjoyed it so much more than the zoo because she was able to get up close and personal with the animals.  The Yellow River Game Ranch is designed so that you can come in and feed the animals--they even let you bring your own food in (although they do check to make sure you don't have anything that would harm or make the animals sick)!  They have animals just wandering around, and some in cages or pens.  Kind of like a farm, but the animals are a little more exotic than a typical farm.  They had the usual chickens, goats, sheep, turkeys, donkeys, pigs, rabbits, etc.  They also had bears, cougars, buffalo, foxes, coyotes, deer, and more (some of the exotic animals we were not allowed to feed).  The deer were allowed to roam free, and it was quite the experience to walk out the door and have a deer greet you.  Zuri was in heaven--until the sheep got a little greedy and nipped her fingers a bit trying to get the food from her.  It took a little coaxing to get her to feed the animals again after that, but after the bunnies she was right back at it.  We were a little surprised that she had no problem with the deer but was afraid to pet the bunnies.  Go figure.

You can't tell by the picture, but the bear is actually on top of a high scaffolding.  He played king of the mountain because he wouldn't let the other bears up there with him.  This is a Georgia black bear.  I was really impressed with the amount of space the animals were given.  Attached to this "main" pen, are several tunnels and other cages in which the bears can roam at will.  Similar features were with the cougar, lynx, raccoons, and many other animals.  The cougar also had a "ball" in which to chase and play with.

Another feature about the park that I thought was interesting--and fun-- is that they had these signs:

Yellow River Game Ranch is also home to Georgia's own General Lee--the groundhog they use for groundhog's day.  Apparently, General Lee had a doctorate (yep) from a couple universities.  His house is in the background.  That must be one smart groundhog.

After the Yellow River Game Ranch, we had authentic southern barbecue at Spiced Right (so yummy) and then we took a visit through the Hindu temple--I am not even going to try to spell or pronounce the name--you can see for yourself.

The detail they put into the temple is absolutely amazing.  As beautiful and detailed as the outside is, the inside is even more so.  Pictures are only allowed within a certain distance to the temple, but J was able to get a closer view with his fancy schmancy camera.  Unfortunately, pictures are not allowed inside, but wow!

J wants to go back to get more pictures another day--I will post updated pictures when he does!  Zuri loved being inside--not because of the detail or the beauty, but because when she talked, her voice echoed. Little turkey.

Memorial Weekend

We had a fun holiday weekend.  First off, I would like to take a moment to honor the soldiers who have given their lives for this country--the real reason for the holiday.  I am so grateful to live in this beautiful land and to be a citizen of the United States.  So many have given their lives to protect the freedoms that I take for granted.
Thank You to all the soldiers--past, present and future!

On Saturday we hiked up to the top of the Amicalola Falls--which is in the northern part of Georgia--a little northwest of Atlanta.  It was a beautiful day--mid 80's with cloud cover.  We couldn't get a picture that accurately gave the scope of the falls, and there were basically four lookout points.  One at the base of the falls which had a lot of people fishing, one about midpoint--you will see pictures of that, one near the top, and one which overlooks the valley.  The hike was enjoyable, and we took a nice long circuitous route so we got to see completely new scenery the whole hike.

The closest town to the Amicalola Falls is Dahlonega, which is a pretty cool little town.  It was established in the year 1833 and was the site of the first US Gold Rush.  I didn't take any pictures but the main "town" still has the historic old-time feel.  For the holiday, there were markers set out with flags and the name of the soldier who gave his/her life and the war he/she fought.  The markers started about a mile outside of the city limit and continued throughout the city.  Many of the markers had flowers or notes or wreathes laid at the bottom.  It was really sobering to see how many men and women just in this part of the country (I am not sure if it was just for the county or state) have died serving this country. 

This was near the beginning of the markers.

Zuri was pretty funny on the hike.  She was Daddy's girl--wanted nothing to do with me.  She was also pretty impatient.  Whenever we would stop to take pictures or enjoy the view, she would tug us onward.  Near the top of the falls where it becomes very steep, there are two sets of stairs--one set is 175 stairs, and the second set is 425 stairs.  There is a sign that warns of the "strenuous" climb ahead, should you choose to continue onward.  Zuri climbed the majority of the stairs on her own.  She loved them and kept wanting to get down when we would pick her up.

A picture of the falls midpoint.  There is so much foliage that a full view is impossible, but the falls are huge.

The trees are so dense that a lot of them are warped from vying for sunlight.  This was one of the many examples that we saw.  It was amazing to see how the trees bent and twisted to get to the sun.

At the top.  The view was amazing.

On Monday we were all set to go to the parade, but it was raining too hard and Zuri was really fussy, so we decided to bag the parade.  The weather cleared for the afternoon, and then returned full force in the evening.  We were also going to go to the laser show at Stone Mountain, but it was canceled due to the rain. We still had a barbecue with J's boss and his family.  They have a dog and Zuri was completely enamored. We also hung out at the pool and J was able to play some tennis (didn't get pictures of J playing--I was with Zuri at the pool)! 

Funny thing about the pool, there was a leak in one of the pipes and part of the pool was partially drained.  The kid pool is attached to the adult pool so that was the first to drain out--they actually had to stick hoses in to get the water level up.  Consequently, the pool was open, but shallower than normal.  The kid pool should actually go to 1 1/2 feet, but it was probably half a foot at the deepest.  Nonetheless, the kids didn't seem to mind one bit! --Pictured is Zuri with Zach, who is three.

She was so worn out she fell asleep within two minutes after getting in the car!

Puzzles and Books

Two of Zuri's favorite things...

Tough Girl

Zuri and I were at the park the other day and she was having fun running around so I sat on the bench to watch her.  The playground was covered in wood chips but there was a sidewalk between the playground and the bench.  There was about a two to three inch lip between wood chips and sidewalk.  Zuri came running over to me and tripped on some of the wood chips smacking her forehead right on the lip of the sidewalk.

She was such a champ that she didn't even cry, although she was a little shaken up and didn't want to play on the playground anymore.  She preferred to swing--although I think she had come over to me so that she could swing.  I got a picture of the shiner.  It is a little hard to see--bottom picture below, but if you click on the picture, it will bring you to a larger view where you can see it more clearly.

Ponytail

I finally got Zuri's hair into a real ponytail!  Yay!

Just Because

Zuri loves to close anything that is open, or open anything that is closed.  While the weather is still on the somewhat cooler side, we have been leaving the door open to the porch for fresh air.  One of Zuri's favorite spots is right at the screen looking outside.  Funny thing is, she loves to close the door in on herself, so she is nearly squashed between the two doors.

When I try to open it so she has more room, she will grab the door and close it behind her.

Sometimes kids are so funny.