Summer Fun

Soccer season is officially in full swing. The last few weeks were spent soaking up all the time we had left with Daddy. Gray had been having some serious tantrums at the beginning of the summer and I am by no means excusing it but I think more of it was related to him getting SIX teeth at once than I gave credit to because he has been soooo good ever since those mean 'ol things finally came in. We have so enjoyed having a pleasant toddler on our hands the past few weeks and the timing couldn't have been better as we had much to do on our summer fun list before Daddy started back to work.
A couple of weeks ago we took Gray to the Greensboro Science Center. We got half off with our annual zoo pass and it was worth every penny of 12 bucks. I grew up going there but haven't been in years and it has changed a lot. They even just opened an aquarium! Gray's favorites were the petting zoo, a fake giraffe and penguin statues. We even let him pet a snake and a sting ray.

While "petting" the snake, Gray grabbed at him a little too hard and the man had to take the snake away so he could cool down and wouldn't bite anyone. True story.

We ventured out of our germy comfort zone and let Gray play in the kid area. Quick, insert paci so germs can't enter the mouth!


Gray was obsessed with the shopping carts.

Bless him, his favorite part wasn't even real.

We managed to keep Gray awake on the ride home so he would get a good nap in his bed. Little homeboy slept for three and a half hours-thank you Science Center!

We were literally 5 minutes from walking out of the door to head to the Y one day and Paul had just looked at the weather and suggested we go to the zoo instead. I am so glad at least one of us is free spirited and spontaneous! Off to the zoo we went. It was 75 degrees, cloudy and hardly anyone was there.

The giraffes are his favorite right now. We watched and fed them for about a half hour.

The baby chimps and gorillas were both super active and Gray had so much fun watching them play.

 

Our next stop on the summer fun list was the Lazy 5 Ranch. I hadn't been there in a long time so I was super excited about it. You get to ride on a wagon or drive your car through lots of cool animals that you can pet and even feed. We opted for the wagon ride. Gray loved seeing the animals but was a little more obsessed with the animal food and didn't understand why he couldn't have any. I think for now the zoo is more of a hit with Gray but we still had a lot of fun and will definitely go back at some point.

He made it passed his favorite, the giraffes, before he passed out on his daddy.

We spent a few days at Nana and Grandpa's house last week because Paul was coaching a soccer camp with his dad and brother. Nana and I took Gray to the aquarium one day. Any of the NC aquariums are free with the pass they got us but we went to the Fort Fisher one, which was still over an hour from their house. It was a near disaster y'all! It was SO crowded with people on vacation at the beach. Gray did not want to be in his stroller but there were so many people that he kept getting run over. He really didn't seem very interested in the fish either. I think he was just a little too young and will enjoy it more in the fall or next year.

We certainly hit up some fun places this summer but honestly we had just as much fun the days we were all three home playing and snuggling. I am very thankful for the time Paul has off in the summer, especially since we will see very little of him the next several months.

Happy August, y'all!