Month: May 2015

Categories
Family/Travel Toddler Life Travel

Zach & Lucy’s first trip to the Zoo

We were in VA this past weekend to celebrate our good family friend Emily’s wedding Saturday night. The wedding was at Lewis Ginter gardens at 6p, gorgeous timing for flowers, sunset, dinner & dancing.

Suzstreats Emily's wedding

Emily looked radiantly beautiful & so happy! I enjoyed catching up with family friends, & enjoying a night out with the husband, my brother & SIL & my parents.

Before the wedding festivities, we had a full day open. My family, not one to let a full day go by unplanned, decided we’d go to the Metro Richmond zoo for the first time.

There are so many animals there & the best part is that they are so close!

suzstreats Zoo Trip

We fed goats, sheep & deer, & saw flamingos, prairie dogs, a tiger who loved walking right by Zach, a muddy rhino that was more Lucy’s nervous style, an alligator, camels, two buffaloes & more monkeys than my monkey-loving little guy (& me too!) could keep count of. Big chimpanzees & orangutans to tiny little monkeys who leaped & flipped & swung from their branches.  The “waddle waddle” penguins were adorable & also a favorite.

Suzstreats Zoo Visit

But the giraffes won our hearts & were definitely about who Zach & Lucy ran inside to tell their Pops (who hadn’t joined us)! My mom aka Cici & Zach fed giraffes out of their hands while I snapped photos & Lucy picked up the fallen food off the ground to hand to Cici & Zach (we didn’t pay for the cup of food). It was amazing to see them so close! (& yes they had hand santizer stations all over as well as bathrooms soon after the giraffe’s area.)

SuzsTreats Zoo Giraffes

At the advice of friends, we arrived soon after they opened so the zoo wasn’t super crowded & my mom had packed a picnic lunch so once we finished up, we were able to go back to the car to grab our coolers & then eat on picnic tables there within the zoo.

Suzstreats zoo picnic

If it hadn’t been nap time, I’d have loved to go back to get another peek at the tiger & also see if the lions had woken up from their naps!

We’ll definitely be going back to the Metro Richmond zoo, I’d say it’s great for all ages ~ my 90 year old Papa enjoyed it as much as my almost- 3 year olds did! Going from 10am-1pm worked well for us but you could take your time more or easily go back for a second look at your favorite animals & stay there all day long.

Categories
Toddler Life

Teacher Appreciation Week {Bruegger’s giveaway}

Happy first full week of May! And May means for most kids, the winding down of school & thus taking the time to thank the teachers who have helped teach & care for your children this year.

Lucy & Zach moved up to the late 2s/early 3s room at their daycare a couple months back, so these teachers they didn’t have last May or over Christmas. Making this week my time to tell these ladies a big THANK YOU! For keeping L & Z happy during the day, for making sure they eat, nap, play nicely with their friends & each other, for learning & for getting Lucy almost completely potty trained (probably another post, another time)!

In the age of Pinterest, it’s easy to find images & ideas other moms have done for Teacher Appreciation, but as a non-super crafty, overly-tired, working mom of two almost-3 year olds, I leave the Pinterest projects to someone else.

I’m relying on my trusty favorites: food & gift cards! You can’t go wrong there right?! I figured I’d stop by Target after work & grab a lip balm & little gift card for each of their 3 teachers. I won’t have specialty printed paper, but I figured I could write “You’re the balm! Love, Zach & Lucy” as my nod to the crafty moms.

And for food, no question, the Bruegger’s Big Bagel Bundle. This way I can not only give breakfast to their two morning teachers, but show my appreciation to the whole staff with 13 bagels & two yummy cream cheese tubs! A handwritten note of thanks & quick stop at Bruegger’s Friday morning is simple yet perfect! & Bruegger’s is always a delicious hit in my opinion!

Because Bruegger’s is so awesome, they’re providing me with not one, but TWO $10 gift cards to give out to TWO awesome readers. Just leave a comment letting me know What have you done or are you doing to show appreciation for the teachers in your children’s lives?! If you don’t yet have children, leave a comment with what you think is a fun idea!

And I’ll pick two random comments ~ Congratulations Elana & Crystal! Y’all won! I’ll email you both for your addresses!

In exchange for this post, Bruegger’s is providing me with gift cards for me as well as the ones for the giveaway, but my thoughts & opinions are all my own & not swayed because of their generosity.

Categories
Everything Else

The Age of Adaline

I recently had the pleasure of solo night out to see The Age of Adaline.

The Age of Adaline poster

I had heard little to nothing about the film before I cozied into the theater seat, & yet I was treated to quite a wonderful movie that night.

The Age of Adaline

Blake Lively portrays Adaline Bowman, a woman born in the early 1900s yet due to a freak accident, is permanently 28 years old. Her hair & costumes design were gorgeous (& so is she!) as we follow Adaline through memories & events in a decade of fashion.

Adaline’s love interest, Ellis Jones, is played by Michiel Huisman which I spent the film thinking “I know him from somewhere” & yes, he was in Game of Thrones! Quite the handsome guy!

The Age of Adaline Flemming

Ellen Burstyn co-stars in the film as Adaline’s daughter & as always, I love her warm characters. Harrison Ford shines as Ellis’ dad & has some stand-out, memorable scenes.

The Age of Adaline William

I wasn’t walking into this night out thinking much but The Age of Adaline made me laugh, gave me chills & I had to subtly wipe away a tear. This would be a great date night movie or a wonderful girl’s night out too!

The Age of Adaline came out nationwide April 24th. Thanks to Lionsgate for the ticket to see the film.