The Zoo and Disney on Ice

A few months ago I got an email from Disney letting me know that Disney on Ice was coming to Little Rock in May, and I could buy tickets before they went on sale to the public. Me and Disney are tight like that. Of course I jumped on that opportunity seeing as how Livy LOVED the show last year. 

We had also been telling her since Charlotte was born that one day when the weather was nice we'd take her to the zoo. The entire month of April was slam packed with things to do filling up every weekend on our calendar. The first chance we had to go to the zoo was the same weekend as Disney on Ice, and since we'd already be in Little Rock, we decided to make a weekend of it.

Leading up to last weekend, Drew had been working extremely long days so it was the perfect time for him to take a day off. It also just so happened to be Mother's Day weekend... and what better gift for me than to spend some time with my family on a little getaway?!

We left early Friday morning and headed to Little Rock. We had lunch at All Aboard and then hit the zoo. The weather was perfect! It was cloudy and had been threatening rain all morning, but never did. It wasn't hot and it wasn't cold... it was just a perfect day for the zoo!

 

 The zoo proved to be too much for this one to handle.

 Livy loved these silly things. We had to take pictures at every single one.

After the zoo, we made our way over to the hotel right at check-in time. We had just enough time to splash around in the pool before we needed to get ready for Disney on Ice. We stayed at Comfort Suites and it was super nice. I could tell it was brand new. So clean! The indoor pool even had a "splash park" which was the whole reason we chose the hotel, but it was a little too cold for Livy to play in. She did love swimming with her daddy in the pool though.

 Crazy8 had a "buy 1 get 1 for 88¢" sale. Seeing them match in their swimsuits was totally worth that 88¢!

 The water was a little too cold for Miss Charlotte, so we hung out on the side of the pool and watched Daddy and Livy Lou swim.

Then we got dressed, went to Samurai for some sushi, and went to Disney on Ice, or Disney World as Livy called it. She sat between us with her hand over her mouth in amazement for about 90% of the show. I think Drew and I watched her more than the actual show so we could see her reaction to everything. It was priceless. She was definitely in her element as she watched all of the princesses sing and skate around. 

We ended the evening with ice cream from Cold Stone and then enjoyed breakfast at Cracker Barrel before going home the next morning. We had such a fun time. I can't wait for our next getaway!

Spring Break

Last week we were on Spring Break... ok, ok, so our whole life is basically Spring Break (just perks of being a stay at home mom!) But we did pretend we were actually on Spring Break! On Monday, we made plans with Julie and the kids to go to the Little Rock Zoo. Livy and I were going to ride with them and then get in the car with my mom after the Zoo since we were spending a couple of days with her afterwards. Well, that didn't exactly pan out. Walker and Tatum lost their car keys that morning right before we were supposed to leave town. Micah had the spare, but he was out of town. And since all 3 car seats were too bulky to fit in the back of my truck, we had to leave without them! :(

Before I begin the rest of the story, let me just add that according to my weather app, it was supposed to be around 70 degrees that week, so I packed only shorts and t-shirts. Thankfully I stuck a couple of jackets in the truck last minute because when we got to Little Rock, the temp had dropped 20 degrees and was freezing!

We met up with Gran and Aunt Lori and enjoyed lunch at All Aboard. None of us had ever been before, so we were amazed! The train chugged along around the restaurant, by a track near the ceiling, and would magically drop your food off at your table. It was awesome!

 

Then we went on to the zoo... still freezing, by the way. We had a blast, took lots of pictures, and had lots of laughs. I think Livy is the only kid who would rather spend the entire time at the zoo looking for the animal tracks in the concrete. Then she insisted upon counting each paw print. She also had a few followers with her... she has enough imagination for a whole village! Let's see, I believe I remember a little baby tiger (with cute pajamas and a bow), a little baby hippo, and 2 crocodiles tagged along behind her. She would look behind her and say,
"Come on kids!"

She said she was "tiiiiired"

Here she is counting the paw prints again. I'm pretty sure that was her favorite part!

 

After spending the night in White Hall, we headed out Tuesday for Lake DeGray. We had a picnic lunch down at the swimming hole... still freezing, by the way. We played on the playgrounds and hiked a trail. Livy said,
"This yooks yike a jungle!"

Then it was time to check into the lodge. I had made great plans to participate in some of the activities that Lake DeGray had to offer. But long story short, the sunset cruise, animal safari on the golf course, and horseback riding were all booked up! :(
That night we ate at the Lodge Restaurant. Sometimes when we're out and about, Livy likes to point at people and ask me who they are. I always tell her it's not nice to point. So that night at the restaurant, Gran pointed to the ketchup bottle and asked Livy what that was. Livy looked at me and said,
"Gran not apposed to point! It not nice!"
We all had a good laugh! She tattled on her Gran!

Throwing rocks in the water with Gran

This was our hike through the jungle

She was so pooped, she actually fell asleep on Gran's back!

 

We spend Wednesday shopping in Hot Springs and ate lunch at Fisherman's Wharf. We had a great time with lots of pictures to prove it!

She loved feeding the ducks