The Memphis Zoo -- Gotta Love It!

On Friday, my kids and I tagged along with another homeschool group for a field trip to the Memphis Zoo. I love all zoo animals. If we lived closer to Memphis, we would have a family pass and go several times a year. It has been almost 2 years since we went to the zoo and we had a blast. I took over 400 pictures (just having fun with my camera and long zoom lens). I also let the kids have my smaller camera and together they took almost 300 pictures. They did a really good job and captured some great pictures.

The cheetah has always been one of my favorite animals -- so sleek and fast.

Kirsten's favorite animals are TIGERS, no matter the breed.

This gorilla is contemplating! He looks like he wants to make a break for the fence.

Fall picture time.

These wolves are part of the zoo's new Teton Trek exhibit. It was truly AWESOME! They did not have too many animals in it yet, but they are working on it still.

These bears are the main focus of this new exhibit. They played in the water almost the whole time we watched them. They are amazing.

They were playfully attacking each other and learning survival skills.

Kirsten and Alec sit on rocks by the beautiful fountain in front of the Lodge-like building.

Martha, AnnaBeth, and Kirsten -- best friends forever.

The girls strike a pose.

This animal (I forget what is is called) is pretty hungry to stand on its tiptoes to reach over the wall.

This colorful toucan makes for a great picture.

I always enjoy watching the pandas.

This momma monkey kept the baby behind her or hanging in front of her the whole time. It was so CUTE!

Imagine how much hay five giraffes can eat. Giraffes are so interesting to watch.

The fountain turns into a geyser at certain times -- so beautiful.

The BALD EAGLE -- so majestic! It makes my American heart swell with patriotism.

We loved the sea lion show.

Temper Tantrum Mom Video

You have got to watch this video. My brother posted it to his Facebook account, my mother showed it to me through her facebook account, and I belly laughed after watching it each time. The little boy's face is priceless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WwGtzAacVA

Walnut Firehouse 5K

A few of our Spartan team showed up at the Walnut Firehouse 5K this morning.

The start of the race.

Brandon finishes his fastest 5K ever -- 22:20 (I think, for the official time).

Alec did his fastest time of the season and had a really good run -- 25:15. We are proud of his determination.

Alec missed 3rd place by around 10 seconds. He was pretty disappointed, especially since his time was so good. He thinks he would have gotten a trophy if he had not slipped and fallen on a slick bridge.

Kirsten nears the finish line.

This was her fastest time EVER!! She got first place in her age group. We are so proud of her.

The Spartans have such a good team spirit. They all went to finish with Maggie to encourage her to the finish line.

Kirsten and Sarah

Sarah won 2nd place in her age group and Kirsten won 1st.

The Spartans made a very good showing at this race.

Brandon finished 1st in his age group with a time of 22:20; Ben finished 2nd in his age group with a time of 22:58; Alec finished 4th in his age group by just seconds, with a time of 25:15; Ryan finished with a personal best time of 25:35; Kirsten finished with a personal best time of 26:40 and placed 1st; Sarah received a 2nd place trophy; Claire finished with a personal best of 28:16; and Caroline finished with a 3rd place trophy. Jonah and Richard also had their personal best finishes and Maggie ran well too.

I did not get everybody's official times or placing yet. I hope to have that information soon.

Female 10-14 winners.

God's Wondrous Handiwork!!!

Have you ever just sat and pondered the glorious handiwork of God? He is so majestic in all things, but even the little things speak to the marvelous wisdom He shows in His creation.

Each little shoot on this little cedar tree is so perfectly made. Why did God show such creativity in even the little things -- the things that we just walk on by and not notice? He did it to show His perfection in who He is.

Even the blades of grass (or weeds) as we call them, are so beautiful when you just examine them closely. The lakeside would be lacking in something without the grass that grows along its banks. It truly is the little things that magnify the glory of God.

These are just individual blades of grass, but look how unique each blade is.

I have never seen a weed like this one. I almost walked right on past it, but then I bent down and used my camera lens to truly bring out its individual personality.

Just look at the way this weed is put together. It is truly amazing that God put so much effort into designing the weeds that we take for granted.

These daisy-like weeds are glorious.

Even the mushrooms are special. They are fungi and cannot grow without feeding on decaying material around them. Who designed such a plant? Only a great God who does all things well!!

If God put so much effort into these weeds and fungi, how much more did He put into humans? We are created in the image of God! We often take our lives for granted, but we were CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD! WOW!!

Tippah Lake Wars, Episode IV

Another beautiful day led us to Tippah Lake. We took a picnic lunch, the scooters, some legos, some bionicles, and of course, light sabers.

Here the kids are each brandishing their weapon for a battle.

Strike a pose!!

Trying to cross the "river."

Preston, go under the light sabers.

Racing their scooters.

Alec looking cute!!

Here they are -- doing what Brandon called, "Booty Drag Racing." You just got to LOL on that one.

Alec is in the lead for this one.

What Was I Thinking?

Last week at one of our cross-country practices, a couple of moms were talking about running on Sunday and said to me, "You should come and run with us." Immediately, my head said, "NO!" but since I am up for most challenges, my mouth said, "OKAY, That sounds like fun!" What I didn't know at the time was that I would have to leave my house at 4:50 to drive to Blue Springs to meet another mom and that we would have to drive another 30 minutes to get to our designated meeting place. By the time we got there, I had already been up for an hour and a half and it was just 6:00. They had been planning on run/walking for 9 miles. A total of 6 moms were there in the dark and a slight drizzle. We set off after a short prayer for safety and endurance -- thanks, Lori, we needed that. I was able to keep up for about 3 miles, before these crazy run/walkers who had told me that they would be doing a "slow walk" just kept on getting farther and farther ahead of me. I was able to keep them in my sights at all times and I knew the half way/turn around spot was close by. My running was hindered by the fact that I was not prepared to go as fast as they were and also by needing to find a restroom. I finally made it to the halfway point, rested, and relieved myself and stupidly decided that I really felt good and could make it back the other 4 1/2 miles. That thought lasted about 1 mile, when I found myself once again falling farther and farther behind. I am very glad that they all kept running, because I never want to hinder or slow down someone else's run. I was able to see them ahead at all times, except for once when I figured they must have turned left. When I got to where I thought they turned left, I turned and hoped that I was correct. I was smart enough to notice which county road I was on, so when I was lost, they could come find me. You must remember, it was very dark when we left and I did not plan on trying to find my way back. I realized I was on the wrong road and backtracked to where I had turned and one of the moms had come looking for me -- THANK GOODNESS! I only had another mile to go to get back to the truck -- my head was saying lots of ugly words during that last mile. But I made it back to the truck, we raced back to Blue Springs, I raced back home and into the shower to get ready for church.

I am GLAD that I made the effort to run this morning. I hate the fact that I was not able to keep up with them. I wish that I had taken the offer to ride back to the truck at the half way spot/I am glad that I did not take the offer to ride back to the truck at the half way spot. I am really not sure which way I feel. I know that during the second half of the run -- I was wishing for the ride. Now that I am home -- I am glad that I finished my goal of doing the 9 miles. The only thing that I regret right now, is that I made us later arriving back home by being slow and getting lost. Thanks Lynn, Emily, Yonea, Kim, and Lori for letting me come run with you. It was fun and challenging.

The Rotary Club 5K in Corinth, Mississippi

We left the house this morning for a not so short trip to Corinth. We arrived about 7:45 and still had to get registered and pick up the chips for the race. We had not pre-registered for this race, so it was a mad dash to get everything done before the race.

We made it to the starting line with time to spare and some of the Spartans were leading the pack. There were somewhere between 260 and 340 runners. There was some confusion as to the actual numbers because some people registered and didn't actually run. Forrest was super fast today -- he finished 2nd overall and 1st in his age division.

Zac came in 2nd in his age group and we are proud of his effort this year.

Julie was 2nd female overall and 1st in her age group. It is so amazing to watch these girls run!!

Danielle got 1st in her age group (the groups were broken down into 1-12, 13-15, 16-19, and adult age groups). She is super fast also.

Alec finished a few seconds slower that last week, but would have gotten a third place trophy if it was 0-9 like most races. This race was 1-12 year olds all in one age group. He was disappointed but glad to know that he would have placed if it was like usual.

Kirsten was a few seconds off of last week's pace also, but overall she had a good race.

Preston (Lisa's youngest) ran the one mile fun run and Kirsten volunteered to run with him. Lisa thought that he would get "hurtin' and tired" like usual, but he ran almost the whole mile without stopping.