Birthday Fun

Want to know what ornery looks like?

Now you know.

I laughed when I saw this picture.

He claims he knew I was taking his picture and gave me "the look".

It captures Dwayne's orneriness perfectly!

We decided to go to Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend to help celebrate Nolan's birthday.

It was quite cool considering it was the first of July!

This picture was taken by Connor who was fascinated by this chicken.

He loved that it was so small.

I'm sure he would have tried to take her home if it wasn't for the cage it was in!

Yes, Connor wore a sweatshirt... in July!

 

We had a good laugh at the flamingo exhibit thanks to a cute curly headed little girl.

Her mother asked her if she knew what made the flamingos pink.

Without missing a beat the little girl replied, "The pink feathers."

Well of course!

The zoo had this long banner set up.  Thirty feet to be exact.

Apparently that's how long a kangaroo can jump.

Along this banner they measured out the jumps of other creatures as well.

So the boys jumped to see how far they could go.

I told them they had to jump farther than the flea!

I'd like to say this guy posed for me...

and this guy didn't.

He turned his head at just the right moment.

Now he's a headless emu.

We just had to ride the train.

Just had to get some feet.

Dwayne just had to "rest" somewhere... which didn't

stop me from taking his picture from the train.

The cool little train.

I think it's funny how this guy's back foot apparently needed some sun.

This is the hurry-up-and-take-the-picture-so-we-can-move-on picture.

Thanks for almost cooperating boys.

The zoo has this bronze tortoise statue that is a favorite place to take pictures.

I think they need more than one of these because there's always

someone else waiting while your kids goof around get their pictures taken.

I asked Connor to adjust his hat so I could see his face...

Nolan requested a trifle for his birthday cake this year.

He told me the layers he wanted: crushed oreos, chocolate

pudding, strawberries, and cool whip.

It was super yummy.

Very smoky after those 11 candles were blown out!

"I'm Chasing Chickens!"

Brought to you courtesy of Nolan...
who was supposed to be taking pictures for his 4-H project.
Turn up the volume so you can hear Dwayne's comment at the end.

Dakota Style

Today I went grocery shopping.  I'll be honest and say I'm not a fan of doing that.

Shopping for a food allergic person can be very time consuming.

When shopping, I read every label of every item every time.  This is a must, no exceptions.

That is the rule for people with food allergies as ingredients & manufacturing change all the time.

In our house labels are read again when I get home and all food gets either a red or green sticker.

This is the process we go through to keep Connor safe.

Today I had one of those food-allergy "mom moments".

That's what I call it when something ordinary brings a tear to my eye.

Something as simple as sunflower kernels. 

These are special because Connor can safely eat them!

We found them a couple of years ago in our local grocery store.  It was great... until last year.

They stopped carrying them and I couldn't find them anywhere.

Until today.

I'm still not sure who was more excited, me or Connor.

We high-fived, hugged, and did a little dance right in the snack isle.

It was great!

Here's why they are special.  They are not processed with nuts.

Every other sunflower kernel brand I've read so far (and I've read a lot) is processed with nuts.

These taste great.  As you can see, the ingredient list is very short.

No goofy chemicals or hydrogenated oils.  Just kernels, oil, and salt.

So if you, or someone you know, likes sunflower kernels please buy a bag or two.

Dakota Style is a small company and it would be great to support their product.