colin's birthday extravaganza

Yay for turning 3! And since Colin was turning 3, we celebrated his birthday on 3 separate occasions. First, my mom, my brothers, my kids, and I went to the Hogle Zoo. I don't think any of us had been before. We went on the 28th because Colin was still 2 and free.

Did you know there are dinosaurs at the Hogle Zoo? Did you know that those dinosaurs do cool things like move and roar and spit water? Did you know that those dinosaurs freaked my kids right out?

A monkey.

The kids watching some animal do something. It was hard to get a picture of their faces since all they wanted to do was look at the animals.

Colin riding some kind of wooden horse.

Over by the elephants there were a couple of zoo people playing some African-style music. Colin wasn't shy about jumping right in and playing with the drums and tambourines. I have him on video, and trust me, it's adorable.

Riding on a tiger.

Looking at a real tiger.

Giraffes have crazy black tongues. This one kept sticking his out to scratch his chin. (I imagine that's why he was doing it anyway.) (I also imagine he was a he. I have no proof of its actual gender.)

Another dinosaur. I have lots of pictures of dinosaurs, but I didn't post them all.

A sloth because I think it is cool and also disgusting.

Kate sitting still briefly while we ate lunch.

Yay for animal cookies at the animal park!

Colin riding on a rhino. I didn't take this picture, and I forgot to specify to the brother who took it that he was supposed to include the animal statue.

We were looking at a tiny one-eyed owl that a zoo person had sitting on her hand. Please don't look at my face.

Riding the train.

I'm glad Ethan knows how to smile for the camera.

Hey! Colin finally looked at me! Win.

Kenny is about the size of an adult gorilla. Colin is the size of a juvenile. Kate would probably be close the the infant size, but she refused to stand there for a picture.

A sweet elephant thing that made noise/music/puffs of water.

On Colin's actual birthday, the 29th, he got to open presents from my family because they couldn't make it to the official party.

Toy Story legos! They were/are a hit.

Just a funny birthday face.

The big hit of the day? A bubble mower of course. I don't think Colin has stopped mowing since he opened that present. He even got some sweet shades to wear so he can be just like Daddy. We turned on some music in his room so he could pretend like he was listening to his ipod just like Daddy. That boy loves to mow!

Kids playing nicely together with the new legos.

And on Friday the 1st we had the birthday party. This was the day when all the cousins could be there. I tried really hard to make a fancy cake, and it did not turn out like the picture. Since it was a bust (in my mind) I made some Toy Story cupcakes too, just so something looked presentable.

It still looks like a 3, right? Fondant is not my friend. Neither is food coloring or carving cakes.

Happy opening presents faces. He was so excited about everything he got. You'd think it was his birthday or something.

Hannah holds a special place in my heart. And probably a special place in the Special Olympics too.

Granny and baby Corbin.

Papa and baby Rachel. Just kidding, medium-sized oldest-grandchild Rachel.