Safari Adventure -Day One

We decided a while back that we wanted to take the boys to the Wildlife Safari near Roseburg, Oregon this summer before Josh left.  So last week we hit the road.

As usual, we had good little travelers.

(See Jack in the back?)

The boys napped, which was great!

And seating them away from each other made for good boys, even when they were awake.  Oh, and the portable DVD players we picked up at Costco don't hurt, either!

As soon as we got to the hotel, we hit the pool.

The boys' life jackets give them so much confidence in the water.

They have always loved the water.

But it seems they enjoy it even more now that they're older.

The awesome bouncer my mom bought for Wyatt when I was pregnant came in handy yet again (remember seeing it on our camping trip?) as he was able to nap poolside while the rest of us swam.  He was protected from both bugs & the sun.

The big boys took turns jumping in to me. 

At first they wanted to be caught.

I love this series of shots of Jack jumping to Josh:

 

Josh's new camera is awesome for capturing so many shots in a row.

And also I love the clarity of the pictures.

Awesome!

Soon, Logan was jumping into the deep end by himself, "popping up" (as he said) and swimming about like a big kid.

He was being so brave.

And making his parents very proud.

Our big swimming boys!

Gorgeous Jack

(Did I mention I love this new camera?)

Daddy & his boys

After our afternoon of swimming, we headed to the local elementary school to play on the playground and get even more wiggles out before dinner.

Our big boys

Hooray! We made it!

Jack dug his piggies down in the bark chips to find the cold mud underneath.

What a boy!

Logan

Logan was so sweet to Jack, trying to convince him to go down this swirly slide.  He told him to be brave and that he'd be safe.  It was so precious. (Even though Jack wouldn't do it!)

I have spent a large majority of every family vacation/outing exactly like this.  My Aden & Anais blanket draped over my shoulder, my baby tucked into my body, feeding that sweet cooing boy.

The boys were really sweet, getting along while they played.

Before we left, I wanted to get a picture of my four men.  Jack was so upset we were leaving, that instead of a happy family picture, I got this:

And this.

That's little kid life.

After our afternoon of swimming & play at the park, we went to dinner at Elmer's.  The boys had the BEST behavior at a restaurant that we have ever seen. They were polite, used nice manners, and were super patient waiting for their meals.  It was a very proud evening for Josh & I. It's so nice when you see your hard work parenting paying off!

When we got back to the hotel we laid the boys down. It took an hour to get them to sleep, but once they were asleep, they were out!

Jack

 Logan

Wyatt was also a great little sleeper. 

I love that little buddy!

And I love this guy, too. I am going to miss having him around, just hanging out. Someone to laugh with & parent with.  I am so happy we got to make so many awesome memories with our boys this summer.  It will be good for the boys to have those to look back on while he's gone.

{More to come on our actual visit to the Wildlife Safari!}