Thursday, July 17, 2008
Lazy Five Ranch
One month ago I had no clue that Mooresville NC was home to a safari/Jurassic parkesque "zoo" called Lazy Five Ranch. Why did no one ever mention this phenomena to me before? Well I have no clue, maybe it's because I didn't have a kid to take there before Maggie and so folks thought why tell her she wouldn't be interested, but mark my words had I known about this place prior to recently I would have been a frequent VIP to this locale. For those of you who, like me, had never heard of this place (until now) I must say that I think it is one of NC's best kept secrets. You have two options at the ranch, one is to drive your own car Jurassic park style through the safari plains of Mooresville and have a close encounter experience with wildlife from your own car or two to take a horse drawn wagon ride through the safari. I recommend the latter, we did and what fun it twas. There is even a petting zoo and play area to enjoy. My words can only describe so much, so feast your eyes on these pics and then set a date on your calendar for your own trip to this Mooresville wonder.
Here we are all loaded in the Garrison's van clueless as to the adventure that awaits us in Mooresville.
This bear was not part of the petting portion of the zoo and for good reason. However, on the other side of the parking lot there were several animals available for petting and viewing.
This picture makes me chuckle because Maggie looks so grown up here eating her PBJ for lunch. She knew she needed to carb up for the exciting journey ahead.
And the group shot on the wagon. This picture also posted to prove that I am not afraid of posting unflattering pictures of myself.
Who looks more excited here? Could it be me because I have a silly grin on my face or the child that refuses to look at the camera for fear that she will miss seeing an exotic animal.
The Garrison clan enjoying the ride and view.
This is just an example of how close we were to these beasts and to show you the viewer how they loved to eat the food from our buckets.
Oh hello there zebra in Mooresville.
The llamas were especially fun to feed, even Maggie did it. Her giggle when the llama licked the feed from her hand made the trip all worth it. And, as we left she waved and said goodbye Mama. She must have read her book is your mama a llama before we came. Before I close out my blog on Lazy Five Ranch, I must describe my most favorite part of the day. While aboard the wagon and meandering through the open Mooresville plains our tour guide tells us that we may just get lucky today and see the ranch's water buffalo give birth. Well, it certainly was our lucky day because just that was happening on our last leg of the journey. Have you ever seen that scene from Ace Ventura pet detective when the fake rhino is giving birth, well my experience with water buffalo births is very similar. There she was laying on the ground and her baby was literally half way in and half the other. The scary part was that she was just sitting there like she was done. We city folk were feeling a little nervous at this point but our tour guide tells us not to worry this could take up to two days! Talk about your national geographic experience. Anywas if that doesn't convince you to visit this cool place I don't know what will.
Here we are all loaded in the Garrison's van clueless as to the adventure that awaits us in Mooresville.
This bear was not part of the petting portion of the zoo and for good reason. However, on the other side of the parking lot there were several animals available for petting and viewing.
This picture makes me chuckle because Maggie looks so grown up here eating her PBJ for lunch. She knew she needed to carb up for the exciting journey ahead.
And the group shot on the wagon. This picture also posted to prove that I am not afraid of posting unflattering pictures of myself.
Who looks more excited here? Could it be me because I have a silly grin on my face or the child that refuses to look at the camera for fear that she will miss seeing an exotic animal.
The Garrison clan enjoying the ride and view.
This is just an example of how close we were to these beasts and to show you the viewer how they loved to eat the food from our buckets.
Oh hello there zebra in Mooresville.
The llamas were especially fun to feed, even Maggie did it. Her giggle when the llama licked the feed from her hand made the trip all worth it. And, as we left she waved and said goodbye Mama. She must have read her book is your mama a llama before we came. Before I close out my blog on Lazy Five Ranch, I must describe my most favorite part of the day. While aboard the wagon and meandering through the open Mooresville plains our tour guide tells us that we may just get lucky today and see the ranch's water buffalo give birth. Well, it certainly was our lucky day because just that was happening on our last leg of the journey. Have you ever seen that scene from Ace Ventura pet detective when the fake rhino is giving birth, well my experience with water buffalo births is very similar. There she was laying on the ground and her baby was literally half way in and half the other. The scary part was that she was just sitting there like she was done. We city folk were feeling a little nervous at this point but our tour guide tells us not to worry this could take up to two days! Talk about your national geographic experience. Anywas if that doesn't convince you to visit this cool place I don't know what will.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Fourth of July Fun
We had a fabulous fourth of july weekend with family and friends in Columbia. Our friends the Hunts joined us for a weekend packed full of fireworks, lake fun, a beautiful wedding and of course what's a weekend without a brush with DNR (Dept. of Natural Resources).
Maggie was so glad that her buddy Sam could join us for the weekend. Here they are showing their American pride and waving their flags to "wave your flag" a song composed and recorded by Melissa Hunt.
Maggie strikes a patriotic pose.
Sam enjoyed getting to know Churchill and Churchill the same with Sam. I believe they were deep in conversation about Georgia football in this photo. Sam asked Churchill how he could be a Gamecock fan being a bulldog and all. Churchill trying to be as gentle as possible told Sam all about how Gamecocks are really the best and this gave Sam much to ponder.
Swimmer diapers are a good investment, these are the dangers of swimming in regular diapers albeit very cute dangers..
Grandma and Poppa provided a funfilled weekend for us, thanks again!
Maggie has truly missed the JWU students this summer so in an attempt to recapture some of her favorite memories she dressed up as a chef and did some cooking in the kitchen.
There are several activities this weekend that I wish desperately that I had had my camera for and one of those being our friend Laura's wedding to her fiance Mike. They married July 5th and Tyler officiated. The couple married in there back yard and Helga, Laura's dog walked her down the aisle with Mike's father. My mother does have pictures and once I get them I will post some pics, it was a truly unique affair. It was nice and intimate and we were so glad to be there to witness this union. Maggie was so glad she got to meet her friend Laura as well.
Also I wish I had a picture of my incident with the DNR. It would have been terribly inappropriate but good blog material nonetheless. It all happened during nap time, a perfect time for grandma to babysit and the adults to get in some quality lake time. Tyler desperately wanted to wakeboard and I being the sweet wife that I am tried my best to make this wish come true for my husband. First of all know that wakeboarding Zaepfel style is a feat in and of itself, but this weekend it became even more complicated. Zaepfel style wakeboarding consists of Family Therapy, our families pontoon boat pulling you with a horsepower of about 40 on a good day. And, the board we use does not have boots rather straps and is one I had in high school. The strap was falling off so Tyler bought a new strap and jimmy rigged (or is it Jerry) it to the board. Once we got out to the water we opened up a brand new ski rope and it was about 5ft long double looped, so we tried to fix it and make it longer with a little more jimmy rigging. The rope broke after several attempts and about a half hour later right when we actually had it working up come the DNR. The boat wasn't up to date in it's registration and we had no throw cushion. Not to mention that when Jake found the fire extinguisher it read recharge and was from 1988. We were officially busted and had yet to wakeboard. A whiskey foxtrot later and three warnings and we were back in business...somewhat. Tyler was desperate to wakeboard, but the DNR man (not sure of his official title) said the boat wasn't operational until we fixed these three things, but Tyler asked anywas. He says, "well can I at least wakeboard back to the dock." The DNR man seeing the angst and defeat all over my sweet husbands face replied, "sure, I won't look back." ANd so we did, unfortunately we were about 50 yards from the dock, so yet again being the awesome wife that I am, I threw caution to the wind and did one tiny loop right in front of the dock where my whole family waited and stood patiently for us to come back and explain to them everything that had just happened since they were watching the whole scene from across the lake. So, that was our lake adventure. There is a good ending however. My dad registered online and ran out and bought the necessary items including a bright orange whistle to wear while pulling a skier (just to be extra safe...and show those DNR that we take lake safety very seriously even if it may not seem that way at first glance). ANd we were back on the lake and wakeboarding Zaepfel style in no time flat. And I think we all learned valuable lake safety that day too.
Maggie was so glad that her buddy Sam could join us for the weekend. Here they are showing their American pride and waving their flags to "wave your flag" a song composed and recorded by Melissa Hunt. 
Maggie strikes a patriotic pose.
Sam enjoyed getting to know Churchill and Churchill the same with Sam. I believe they were deep in conversation about Georgia football in this photo. Sam asked Churchill how he could be a Gamecock fan being a bulldog and all. Churchill trying to be as gentle as possible told Sam all about how Gamecocks are really the best and this gave Sam much to ponder.
Swimmer diapers are a good investment, these are the dangers of swimming in regular diapers albeit very cute dangers..
Grandma and Poppa provided a funfilled weekend for us, thanks again!
Maggie has truly missed the JWU students this summer so in an attempt to recapture some of her favorite memories she dressed up as a chef and did some cooking in the kitchen.There are several activities this weekend that I wish desperately that I had had my camera for and one of those being our friend Laura's wedding to her fiance Mike. They married July 5th and Tyler officiated. The couple married in there back yard and Helga, Laura's dog walked her down the aisle with Mike's father. My mother does have pictures and once I get them I will post some pics, it was a truly unique affair. It was nice and intimate and we were so glad to be there to witness this union. Maggie was so glad she got to meet her friend Laura as well.
Also I wish I had a picture of my incident with the DNR. It would have been terribly inappropriate but good blog material nonetheless. It all happened during nap time, a perfect time for grandma to babysit and the adults to get in some quality lake time. Tyler desperately wanted to wakeboard and I being the sweet wife that I am tried my best to make this wish come true for my husband. First of all know that wakeboarding Zaepfel style is a feat in and of itself, but this weekend it became even more complicated. Zaepfel style wakeboarding consists of Family Therapy, our families pontoon boat pulling you with a horsepower of about 40 on a good day. And, the board we use does not have boots rather straps and is one I had in high school. The strap was falling off so Tyler bought a new strap and jimmy rigged (or is it Jerry) it to the board. Once we got out to the water we opened up a brand new ski rope and it was about 5ft long double looped, so we tried to fix it and make it longer with a little more jimmy rigging. The rope broke after several attempts and about a half hour later right when we actually had it working up come the DNR. The boat wasn't up to date in it's registration and we had no throw cushion. Not to mention that when Jake found the fire extinguisher it read recharge and was from 1988. We were officially busted and had yet to wakeboard. A whiskey foxtrot later and three warnings and we were back in business...somewhat. Tyler was desperate to wakeboard, but the DNR man (not sure of his official title) said the boat wasn't operational until we fixed these three things, but Tyler asked anywas. He says, "well can I at least wakeboard back to the dock." The DNR man seeing the angst and defeat all over my sweet husbands face replied, "sure, I won't look back." ANd so we did, unfortunately we were about 50 yards from the dock, so yet again being the awesome wife that I am, I threw caution to the wind and did one tiny loop right in front of the dock where my whole family waited and stood patiently for us to come back and explain to them everything that had just happened since they were watching the whole scene from across the lake. So, that was our lake adventure. There is a good ending however. My dad registered online and ran out and bought the necessary items including a bright orange whistle to wear while pulling a skier (just to be extra safe...and show those DNR that we take lake safety very seriously even if it may not seem that way at first glance). ANd we were back on the lake and wakeboarding Zaepfel style in no time flat. And I think we all learned valuable lake safety that day too.
Friday, June 27, 2008
25 weeks!
Just imagine what this tums gonna look like in 15 weeks...yikes! I think my expression communicates that pretty well in this shot. But, it's gonna be so worth it...can't wait to meet you little guy!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Finally a post!
An update for all our dedicated readers:
No move yet, I won't get into the details but know that we are doing well and trusting the Lord all along the way.
Since my last post lots has happened. We celebrated father's day for one and got a new puppy for two. Our new puppy's name is Bella Peppers she goes by Bella (yes I really liked that movie). My parents surprised us with her last saturday and she is simply adorable. However, she likes to pee anytime she comes inside so she spends most of her time frolicking in the back gated area. Maggie and Bella became instant buddies. I think Bella may just love Maggie as much as Maggie loves Bella. Maggie will say "come here Bella" and summon her with her hand. And, she hands Bella her chew toys. Tonight Tyler was calling for Bella and she wasn't obeying so Maggie got behind Bella's tushy and gave her a little nudge forward towards Tyler. Maggie also enjoyed her first taste of dog food tonight. She was picking it up and giving it to Bella at first, but then she figured what's good for Bella is just as good for her. And down it went before I could stop her. Oh the adventures to come with Maggie and her new buddy. Here are some pictures of our sweet little friend. Enjoy!
Maggie giving Tyler his father's day gift. The best daddy in the whole world. We are so incredibly thankful for this awesome daddy. I wish I were more eloquent with words, but even if I were I don't think I could express how much we love this man!
Maggie making a card for great grandpa.
Meet Bella.
Petting Bella.
Laying with Bella.
No move yet, I won't get into the details but know that we are doing well and trusting the Lord all along the way.
Since my last post lots has happened. We celebrated father's day for one and got a new puppy for two. Our new puppy's name is Bella Peppers she goes by Bella (yes I really liked that movie). My parents surprised us with her last saturday and she is simply adorable. However, she likes to pee anytime she comes inside so she spends most of her time frolicking in the back gated area. Maggie and Bella became instant buddies. I think Bella may just love Maggie as much as Maggie loves Bella. Maggie will say "come here Bella" and summon her with her hand. And, she hands Bella her chew toys. Tonight Tyler was calling for Bella and she wasn't obeying so Maggie got behind Bella's tushy and gave her a little nudge forward towards Tyler. Maggie also enjoyed her first taste of dog food tonight. She was picking it up and giving it to Bella at first, but then she figured what's good for Bella is just as good for her. And down it went before I could stop her. Oh the adventures to come with Maggie and her new buddy. Here are some pictures of our sweet little friend. Enjoy!
Maggie giving Tyler his father's day gift. The best daddy in the whole world. We are so incredibly thankful for this awesome daddy. I wish I were more eloquent with words, but even if I were I don't think I could express how much we love this man!
Maggie making a card for great grandpa.
Meet Bella.
Petting Bella.
Laying with Bella.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Missing Daddy but having more cousin fun!
Next week the Dirk's family is moving, so this week we are packing up the house. But, one of us is in Dallas for General Assembly making packing up a whole house with a one year old quite a task. Enter sweet angelic sister and nephew...they decided to come and help out by spending the week with Maggie and me. We are so thrilled and they have been a huge help and not to mention loads of fun. We are packing and having slumber parties 24/7. We pack a few boxes, have some cousin fun and then after the kids go down we have been having some awesome sister time. So, far we have viewed two chick flicks. We watched Bella and PS I love You. We highly recommend Bella...ps I love you...not so much. However, we have agreed that seeing this movie together was ten times better than watching it with our husbands seeing as how there could have been some major complaining about the cheesy ratio of this particular film. I am missing my hubby, but having sweet sister time/BFF time is pretty wonderful. Anybody know of a good chick flick for tonight?
Cousin bath time is always a splash!
See how much fun we're having.
Side note: I have slowly discovered this week my daughter's love of squishing her tiny tushy into small areas. For example, yesterday I found her sitting in a bumbo and then later in the day sitting in a cooking pot. Today, as we are packing Maggie decides to sit in this nice little shoe box. Pretty funny stuff.
Maggie also enjoyed sitting in Christine's suitcase today when she and Brody went out for the afternoon to visit a friend. Shhh don't tell auntie.
Cousin bath time is always a splash!
See how much fun we're having.
Side note: I have slowly discovered this week my daughter's love of squishing her tiny tushy into small areas. For example, yesterday I found her sitting in a bumbo and then later in the day sitting in a cooking pot. Today, as we are packing Maggie decides to sit in this nice little shoe box. Pretty funny stuff.
Maggie also enjoyed sitting in Christine's suitcase today when she and Brody went out for the afternoon to visit a friend. Shhh don't tell auntie.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Kansas
We spent the last few days in Kansas with our family and friends. Tyler was asked to perform our pals Jenny and Frank's wedding and of course we were very willing to help out some friends in need. We headed out to Kansas City last wednesday and returned sunday. Maggie got a lot of great one on one time with the Dirks while Tyler and I had fun wedding festivities to attend. Here are a few pics from the week.
Maggie loved playing with her Grams.
She also enjoyed some quality time on Dog's lap.
Aunt Melodee was able to come out and visit too and Maggie just loved being around her aunt.
We stayed at Aunt Susan's house and our cousin Matthew, Maggie's second cousin was a load of fun. Maggie couldn't help but smile anytime Matthew made a funny face.
Matthew took us to one of Overland Park's finest public swimming pools, complete with two great big pools and big slides, diving boards and a baby area with fountains and a whale tongue to slide down. I don't have a picture of the whale but you'll have to trust me on this, Maggie loved it. She was a little nervous at first but after she got used to the water she thought she could swim by herself and hardly wanted us to hold her at all when we hit the pool.
When we got back to the house Maggie took Matthew's old jeep out for a spin.
Maggie also got the chance to meet her Great Uncle Arlan and Great Grandma Opal for the first time!
This is the groom Frank. He and Tyler were roommates for one year in college.
This is the beautiful bride with one of their fun cups at the reception. She was beautiful and so was the wedding. You could really see their personalities come out in every aspect of the wedding, rehearsal and reception. They are such fun people and we were so glad to be a part of their big day.
Here we are with the bride and groom their love was contagious... and we couldn't help ourselves. Thanks for having us out you two, we had a fabulous trip!
Maggie loved playing with her Grams.
She also enjoyed some quality time on Dog's lap.
Aunt Melodee was able to come out and visit too and Maggie just loved being around her aunt.
We stayed at Aunt Susan's house and our cousin Matthew, Maggie's second cousin was a load of fun. Maggie couldn't help but smile anytime Matthew made a funny face.
Matthew took us to one of Overland Park's finest public swimming pools, complete with two great big pools and big slides, diving boards and a baby area with fountains and a whale tongue to slide down. I don't have a picture of the whale but you'll have to trust me on this, Maggie loved it. She was a little nervous at first but after she got used to the water she thought she could swim by herself and hardly wanted us to hold her at all when we hit the pool. 
When we got back to the house Maggie took Matthew's old jeep out for a spin.
Maggie also got the chance to meet her Great Uncle Arlan and Great Grandma Opal for the first time!
This is the groom Frank. He and Tyler were roommates for one year in college. 
This is the beautiful bride with one of their fun cups at the reception. She was beautiful and so was the wedding. You could really see their personalities come out in every aspect of the wedding, rehearsal and reception. They are such fun people and we were so glad to be a part of their big day.
Here we are with the bride and groom their love was contagious... and we couldn't help ourselves. Thanks for having us out you two, we had a fabulous trip!
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