Lazy 5 Ranch- Henry.

By Sunday morning, all four kids were getting pretty tired, so mama decided that we better leave so the Paytons let us come back again. We called up mama's cousin Andy and his wife Christina and agreed to meet at the Lazy 5 Ranch.

We feel dumb for never having gone down to Lazy 5 Ranch before. It's an enormous drive-though exotic animal park with a petting zoo and a huge playground shaped like a ship. We had a great time on the ship before Andy and Christina showed up, but mama didn't get any pictures because the whole thing was 5 feet off the ground and she spent most of her time trying to make sure June didn't fall.

We stopped first at the petting zoo to feed some animals. I had the method of flat hand, stright fingers down, but June wouldn't do it, so she didn't get to feed the sheep.

I fed this goat because all the other big ones kept pushing him out of the way.

After we ate ice cream, Mister Andy bought us a big bucket of feed. I couldn't wait to find more animals to feed it to!

These camels were very eager to get some food. They would press their mouths wide open against the fence and then would use their big upper lips to get food out of the bucket. And it's true what they say about camel spit. They didn't spit on us, but it was really thick and gross.

Mister Andy and Miss Christina surprised us by making reservations on the wagon ride instead of just driving through in the mini van. This was a great idea because the animals came running when they saw the wagon because they knew there was plenty of food. This antelope licked all the spilled feed off the floor.

Mama loved the big animals. They strolled up, lifted their heads, stuck their tongues out and waited for you to feed them. This bison couldn't even keep his tongue in his mouth.

This little zebra was only 5 days old. It's skinny legs and knobby knees reminded us of Natalie.

This water buffalo got out of its mud hole just to see us.

June played it cool in her hat and sunglasses. We were glad Miss Christina held her for most of the ride so mama and I could feed animals.

This African cow (we can't remember its name) has the biggest horns for a cow. They wouldn't let us feed it because the "horns always get there before his mouth does."

The best part was when we visited the giraffes!

I got to feed a giraffe some leaves!

I told mama "it has a blue tongue" and "I can't wait to tell papa!"

This huge cow (it had to be 6 feet tall) was special because it was in the HBO miniseries John Adams. Mama and papa are watching it now and mama makes sure to point it out every time it's on the screen. This cow got a hold of our bucket and ate everything out of it and almost ate the bucket itself.

Thanks so much to Mister Andy and Miss Christina for spending the day with us and then inviting us back to their house for a cookout. I think we might have freaked them out a little bit when they found out that tired kids just get more hyper. We were so wound up that we may have worn a hole in their carpet when we ran laps around their house.

After supper, we headed to the Charlotte airport to pick up papa. We loved this airport because it has a cell-phone lot- a parking lot made just so you can wait for a call from the baggage claim. And you don't have to pay to park! Genius. Too bad Juner and I didn't have any patience for sitting in a parking lot. We drove around the loop and mama drove down a restricted road and almost drove onto a runway. It was awesome! We got to see 5 big planes up close!

Trip to Greensboro- Henry.

Mama wants to make sure Grace and Audrey's parents let us come back again, so we decided to take the afternoon and evening and head over to Greensboro to see Mister Paul and Miss Susan.

We got food from our favorite restaurant- Cookout!- and headed to the park for a picnic. June climbed all the way up the slide by herself about a hundred times.
Then we took turns racing up and sliding down.

June made it up even though she was wearing a ridiculous dress that often got in the way.

She had fun sliding down the slides, even if they were a little fast.

So fast that when she went down the straight slide she went flying into the mulch below. But it didn't upset her.

She just sat in the mulch and tried to stuff dirt in her shoes.

June tried to climb up this big ladder, but it was too big and Mister Paul had to lift her the rest of the way.

Then we went for a little walk over the big bridge by the playground.

Afterwards, Mister Paul took us on a drive around Greensboro to check out the local train tracks. We even got to drive by the Coluseum where Britney Spears was playing tonight! Thanks for spending the evening with us, Mister Paul and Miss Susan!

The coolest person we know- Mama.

Today, mama put us down for a nap and said she might not be there when we got back because she was going out with Miss Becky.

Turns out they were out at the local tattoo shop.
Miss Becky said it didn't hurt that bad, but mama still took her out for a slushie at Sonic to make her feel better afterwards.
Here's the end result. Mama likes it so much, she almost considered thinking about entertaining the thought of maybe someday talking about what kind of tattoo she'd get.

Back with our friends-June.

As usual for Labor Day weekend, papa left town to go to a conference in Canada (that's not very American). Mama didn't want to spend five days by herself with two kids, so she took us back up to Winston Salem to spend the weekend with Gracie and Audrey.

I don't know what would have been more exhausting- staying at home or joining two nosy and sometime whiny (we'll call it strong-willed) toddlers and two four (and almost four) year olds who have now reached the stage in their development prone to fighting and tattling.
Henry was lucky enough to get to go back to his old school for two afternoon sessions with Grace. But that also meant no naps and some extreme crankiness in the evening. Mama and Miss Becky found out quickly that the best strategy against whine and fights was to get out of the house.


We went to the castle park, the gym, our old pool (don't tell anyone we snuck in) and tried to get outside as much as we could. We still managed to get in a couple scuffles. udrey and I constantly faught over the safe child sized lounge chair. Grace and Henry beat us, though, with great fights. Henry hugged a stuffed animal for 10 minutes straight, even though he hates stuffed animlas just because Grace wanted it. There was the time Grace faked falling so she could blame it on Henry, even though he was on the other side of the room and mama was watching them both. And they both blamed each other for taking toys neither was touching and hitting when they were on opposite sides of the room. Needless to say, we were all sent to bed before 7:30 every night.

June: Hey Audge, do you want to go try and make Henry and Grace mad?

Audrey: I don't know, they're bigger than us. Let's just swing for a while.

June: Henry's bending over, let's go push him.

Audrey: We could climb up the slides they're trying to race down.

June: Awesome idea.

Audrey: Now how do we get out of these swings?


Here's a video of me climbing up the slide. I've also mastered the 8 foot twisty slide all by myself. How do you like my Guns 'N Roses shirt and hot pants?

Audrey and I almost got into it just before I decided to run around the playground so mama couldn't get me in the van when she said it was time to go.

Things aren't all strife. Today when we were laying down for our naps, Henry asked mama "When are Mister Andy, Miss Becky, Gracie and Audrey going to move closer to our new house?"

PawPaw's last practical joke- mama.

Grams and PawPaw spent a lot of time cleaning out their basement this summer, which meant they unearthed a ton of old timey toys from when papa was little. With Henry's new music obsession, they knew this tape player was perfect for him.

Not only does it come with a microphone (that can't be turned down), it came with the only tape Grams could find- the Three Dog Night greatest hits tape. We all just want to give PawPaw and Grams a great big thank you for that. While there is one song that is tolerable- the "Number Song" as Henry calls it (One is the loneliest number), the rest of the tape is driving me to the brink of insanity. We've spent all week celebrating-"celebrate, dance to the music" with Jeremiah the bullfrog and on the lookout because "Eli's coming." This is what they must mean by inhumane torture.

PawPaw's going away party- June.

On Saturday night, we packed up the car and drove to Marion. We heard there was a big party going down.

Mama wanted me to look nice, so she put on this pretty long dress that Great-Great Aunt Lillie sent me. It was beautiful, but too cold outside. Plus, I was only interested in getting dirty and mama didn't want me to ruin m dress the first time I wore it.
Mama and papa had the best child free day ever, as I found many willing relatives to play with me. I think Uncle Chip spent two hours following me around.
Here's the entire Cooper clan. 6 kids, 12 grandkids, and 3 great-grandkids.
This time with wives and husbands. We were so glad everyone made the trip to see PawPaw off.

Maybe you notices, I'm clutching my nukie andblankie in these shots. That's because they decided to take the picture about 15 minutes after I went down for my nap. We all know that mama never would have dreamed of waking Henry up from a nap for a picture, but I'm the second kid, and they don't love me as much. Also, I'm much more likely to go back to sleep when woken and I was pretty drowsy from the benadryl (more hives on Sunday).

Henry spent the whole day running and playing and mama and papa barely saw him, except when desserts were brought out and he announced he was "so hungry."
Our cousins Paige and Teahl posed for this shot, but demanded that they be allowed to see it before mama posted it to facebook. I think they look great.
Among the many Coopers, you could even find a few Parsons at the party. Unlce Michael, Aunt Molly, and Aunt Katie challenged everyone to game of Ladder Golf.
Uncle Adam and Jessica took in a game of corn hole.
Don't let this old man fool you. GG feigned no knowlege of how any lawn game was played and they won a game of ladder golf by himself in about 4 turns. He had an 8 point turn once. Mama played her one obligatory game, and no one invited her back to be on their team.

Don't even bother Aunt Kate, GG's a hustler.
Grams and Tyler show good form for their game.
Henry chased his cousins for about an hour straight.
As a college professor, papa needs protection from all those pretty young college girls. Luckily, PawPaw loaned him some body armor.
On second thought, I don't think he needs to worry about an college girls coming after him.
Mister Anthony tried his best to help Payton out from under the pile of Cooper kids. And did you hear the news? He won't be Mister Anthony forever. Soon (but not until after college), he's going to be our Uncle Anthony! He popped the big question and Aunt Girl said yes!
Since PawPaw is going to be in Iraq for a year, we wanted one last shot of Pawps with his grandkids.

Best buds. We'll miss you PawPaw. Let us know when you get your webcam set up!