Happy Fourth!

Friday night we took OT to see a balloon glow and a fireworks show in Ridgeland. John and I had never been to a balloon glow, and now I’m hooked. I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to hot air balloons, and I told John that if he ever wants to surprise me, he can take me up in one! The day was blazing hot (99 was the high) but as soon as the sun started to go down, the night was very pleasant and beautiful. Here are a bunch of photos!

OT was definitely a fan.

The balloons stayed inflated and glowed for about 45 minutes, and it was awe-inspiring! They slowly deflated one by one, and then the crowd was treated to a concert by country singer Darryl Worley. After his set, when the skies were dark, we had a great fireworks show that lasted over 20 minutes. OT was happy as a clam.

We’ll definitely be back next year, and next time we’ll be sure to take plenty of WATER!

a trip to the zoo!

During spring break (which, yes, was almost a month ago!), OT and I took a little trip to New Orleans with my mom and aunt. Our families have all ended up in Hattiesburg, which is less than two hours from New Orleans, so it makes for quite a fun day trip. OT has never been to the Audubon Zoo, so a visit was in order! Somehow we managed to go on a blistering-hot day. It was just about miserable! Here are some photos of our fun!

(And remember, we don’t use OT’s real name or show his face on public parts of the Internet. So yeah, I got lots of photos of his face that day, but I also made sure to get some of the back of his head for blogging purposes!)

“Freen-goes,” as OT used to call them. <3

Elephants were my favorite as a kid, and now they’re OT’s, too. Aww!

The white tigers are beautiful, and this one was headed to play with a giant ball, just like a kitten.

OT got to pet a turtle.

And a goat.

And he surprised us with his bravery!

And then he climbed a tree!

It’s amazing how close you can get to the giraffes. I didn’t zoom in for this shot at all.

Hullo!

That’s the truth!

We had a great day, despite the wicked heat. We ditched our plans to mosey around the French Quarter and instead went home for cool showers and an early bedtime!

I’ll be back later this week with photos from a fun baseball game and a trip back to New Orleans for the aquarium and a music and food festival.

Y’all have a GREAT week!

be still my heart

Sometimes the prettiest flowers in the yard are weeds.

Especially when they’re picked for you by the sweetest boy on the block.

Y’all have a happy, springy, sunshiney day.