Her Daisy Troop did so well during their Girl Scout Cookie Sale that they earned a special sleepover at the Knoxville Zoo called Bedtime with the Beasts. So after a fun day at her First Grade Luau, I got to go with her to this special outing! The Daisy Troop arrived at the Zoo at 6:00 pm after the Zoo was closed and were met by 2 wonderful instructors who stayed with us until we had to leave the next morning at 9:30 am. As soon as we got settled in our cabin, we headed out for a private tour of the zoo.
A thunderstorm came while we were out walking, so we found shelter and learned all about snakes and alligators!
God has blessed Lily with such sweet friends in her Daisy Troop. I love this picture of her and Audrey holding hands behind Kendal!
After a long tour, we headed back to make some Trail Mix.
While the instuctors were going to get 3 animals for the girls to see up close, the Daisies played lots of animal games.
Here is the first animal encounter, an owl!
The next one was a rat! Lily and the girls were so brave to touch it!
My favorite was the hedgehog. Isn't he so cute?
The instructors kept the girls busy until after midnight. We even took a walk with flashlights to visit the lions! Then it was time to go to sleep!
The alarm went off at 5:45 am so we could get up! Here are some sleepy girls!
After breakfast, we headed out for another private tour before the Zoo opened to the public. The chimpanzees were showing off for the girls!
Lily and her friend Kaitlyn who she's known since birth!
All 12 precious daisies together before we left!
What a fun and educational adventure! We are so thankful for a wonderful Daisy Troop for providing lots of fun activities for the girls. Looking forward to more!
With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the beasts that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please.
Jeremiah 27:5
I had so much fun helping the kids pick out their costumes this year for Halloween. Parker is his favorite ELMO: 
And my 3 girls are their favorite insects. Katy is a ladybug, Lily is a Monarch butterfly, and Maddy is a bumble bee:
On Friday, October 23rd, we took our annual trip to the Knoxville Zoo for BOO! at the Zoo. The kids had lots of fun walking around and getting treats at the different stations.
Parker joined right in:
Maddy was so sweet helping her brother find his way in the dark: 
Parker loved snacking on all of the goodies. Here he is with his mouth covered in chocolate from M & Ms and begging me to open up his Animal crackers! "
Can you believe ELMO ran into Ernie and Bert at the Zoo?
At the end of the trail, we had fun listening to the Party Boys DJ and dancing to the music. 
I love seeing my children joyful! What a fun night!
After taking a peek at the bears, we went to the girls' favorite spot, the Butterfly Garden. Lily especially loves it because of the pond and all the lily pads! 
We have been to the zoo several times, but this was the first time Parker was able to really enjoy it. Lily loved showing Parker all of the animals and teaching him their names. Here they are looking at the elephants together. 
One of the elephants actually was playing with a box and got it stuck on his trunk! 
Parker stood and looked at the zebras for a long time.
He had fun pretending to drive his sissies around in the Zoo jeep while making an engine noise! 
Maddy got trapped in a cage! 
Parker had on big boy shoes for the first time and he was so happy walking around showing off his new Nikes! 
It was starting to get hot, and after walking around the zoo for several hours, we cooled off with some Slush Puppies! Lily and Katy shared a Bodacious Berry slush and couldn't stop laughing about their blue mustaches! 
Maddy was so sweet sharing a Lemon Limecicle slush with Parker. 
Then we headed into the air conditioned Wee Play Zoo for some more fun! Katy had fun pretending to be a zoo attendant. 
Here's Farmer Maddy pushing her wheelbarrow.
Parker was fascinated with the live bunny and he loved petting it!
And he enjoyed cruisin' in the jeep.
Before we knew it we had spent almost 5 hours at the Zoo! We had a zoo-pendous time and look forward to going again soon! Thank you Lord for another beautiful day and allowing us time together admiring your creation! 
