One of the things I love most about being a parent is being able to do things that I still find joy in but without a child at my side would look a bit silly doing. I find immense pleasure in singing "Deep and Wide" and "Praise Him, Praise Him All Ye Little Children" many many times a day - even in the aisles of Target. I like to walk through sprinklers going over the sidewalk as we go for a walk. I like coloring with sidewalk chalk, and building with Duplo blocks. Turns out i really like to play Thomas the Train too! This weekend, in the name of Alyssa (read MB), we headed to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek. Chris and I had visited this zoo on one of his weekend trips to Kalamazoo during college. We both have fond memories of the day and wanted to share it with Alyssa and Evan. Grandma (my mom) came over Saturday morning and we packed up her car because it has a third row and off we went.
Alyssa all snug in the third row.
Evan and Grandma getting ready to go!
The drive to Battle Creek is loaded with childhood memories for me because it is the same drive we used to take to get to WMU when my brother went to school there and it is the drive I used to take to get to WMU. First you pass Greta's Kitchen, a little diner that probably doesn't serve very good food, but I always loved eating there. Then you pass a junk yard where my brother and I stopped to look for a hubcap for his car one summer after we visited Western together. Next you'll find Uncle John's Cider Mill which does serve AMAZING food. The apple bread is to die for. Finally you come to exit 41 on I-69 and there it is, the sign for Cornwell's Turkeyville. This was stop number one on our trip. I have been going to Turkeyville since I was Evan's age. It was the place where I first met my Aunts and Uncles on my Dad's side. Again, amazing food and it certainly did not dissapoint on Saturday. Chris had the Sloppy Tom which was always my Dad's favorite. Mom and I had the Turkey Hot Plate, and Alyssa had the Turkey Biscuit.
Evan had squash.
We picked up some cinnamon rolls from the bakery and loaded back in the car to finish our trek to the zoo.
Trying to find the snow leopard.
Happy little guy!
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Rahr!
There was a WMU Bronco and a U of M horse, and she picks the Spartan!
Feeding the giraffes. So cool!
Worth the $5 for 6 pieces of lettuce!!
Are we still in Michigan??
...and he's done!
We all felt like that by the time we were done, but it was a great day spent making new memories at old places.
Remember days past and making new family memories...I love that.
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Looks like such a fun day!
ReplyDeleteNostalgia was a perfect title for this. This whole concept was one of the biggest drawbacks of moving to TN. I'm excited about the culture here, and raising our family here, but sad that Seth won't know the thrill I did of the first trip of the season to get soft serve ice cream, or Wildwood or Mudhens games... This was a really sweet post, and I love seeing pictures of your mom. =)
ReplyDeleteI so love your writting. Seriously, it is great to get to know you better through your blog. Often when the kids are running around demanding our attention it is hard to keep my thoughts straight. Sitting here reading your blog helps me fill in the blanks. It is wonderful you have your mom to share and create memories with the kids/grandkids. I too love playing and think it's a blast to be a kid with our kids (as you said we would look silly otherwise).
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