Zoo Brew and Mother's Day Weekend

This weekend was so much fun and long because G and I took Thursday and Friday off. Gotta love a four day weekend! Thursday morning we slept in, drank our coffee, and then I walked Manny, cleaned the house, and did three loads of laundry.

Meanwhile G was in the back of our yard clearing out a little space to enjoy the river that is down there. 

Once it was finally cleared up I came down to check it out. I can't believe this little gem has been at the bottom of our hill and it took me 4 years to see it!!

Oh, hey house! Never seen this view of it before.

After hours of labor Thursday and Friday G had created a little space down there for us to sit and sit we did. He laid 8 bags of mulch, bought these cute chairs and we enjoyed sitting in the chairs quite a few times over the weekend. We didn't want our first bit of wildlife to be a snake swimming down the river, but that is the first sign of life we saw. Then we saw a Cardinal and Blue Jay. Such a fun little spot. Now we just need some solar lights around it and we are ready to go.

But I'm jumping ahead. Thursday afternoon we drove to my brother and SIL's house. But first we stopped and grabbed dinner for everyone at Crispelli's. It's a must when we are in town. The food is so good. 

We got in some good Ella cuddles. She is getting so big. When did she stop looking like a baby and start looking like a little girl?!

I always get the veggie sandwich (sourdough homemade bread with feta and peppers and cucumbers) and their house made chips. YUM.

After a yummy dinner we said goodbye to Ella and Jess' parents and headed to the zoo for their annual Zoo Brew. 

It was similar to the Wild Wine night we went to at the zoo last summer.

PENGUINS! They are my favorite so I had to take a picture with them. 

One of the things I love about Jess is her willingness to take pictures with me at statues. She doesn't protest. She doesn't complain. She just goes with it.

The four of us. It was the perfect evening for this event. It was sunny and 80 degrees. The event was sold out but it never felt crowded. We could just leisurely walk around the zoo, grab a beer, walk around and look at more animals, grab a beer, and repeat. 

Lions and Tigers and Beers, oh my!

G and I. Love him!

This area was air conditioned and we could sit on a bench and watch the sea lions so it was a favorite place to hang out.

Jess and I in the little water cubby. It was trippy in there!

G and I in line for another beer. They had a lot of Michigan beer which was cool. My favorite of the night was B. Nektar Mead. It tasted like wine, yum!

Sisters. I heart her. We were just relaxing at the fountain listening to the band. Perfection. It was seriously so much fun. These events are so well done. Well organized. No huge crowds. I think the longest line we waited in was ten minutes. It's just relaxing and the bands that played the event were really talented. Such a fun night, it just went way too fast!

One more selfie in the gift shop where Eric and Jess bought a cute stuffed rhino (or as Ella says: "ino"). It was a great night, can't wait to do it again!

Friday we slept in, drank our coffee and I walked Manny. The rest of my day was spent reading on the deck while G worked on the yard. I read French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano and Nobody's Cuter Than You by Melanie Shankle. I loved both books a heck of a lot. I couldn't put either of them down which is always a telltale sign of a good book. Highly recommend!

G grilled brats Friday evening and we enjoyed this Blackstone red wine from Sam's club that I am now obsessed with. Delicious!

Saturday was another lazy morning. Drank coffee, walked Manny, read, caught up on a few shows and then headed to my brother and Jess' for an early dinner with my family and Jess' family to celebrate mother's day. 

Since I didn't take a single picture it must have been a great time! We ate pulled pork, mac and cheese, cilantro salad, and cole slaw. Ella was having the time of her life being the center of attention with all her favorites. It was so sweet. The weather was perfect so we sat outside all afternoon talking, eating and playing with Ella. Good times. My mom got me this adorable frame with a picture of Manny in it for Mother's Day. Isn't it adorable?! It looks great on my desk if I do say so myself.

Sunday we did church online, ate leftover brats, walked Manny, and caught up on our shows (Big Bang, Undateable and Modern Family). We enjoyed a few hours of reading together (my favorite thing ever!!) in the new area G had created before it decided to rain the rest of the afternoon. I meal prepped for the week and binged on Parenthood while G watched soccer. 

And just like that our four day weekend came to an end. It was the perfect balance of relaxation, productive and fun.