The Tigress

I wrote about our visit to the zoo the other day. It was so much fun. We met so many fun animals! The beautiful tigers were so close that we would have been their dinner, if the glass wasn't there. This female tiger decided to pose for me. She evidently knew exactly how pretty she was!

Gorgeous! My "secret" childhood dream has always been to have my very own tiger. You think the zoo would consider . . . oh never mind.

Sweet girl—"Innocent Wonder"

Isn't she too sweet for words? I guess I'm a little biased, but wouldn't you be if you were able to peer into that sweet little face every day? Seriously.

I took this snapshot on a visit to a local park. There was rain coming, so the colors were just popping! The grass looked super green, and my LO happened to be wearing a green t-shirt, too. I just love it! She was running around in the grass squealing, laughing, and having a great time, while we ate a picnic dinner as a family.

She's our first (we've got another one on the way), so it's been amazing to watch her discover the world for the first time. She truly has been full of wonder, as she's explored and experienced the world around her. I love that this picture captures some of that in her expression. After running around a little, she ran back and peered into my camera, just like you see her. I laughed when I saw this week's theme at IHeartFaces ("Innocent Wonder"), because I thought, Well I must have about a thousand pictures that capture just that!

Orangutan

We love going to the zoo as a family. It's so nice to get outside, walk around, and have close encounters with exotic animals. My daughter LOVES it! She still talks about our last visit to the Louisville Zoo, which was several weeks ago.

This particular zoo is now one of our favorites. While it's not huge, they are doing an excellent job at revamping the habitats, and creating great experiences for visitors. For example, I had a fun encounter with this female orangutan. She was so fun to watch. She started out a little ways away from me, sitting against the fence. She looked like she was deep in thought. I watched.

And then it was like she had a melancholy thought, and began to contemplate it.

And then, she saw me. I believe we may have even made eye contact. So, she came over to say hello, and stuck her face right up against the glass.

And then, she began to think deep thoughts again.

And I could almost hear her start to sing, "What would I give, if I could live out of this ca-age? What would I pay to spend a day, up in a tree? Betcha in the jungle, they understand . . . that they don't cage a wild animal. Wish I could be . . . part of that wooorrrld."

Catching Snow

I love winter! I love snow! But, I love both even more when I see it all through my daughter's eyes. Here in Kentucky, we don't normally get good snow, but this winter has provided more snow than normal. We even had enough a few weekends ago to go sledding at our local park. It was so fun!

On a brief break from the snow frivolities, my girl took a second to try and catch snow on her tongue—an extremely valuable skill for enjoying the snow. Her cheeks were bright red, and her face was coated with snow. It was a wonderful photo opportunity—and a great memory!

The Pioneer Woman likes me!!!

I just can't contain my excitement! The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond) likes one of my photos!!! I think this means we might be best friends, now. Maybe she'll invite me out to her ranch so we can hang out and get to know each other better.

It's true! She selected my photo of bourbon balls from Woodford Reserve as one of her picks in her latest photo challenge. I made it into group #3! It's the 6th photo down in the post. Check it out, and say hi to  my new best friend Ree, while you're there. :)