Snakes, Water Park, and Ice Cream

On Friday, we had a fun day at a new water park in Gardendale. MG would not get in the water and only wanted to be held...she finally decided to shoot some of the water guns. The boys ran right in and had a blast. They also played in the adjacent playground. Today we went to Oak Mountain State Park to see a snake show. We paid our entry fee and drove the 6 miles into the Animal Wildlife Center and were disappointed to find the snake show was canceled. However, we were in for a snake show of our own! We saw a HUGE rattlesnake at the base of a pine tree with its head poking up watching birds at some nearby bird feeders. As we watched the rattler, I happened to catch movement out of the corner of my eye. Low and behold, there was a rat snake slithering up the branches of a tree above the rattler! Truly a freaky moment! We later cautiously hiked down a gravel path, making the children walk in the center of the path as Kevin and I scanned the edges of the path closely. Wouldn't you know we'd see a 3rd snake??--a king snake coiled up in some leaves at the edge of the path! We later drove to the petting zoo at Oak Mountain and thankfully did not see any more snakes!

JC was so sweet to hold MG's hand and take her through the water--she finally decided to give the water a try!

Sister still cautious about the water

Boys shooting a huge water gun

I got a picture of him with his tongue flicking out--gross!

MG and Daddy heading into the petty zoo...MG is holding a goose feather that she found

What better way to end a day with ice cream at a birthday party?