As you may have noticed we have been working a lot around here. We have had at least one wedding every weekend since the end of March. Our first weekend off will be Thanksgiving weekend and then we go right back into the winter wedding season with no breaks until Christmas weekend. We managed to do weddings right through our family vacation as well, which was no easy task to organize. Many of the the weddings are Sunday weddings so my time with the kids has been hard to come by. Several years ago 6 exactly, my husband and I decided to have more children. You may have heard me refer to these kids as the bottom three, not to be confused with the original four.  Elijah is 6, Sam just turned 5, and baby Grace or baby Great is 2 1/2.  I can’t even begin to express how much I miss my babies. Even though we are all in the house together everyday my work has really kept me from spending quality time with the littlest Chapple’s. Wanting them to have a great day we headed to my absolute favorite place a privately owned and operated zoo called Catoctin Wildlife Zoo.  The zoo is on Rt. 15 North as you head to Gettysburg about 20 minutes outside of Frederick MD.  I have been going to this zoo for 20 years. Each time I go I am beyond glad I came. We arrived at the zoo at noon and left just before closing at 5:45 pm. We had quite the day.

We started with a camel ride, which miss Grace wanted no part of.

A safari ride in this 1953 military deuce was our next adventure. Oh my goodness this was so much fun, there are 26 acres of additional property available to see on this tour. This is a new feature at the zoo and one that absolutely was worth every penny.

This was really fun!!

After we finished the safari we headed to the zoo part of the preserve.

This giraffe is on loan to the zoo and they are having a fund raising  drive to keep her. They are halfway to their needed goal. Anyone with some extra money who would like to help, please reach out to this fabulous zoo. I would really like to see this beautiful creature next year.

The koi pond is a really fun and interactive place.

Eli got a little tired of the picture taking.

The ice cream stand/cafe was a total hit!!

In addition to the park and all of the animals, there are lots of play grounds. With endless patience I allowed the kids as much time as they wanted at the playground stops.

Along the journey through the zoo you often meet up with zoo keepers who are willing to give the kids some hands on time and they teach about the animals as well.

We stayed at the zoo until closing time, but I still had one more fun trick up my sleeve. Immediately across the street from the zoo is Cunningham Falls State Park. This park is amazing for hiking, swimming, and I think camping but it also features an incredible recycled tire park. The kids flipped when I brought them here.

Our day was full throttle, which is my favorite speed. When I put the kids in the car it was actually dark but each of them was truly content.

I loved yesterday!!