For my birthday, Ron planned an amazing weekend for us up in Sedona! We have been wanting to check out the Out of Africa park for a while, so we decided it would be the perfect family getaway. Ron rented a beautiful house for us to stay in, and Ron and Sue were able to come up and join us for one night. Since it was Easter weekend also, the Easter Bunny managed to find us and still pay us a visit as well! The weather was absolutely perfect, and Sedona is such a beautiful, relaxing place. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect way to spend my birthday! I love my family!
We started the weekend out at the Out of Africa park. This is an incredible wildlife zoo that offers a very unique experience. You can go on a safari ride, where you ride right alongside all different animals and even feed a few of them. They offer several shows, including the Tiger Splash show that we saw. The animals have large habitats, but you can get really close to them, and there are lookout platforms, so in some cases you can see some of the animals without any fence barrier in between. They have over 40 big cats, which are my absolute favorite, so I loved it! I would highly recommend it to anyone!
Ron and Presley getting ready for the safari ride
Zebras following our safari bus
Trying to feed Kibo, the giraffe.
Unfortunately, our safari was one of the last ones and he wasn't interested in coming to try our carrots =(. Rylan left his carrot for him to have as a snack later though
One of the many types of antelopes we saw on the safari
Humphrey, the camel.
It took a lot of coaxing, but he finally got up and ate our carrots! Rylan was very excited to watch, but did NOT want to give him the carrot himself
Family picture on the safari bus
Chili pepper, the ostrich
Papa and Presley hanging out on the bus
Long horn cattle...this picture doesn't fully show it but their horns were huge!
We finally got to feed a giraffe! We saw Pilgirm on the end of our ride and he came right up to us. Unfortunately, most of the carrots were already gone, but he still got a little snack
Waiting for the Tiger Splash show to start
Marmee and Pop Pop enjoying the day with us!
Chalet, the white tiger.
The Tiger Splash show was kind of crazy, because the animals aren't trained at all. It's not as "entertaining" as some shows, because the tiger didn't have any special tricks, but it's pretty exciting, and frightening, because you don't really know how they're going to act. Chalet acted just like a little kitten would playing with you, but one wrong pounce could be much more dangerous!
They had all of these inflatable toys on sticks that they would move around, and she would chase after them and pounce.
Rylan watching excitedly. It did lose his attention sometimes when there wasn't a lot of action going on, but he still seem very intrigued by most of it.
She finally went in the water, after several attempts from the trainers!
Cute little monkey!
This tiger was just pacing back and forth. This one was huge too! So beautiful!
He looked right at us several times
Rylan and Marmee watching the tiger
Family picture with the beautiful female lion behind us
We stood here for a long time. She was just so beautiful laying up on the roof with the gorgeous view behind her.
The male lion was waiting a few yards away, just watching us from behind the bush
Precious little girl.
She was such a little trooper, and finally decided to pass out in her Baby Bjorn.
From the wildlife park, we headed into Sedona to the house Ron rented. Renting a house is the way to go! It was a gorgeous 4,000 square foot home with beautiful views, and it was cheaper than most hotels and had more than enough room for all of us. The only disappointing part was that the hot tub ended up not working when we wanted to use it, but otherwise it was great!
The beautiful view from the backyard! In the family room there was a giant window that looked out at the same view
Right after we got there, Ron and Rylan decided to play hide and seek. This is one of Rylan's best hiding spots to date =)
"Hiding" on the roof deck
Presley and Pop Pop hanging out on the back patio
It didn't take long for baseball to begin in the backyard!
Out to dinner...it was a very long day without a nap, but he managed to hold it together pretty well
Pretty Presley just as happy as ever. She handles disruptions much better...
First time up on a bunk bed! Presley just kept bouncing and bouncing =)
Rylan in his big boy bed!
My birthday apple pie...yum!
The Easter Bunny came! He left Rylan a bunch of clues to find his Easter Basket
Found one!
He did pretty well searching for clues, especially considering he had only been in this house for a night
Found his basket finally! Up on top of the bunk bed
Presley found hers also =)
Opening baseball cards together...Papa's favorite tradition. This was Papa's first year without his own Easter basket, so at least he still got to join in on the fun =)
Presley was most interested in the Easter grass, of course
Found the perfect race track for his cars
Pretty girl in her Easter dress
Hunting outside for Easter eggs!
Marmee and Presley watching the action
Love the look of concentration
That's one full basket!
The best part...enjoying the candy inside the eggs!
Enjoying the beautiful weather in the backyard
Silly girl
This doesn't look like a relaxing weekend, does it???
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