April is Over. . . Isn't it A-MAY-zing?

And just like that, a new month is here.  Man, it happened fast!  Countless visits to the zoo, a few Easter Egg hunts and a camping trip later, we arrive in May, and my little Jack-Bo is about to be 21-months old!  I just can't belive it!  the McQ Zoo has been busy, but even still, there is so much more right around the corner...but first, check out what we've been up to lately!

We had 3 Easter celebrations and egg hunts: our own special one at home and 2 more with our respective families.  Jack loved the sports themed eggs, but he kept calling them balls and would throw them, so we ended up making a game out of tossing them into his egg collecting pail.  Of course since he loves basketball and has already developed a jumpshot, he enjoyed this game very much!  He looked so cute on the Saturday before Easter in his McQ Zoo t-shirt and new Crocs!  We all proudly wore our shirts, together, for the first time.

Later that night, we watched Toy Story for Jack's first time and ate popcorn together.  Then Jack built a tower out of cat food cans while The Easter Bunny was hard at work preparing for Easter Morning in The McQ Zoo.

Jack's favorite part of his Easter Basket was the "num-a-nums."  

I suppose there are worse breakfasts!  

Daddy got an Easter Basket too...

...with "Too Tall" Chocolate Bunny!  Okay, so Jack may have had a little of that for breakfast too...

The hunt was on!  Tug and Della were just as enthusiastic as Jack about looking for the eggs!

Jack, what is that in your coffee pot?  How 'bout your Microwave?  Is that Elmo under your sink?

Why, yes!  It IS Elmo!  Look, Tug, an Elmo Easter egg! 

 The Easter Bunny was vey creative.  Other hiding spots included the rocking chair pocket, the high chair seat cover, the dog food bowls (a personal favorite), the slide mailbox and Jack's Tonka Truck Fold 'n Go sets.

The Easter Bunny hopped by at GRandi and PaPa's.  The other McQuilken's enjoyed a picture with him...

...but Jack preferred to stand at a distance and just wave hello.

He looked so handsome in his Easter outift!

 Jack got lots more Easter goodies, but after the egg hunt he mostly just wanted to play in GRandi's sand!

After all that playing, Jack was hungry!  He chowed down GRandi's ham loaf and ate lots of broccoli, cheese and rice casserole.  He also had a hollow chocolate egg!  It was Eggs-tremely messy!

Then he felt very sleepy and decided to rest his head on his high chair tray!

GRandi took Jack up for a bath and then tried to get him to lay down in her bed and rest, but he was too Egg-cited to sleep with all the commotion going on downstairs.  The girls were playing with colored bubbles and everyone was back and forth between in and outside again.  Cousin Kady also tried to go to bed a few times, but it was just too noisy.  Finally Mommy and Daddy decided to take Jack for a bike ride.  After a few times of screamimg "Wee!" down the hill, Jack couldn't fight it anymore, and he fell asleep in his bike seat, helmet and all.  We took him back inside and sat him with PaPa until it was time to go home.  He snored so loudly in that uncomfy position, but he never woke up...until we got home of course!  After a few days of going to bed late and waking up late, a 2 hour nap had him ready to play, so we had to read stories and lay together in Mommy's bed until he finally fell asleep...

Mommy fell aslep too!  Or else I would have done this post then!

Easter monday we went to the zoo with Ann and Braeden.  Of course the most favorite part of the zoo is the train, and we have a tradition of taking a screaming pic while passing through the dark tunnel.  Here are some great ones!

Braeden sat with us the next ride and got in on the screaming fun!  This is one of my all-time faves!

And of course Ann had to join!  

After all that crazy screaming train excitement, the boys konked out as soon as we got in the car to go home.  It was another zoo-rific day!

This weekend we went camping with our friends Soy and Craig in the Upper Chattahoochee National Forest located just north of Helen.  We stayed at a pay site, and we were lucky to get THE best site there (ironically, #13!).  Turns out, this is also the site we had for Jack's very first camping trip back in October 2009. 

That was THEN...

...and this is NOW!  Look how much Jack has grown in just a year and a half! 

The #13 site is perfect!  It has a large open field for playing, awesome water and creek access, a well pump for drinking water, tent pads, a picnic table, lots of gorgeous foliage, and it is the most tucked away and private of all the sites there, nestled at the end of a little loop off the main campground road.  On Saturday we hiked a trail up to a beautiful waterfall, our first time seeing it, and we played around at the top for a little while before heading back to our campsite for naps and dinner.  The weather was perfect, and Jack was a super duper happy camper!  Camping is in The McQ Zoo blood!

Here is another highlights collage of our first 2011 camping trip!  I am sure it is obvious to all you readers out there that I have a lot of pics to share when I start throwing in collages.  It means there are just too many to choose from, so this lets me post them all at once!

And now I am home, and my boys and dogs are sleeping while the kitty bats (and bites!) at my feet under the computer desk.  The condo is a disaster with all the camping gear needing to be washed and put away.  I have laundry to do and the kitchen to clean, and I need to run some errands.  Tomorrow is Monday Son-Day, but we will not make it to the zoo b/c of ou other chores.  Don't worry though, Jack and mommy will still find something extra special to do together!

Welcome to May everyone!  Have a great week!