Ariel turns 5

The saga of a child turning 5 is an exciting process, as it is quite possibly the first birthday that they will actually remember. It is a marking point in the history of their lives, and they all of a sudden seem to have grown up in the eyes of parents. No longer a baby in any way, and capable of following directions, dressing themselves, carrying a conversation, and learning to help with chores, write numbers and words, there is a lot they can already do. Definately ready for school.

This year we celebrated Ariel's birthday in Austria. We let her open her presents right after breakfast, as she was so very anxious for them. She was so excited to get some clothes and The Little Mermaid movie. Then we headed out for the day to the Salzburg Zoo and the Hellbrunn Gardens. It was a lovely drive thru the backroads to get there, and the zoo is built into the mountain and is absolutely lovely.

After a snack and a couple hours in the zoo, we walked the path that connects to the Hellbrunn Gardens. They have a very large, shaded playground across the way and that entertained the kids a bit. After another long walk to the garden grounds and another snack, we finally went in to see the trick water garden. It was cool. The guide was the one who was controlling the hidden spickets, so he could time it just right to get people wet. Ariel loved it, but just as she was in the highlight of the mood, a guy went running backwards thru the pathway, and completely ran her over and she ended up with scraped hands and knees, and a very sad birthday girl. I was not happy about that at all either, but the man apologized a couple of times and got her a juice box.

Back through the zoo we walked to get to the car, and the bears were being playful. They came down the mountain and swam in the mini river, so we got a really close look at them. Nathaniel loved it! The bears were his favorite by far.

Later in the evening we took the kids to Burger King for dinner, with a playplace inside, and air-conditioning. It was nice. After dinner we had an appointment for a pony ride. It was at a place down the street from our hotel and they had a cute little pony.

Ariel rode first, down the street to the riding ring. It sat beneath a mountain, and was gorgeous. She enjoyed it so much that she didn't want to let Nathaniel have a turn. Nathaniel loved it too and didn't think 10 minutes of riding was enough. But, it was Ariel's turn again, and she rode the pony back to the barn. There we were met by a very friendly dog, who happened to have pups. So the kids enjoyed playing with them for a bit before we had to go. And that was Ariel's wonderful 5th birthday.