We stopped at a rest stop for lunch on the way home from our Ohio and Kentucky.  Turns out, some Tennessee rest stops include their own adventures.

And beautiful views.

This was a wonderful trip for our family full of lots of learning and some pretty unforgettable adventures!

The Ark Encounter is not anything that I can really post and share a few family pictures and expect you to really experience it.  It is a true personal experience that you really can grasp the enormity of unless you are actually there.  Ya’ll, there are just no words to describe how amazing it is.

I’ll do my best to share some highlights from our trip to the Ark.  We got there before just before it opened and our achy feet and tired kiddos were ready to head home by around 4.  But, in the time, we managed to see and read as much as we could.

The woodwork and craftsmanship was just astounding.  I believe over 200 Amish craftsman had a part in this and their amazing art and talent definitely shown through.

This was a great infographic that laid out the plausible way the ark could have held “all” the animals and 8 people.  I can’t imagine the amount of research that went in to this.

Taking a quick break on a wooden beam!

The door to the ark.  Just one example of how Christ is the only door to Heaven.

After exploring all day, ya gotta take a break.   Ya’ll Bryant just went and sprawled out like this.

There is a small petting zoo on sight and the highlight for our whole family were the goats.  They were so sweet and we all enjoyed petting them all.

This girl was a trooper through the whole trip and by the end of it, I realized I could turn the back seat of our double stroller around and she could easily climb in and out.  This saved my back from a thousand pick up and put downs and she loved talking to mommy when she wasn’t knocked out cold.

This was our third trip to the Creation Museum and it was just as good.  T The last time we were there, we had a miscommunication with Ace and he missed out on ziplining.  We made sure to get him in to this trip.  He had a blast. The petting zoo…of course, was a big hit. Emmie loved the duck which they all named Cucumber.  She would squeal each time he gave her a little nibble on her hand.   And there were chickens!  She really wanted to give them hugs but they weren’t having any of it. Ceili Rain and Emmie each choose a fox for their souvenirs!

Quick picture before we head to our next great adventure…the Ark.

After  looking at the cost of hotel rooms in and around Cincinnati for our larger than normal family, we decided to look in to renting a house.  We went through Deborah’s Guesthouses.  It was an absolute score!  The price was much less than two hotel rooms.  We were five minutes from the Creation Museum and the little area we were in was nice, quiet and near a park!

I’ve mentioned before how we decided for Christmas this past year to give the kids an experience rather than a bunch of gifts…because ya’ll, our house is covered in stuff.

Well, the experience included a trip to a home school convention in Cincinnati to hear and hopefully meet our favorite author and singer, Andrew Peterson, a trip to the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.  We made our trek in April.

About a month before the trip, we had a family movie night and stumbled upon a cute little movie on Pureflix called Little Ponderosa Zoo.  We soon learned that the Little Ponderosa Zoo wasn’t just a movie but an actual place and it happened to be “pretty close” to our route to Cincinnati.  Since I needed to get out every two hours, we decided to include this little zoo in our trip.

Ya’ll, it was the best decision.  A perfect break during a long road trip and an opportunity to see some pretty neat animals up close and personal…and feed them! It’s a wildlife sanctuary and most of the exotic animals were “pets” before the owners realized they were actually real wild animals.

If you are ever in the middle of Nowhere Tennessee and want to get out of the car and rest for a couple of hours.  Little Ponderoas Zoo is THE place to go!

Rabbits!  Ready and willing to be loved on.

We walked out of the barn and Emmie saw all the goats.  She ran up to them and began proclaiming, “I wuv you!  And I wuv you!  And I wuv you!”  She was in heaven.

Liam and Silas were super excited to feed the ponies.

We fed kangaroos too!

My super excited treat was seeing a little rescued monkey as everyone was leaving.  He was very curious about all of us and played peek-a-boo with me, running away from me and then eventually getting a little closer as I continued to talk to him.  And then, oh my, then he looked at me and gave the biggest grin.  I flipped out.  And no one was there to witness it or get it on camera!    Most of the monkeys are generally from abusive or neglected situations.  This one, was just absolutely adorable!