End of Summer Vacation- Mammoth Cave + Louisville

 Nate & I planned a last minute end of summer vacation trip with the boys. I told Nate I just wanted to go somewhere that we could be outside enjoying the weather & being active. So we planned a trip to Cave City, KY and Louisville. 

I found a beautiful historic farmhouse on AirBnb that was really fun to stay at. The people who own it make the experience so fun. They have a horse (Stanley) that you could feed carrots to. She'd drop off the carrots on a chair right by our front door so whenever we came out, the boys were so excited to see what kind of treats she left us. Sometimes it was carrots for Stanley, or fish food for the fish in the pond, and other times it was toy horses for the kids, or packs of smores goodies-- the owners even made us a fire one night so we could have smores and not even have to do the work! 

We were planning on doing a tour in Mammoth Cave, but since we planned so late notice, all tours were booked. They were booked over a month out! 

silly boys :)

So we did lots of hiking and exploring in the national park instead. It ended up being so much fun. With Kendry now 3, it's easier to do things like that without having to worry about a carrier, stroller, etc. 

We also did all kinds of other things around Cave City like...

horseback riding! My kids LOVED this. They still talk about it! 

The kids went ziplining which was another highlight for them too. I was happy that all 3 boys were able to do the zipline since it was a kids zipline! 

On our way out of Cave City. we visited Dinosaur World for our dino-loving boy, Jacoby! It was a quick 1-2 hour thing but they enjoyed it! They were showing me their dinosaur roars!

 The next couple of days were spent in Louisville. We went to the Louisville zoo and it was one of the best zoos I've ever been to! It's HUGE and with just about every single animal you can imagine! I love zoos but the boys REALLY enjoyed it because they all got to see their favorite animals. Kendry loves gorillas, Maddox loves cheetahs, and Jacoby wanted to see a polar bear SO BAD...and they had them all!

This sweet orangutan looked so sad, but he was so sweet and got up close & personal!

They had 2 rescued bald eagles and they were so beautiful!

the slushies were a highlight of the zoo too :) 

camel rides ;) 

and I caught this sweet moment of the boys sleeping. They all rotated sharing the beds but these two were so cute snuggle up!

We spent more time in Louisville eating great food, visiting the Louisville Slugger museum, and just spending time together as a family. We had so much fun. It might become a tradition to do an end of summer family vacation. It was the perfect way to cap off summer! These are the days...and I'm doing my best to soak it in! 

xox,

Naomi