A Field Trip

A few weeks ago, I took the boys on a little field trip........we have a safari type establishment really close to us, you know one of those that you drive through and the animals are free to roam. My kids paid for this experience and it wasn't cheap.........of course I don't think anything is reasonable any more.......I truly am becoming an old person!!!!

So this stately gentleman was one of the first animals that we saw........
Andrew in all of his 3 year old wisdom called him a reindeer......worked for me. BUT and isn't there always a but involved, all animals became reindeer........ALL OF THEM. I tried to explain that this was a goat

(and technically I don't think it is, but that was the first name that popped into my safari challenged mind).......nope, it was a reindeer........ok, so it worked for him and it could work for me too............now big brother on the other hand, well he must have gotten up on the wrong side of his bed and every other bed in the household too.........I mean he just was a nasty little troll. He didn't like this place, he was bored, Andrew was getting on his nerves, he was bored, this was the worse day of his life. I truly did start to laugh in the beginning.......I did. I mean who at seven years old goes on and on and on like some menopausal old woman?? Then slowly, very very slowly, my laughter turned into a seeping sore, and with each 'I'm bored, this is the worse day of my life" remark, it was like sea water being poured over that seeping sore.........not a good feeling. I am not, nor will I ever be a perfect Nana.......and here is the example to prove it.............I made sure that there we weren't holding up anyone else in the safari line........and I stopped the van, turned around and said " Get out" of course he just looked at me........."Get out Daniel, I have had it.........if you are so bored, and this is the worse day of your life, then please share all of this with someone else. Andrew and I are enjoying ourselves.........and since you can't be polite and keep your thoughts to yourself, get out. Maybe another family will pick you up, maybe someone that works here will drive by and pick you up...........but get out." Now that I think of it, it probably was mean, if you are going to turn me in to an agency, please wait and do it after my vacation and be prepared to turn in 3/4s of the families in the world too.....and if you stop reading my blog because you think I have miserable child-rearing talents, so be it............but it worked, he apologized and has never started this type of rudeness again, at least not with me. It wasn't the best safari type place, I have been to better, but it was fun and the two animals that I liked were.............



He or she was on top of a hill and for some unknown reason, saw us and came running down (and it was hot people....waaaaaaay to hot to be running) at us and it was truly like the cartoons..........of course he or she didn't eat the pellets that we purchased, but there was plenty of corn on the road and that is apparently what they like.......so he or she stuck around and it was cool. Here is a close up of the feathers





I don't think that I have ever seen ostrich feathers this close up......

I don't know for sure, but I think this majestic creature is a llama.........whatever it is, I really did like it.........when we stopped to look at it, in my mind, it stared right back at me............I don't know why I liked this, staring is usually rude, but for this creature, it was cool. Now get prepared to turn me in again, but I wrote down other license plates so that you could turn these families in too...........at some point Andrew could not control himself anymore and before I could say "supercalafradulisticextraledoious", he was unbuckled and grabbing food to throw out the window at the animals...........









Daniel soon joined him and since I was going less than 5 mph, (got a little worried about what this would do to us with overheating an all........) both boys threw out food and had a good time.

At the end of the drive, there is a little petting area..........shoot, they only thing to put hands on were goats and that was ok.....Andrew again was thrilled, Daniel was more worried about stepping in droppings..........to each his own......... This is the only picture I could get of the two of them together...........sigh. Most of the nannies (isn't that what a female goat is called?) were obviously pregnant and I showed Daniel how to put his hands around their huge tummys and try to feel the babies move.........no luck......but he did enjoy that.

All in all it was a mixture of good and bad.......thinking about doing the caves today.......we'll see how the boys do with the idea..............if they don't show interest, then we'll have a jammy day or a sprinkler day.........maybe board games........maybe it will be just a survival day..........tee hee...........man I am having font challenges today, aren't I ..........oh man.............