A Super Fantastic Day at the Critter Farm

Oh my goodness did we have a fun day at the farm.  We loaded up about 9:30 so we could be there on time for the piggy feeding.  We thought we were going to see some baby pigs be fed, we had no clue we were going to be able to be the ones to feed them.  Absolutely amazing, these little piggies were so tiny and adorable!

After we got our 1st fill of these little loves we headed over to help bottle feed the baby goats.  They have a large goat herd with babies and then they have this crew who is bottle fed, either because the mamas had too many babies or the babies were not being taken care of.  Either way it was a great experience for the kiddos and I even fed a baby or two.  So much fun and they sure drank the bottles quick.  

Then it was time to move onto the birds; chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and peacocks to be exact.  The birds weren’t as people friendly but they did like to have the chicken feed.  Elin then wanted to go back to the baby piggies and the other kids played in a little park and hay bale area.  There was also a very friendly horse that kept coming over wanting treats, but he wasn’t their horse so we didn’t want to feed it and have it get sick.

Then we went onto the larger animals they had Llamas, Alpachas, donkeys, sheep, pigs, goats, a few cows, horses and ponies that the kids could feed.  Again these animals were all so friendly and it was so much fun to feed them and watch the kiddos get to interact with them.  Once Elin started to eat the animal feed and cried so hard when I took it from her, her Mama finally realized she and the other kiddos were probably hungry and ready for lunch.  It was 12:30 already and in what felt like a blink we had been at the farm for 2.5 hours.  We went and grabbed our picnic lunch in the back of our friends SUV and the kiddos were instantly recharged.  The kids then enjoyed the open farm feel and got a “hike and exercise in.”

After lunch we walked back to the farm and the kiddos got to pet and hold the bunnies and baby chickens.  Thomas was in his element.  He was helping hold the animals and showing his sister and the other kiddos.  Then it was time for the next most amazing thing, as you can tell there were a lot of wonderful experiences on the farm!  We got to go in and feed Kangaroos, a Wallaby, Emus and some pot bellied pigs.  The kangaroos were so chill and docile.  I don’t know how many times we will have the opportunity to pet and feed a kangaroo, but these boys were so soft and lovely.  Very cool experience for all of us.

We were not quite done with the kangaroos, but a preschool/daycare with about 50 kids showed up and we were out of there as fast as we could go.  That is just too many kids with ours in the mix of chaos.  The kids then wanted a second turn with feeding the pigs before we left.  What a wonderful day at the farm, seriously this place is one of a kind and was so so wonderful. 

Perot Museum

The kids and I were joined by Ms. Debbie for a morning at the Perot Museum.  I had heard great things about the museum and was not disappointed.  The kids got to see real dinosaur bones, explore the bird area, the sports lab, the human body lab and the children’s museum before it was time for lunch and heading home.   There was a world of learning in that building and I too got to see and experience things I have never had the chance to yet…like the bones of a woolly mammoth. 

In the sports lab the kids got to throw a ball and shoot a ball in the slow motion lab.  I then was able to put Thomas side by side with Joe Nieuwendyk, I was pretty impressed with how similar my almost 4 year old looked next to the pro!

Thomas Giving for the Animals

We stopped at the pet store for some kitty food. While there Thomas and Elin love seeing the animals for sale and adoption. Today there were 3 cats inside waiting for their forever homes. After we ...said hi and walked away Thomas asked me for his wallet. He ran back and said I'm going to help them. The last few weeks he has been into collecting coins (not dollars) and having his wallet with him at all times. Today he put all his money in for the homeless animals and couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear, as he said "now all the animals will have enough money for homes." His innocence and desire to give and help made us so proud. 

Daddy’s Birthday with Mountain Biking and Trail Running

Mike took the day off from work.  That afternoon he was flying to Colorado for his brother’s bachelor party.  We spent the morning together and Mike’s first birthday wish was a family adventure for Thomas to go “mountain” biking. 

Mike took him to a trail head about 15 minutes from our house that was a good beginner course.  Thomas immediately took off and loved it.  We quickly realized that Mike’s choice of flip flops was not the greatest! 

Anyway he went about 2.5/3 miles and loved every minute of it.  Elin also decided that she couldn’t mountain bike, but she sure could “trail run” and refused to be picked up or helped.  She was a crazy woman and ran over a mile and a half that morning.

At the end of the ride/run and after screaming most of the morning “Daddy wait Elin” Mike finally held onto Elin’s hand and this was the aftermath when he let go.  She was a sad little girl, so Mom and Dad switched.  I got to run along with Thomas and Mike and Elin got some time together.  

After our adventure we headed home to clean up and then went and grabbed a birthday lunch.  The kiddos and myself happily helped Mike celebrate and eat his dessert!  Then it was off to the airport to drop him off.  Boo hoo for us, exciting for him.  Thomas did a pretty good job of giving him the guilt trip and hoping he would “make it without us, for the weekend!” 

Swimming

Both kiddos absolutely love the water.  They are crazy nuts when it comes to swimming and they have both started to swim without water wings.  Elin is a lot more into swimming “by myself” and is not fearful of anything at this moment.  Thomas is a bit more cautious and although he can swim without his wings, he prefers to have them on. 

They also had some fun learning how to “dive.”  It was fun giggles for us all…