Day at the "Zoo"

We just love our little "zoo". I don't know if you can really call it that, it's more like a really great nature walk - with a tiger, a bear, two wolves, and a barn. It does have a great park though, and some nice trails. We go there all the time, and today was 71 degrees! So that's where we headed. Grace and Joey said they wanted to walk, so I just brought a small stroller for Matthew. They did pretty good, and didn't start complaining until the very end. All three of them fell asleep for naps too! We started at the barn, where we fed the chickens, ducks, and peacocks. Grace was trying to coax them over to her. I was really proud, because usually she's to scared of them to think straight, let alone enjoy the experience.

Matthew just sat in his stroller swinging his legs. As long as there was something to see, he was happy.

Joey really likes Jake the horse, but only if he doesn't get too close.

This is the showdown. Joey loved this little pygmy goat. This was the daddy, and the mommy looked like she was going to burst any minute with little baby pygmies.

This is Grace trying to explain to me why the ducks want me to buy them more food.

When we left the barn, we found this little creature. I don't know what it is, but it's not a squirrel, it's not a chipmunk, it's not a prairie dog. All I know is they're splattered all over the road by our house. Joey was trying to claim it for a pet, but it wasn't in the mood. I think he just wanted a snack.

We took turns pushing the stroller. This was Grace's turn. We went really really slow.

Then it was Joey's turn. We went really really fast.

Here we are on the way to the wolf enclosure. This was a favorite today, because the kids have been asking me to tell the story of Peter and the Wolf over and over again. It started out a couple days ago as a lesson in lying, and they just love the story. If somebody is making something up, they say, "Don't be a Peter!" I think the wolves turned out to be not as scary as they were picturing when I told the story. Oh well.

"Bear!"

We had to take a little rest on the rocks. They were just too tempting.

Then off to the park. We stopped at the wobbly toys first. Matthew had that thing rocking! He was just glad to get out of the stroller.

Here's Joey singing a song on the wobbly toy. I'm not sure what kind of creatures they're supposed to be, but he decided it was a snake.

It was a very fun day, but I've gotta go. Grace has no shirt on and she's asking for "basagna". She means business.