Field Trip

Today, Ava and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and met up with some friends at one of our favorite spots... The Natural Science Center. The outdoor area/animal zoo is just big enough for the kids to run around and exhaust their energy supply, but not so big that the little ones must rely on being pushed around in a stroller.

First up today, a close encounter with a wallaby.

Ava always enjoys brushing the goats and the sheep. Of the dozen brushes available for the kids to use, only one of them has a handle. You better believe that my daughter waits around until said handled brush is available to use.

Finny-Finnster wasn't in to brushing the animals, but he sure enjoyed running around in a petting zoo filled with animals. His mom enjoyed him running around a completely fenced in area. Finn could run, but he could not run away.... Apparently he's pretty good at that. :)

Ava has a love/hate relationship with Tom Turkey, seen below. She loves him as long as he is 25 or more feet away. She hates him if he starts walking toward her, puffs up his feathers, or drags his wings across the cement. Can you blame her?

Love these kiddos. Even though they were not thrilled to have their picture taken.

This is one of Ava's favorite animals at the NSC, the otter. (Look in between Ava and the post to her left).

While Ava and her friends took in all of the sights and sounds, the littlest one of the bunch did one of the things she does best.... sleep.

Ava walked down nature trails.

Saw a sunbathing tiger.

A very odd looking ant eater.

And some wolves.

Ava and her gal pal Izzy spent some time in the wolf lookout while jibber jabbering about life as a 2 year old.

To wrap up our field trip, we went into the animal house at the NSC. The animal house has everything from rabbits and owls, to snakes and black widow spiders. Occasionally, one of the NSC volunteers will take out one of the animals for kids to look at and touch (obviously not the venomous critters). On previous trips to the NSC Ava has had the opportunity to touch a rabbit, guinea pig and ferret. Has she actually touched any of those furry animals though? No. What about the squirmy, scaly snake that was pulled out today? Absolutely.

Farewell for now Science Center! We'll be back soon!