A Field Trip...

Recently Joshua asked me, "Can we do a field trip or something?"  Well, yes, of course we can do that or something.  Here's the thing...where do you take kids who have been to places like Kruger National Park and Chimp Eden for field trips?  Those are hard to top.  I went back to my childhood field trip days and decided, for this first one, we would visit the Heard Museum.  We browsed the snakes inside.  Eight year old boys think those are cool, thirty something mamas on the other hand...

After the snakes, we headed outdoors to the animals.  We even saw a mongoose, only it was in a cage instead of roaming free on the African prairie. And then there was King Julian with a baby (at least that was the kid's name for this lemur pair). 

After the animals, we decided to hike one of the nature trails, my favorite part of the whole day, with a picnic lunch halfway through the trail.

There's something so rewarding, so satisfying being out among nature.  If you go too fast, it's so easy to miss the little things around you, the creativity and beauty that presents itself in unexpected ways.  Joshua spotted a spider so I began shooting away.  Joshua finally said, "Mommy, it's just a spider."  Yes, it was but the kid has an insane picture takin' mama!

Towards the end of our walk, I was struck by the quietness in the woods.  So peaceful, so cool even in the midst of a hot day.  I was reminded of the book we just finished, Little House In The Big Woods.  We were talking about the book and what it must have been like for Laura and Mary living in the woods when, wouldn't you know, we happened upon a little log house!  The kids were fascinated, a perfect ending to our nature walk! 

We had such a fun day, and the kids loved the museum.  Whew!  I love these moments when you can act silly together, have fun, and share moments.  It always seem to bring you just a little bit closer.