a little of this...

15 October 2015

Southwick Zoo - Mendon, MA

I don't like zoos.
I have my reasons. Let's just leave it at that.
So when Hubs asked if I wanted to take the kids to the zoo to work on animal classification I though. "Eh".
I've been told by friends that this zoo is "different".
I've been told that the animals are "beautiful".
I can tell you that I was pleasantly surprised.
The end.

Tortoise: Vertebrate - Reptile

Giraffe: (My Favorite of the Day!) Vertberate - Mammal - Males can reach up to 16' high. Babies are born between 5-6 feet tall after up to 15 months gestation. They can drink an average of 12 gallons of water at one time. The veins in their necks have one way valves to regulate blood flow to the brain and prevent them from getting dizzy when they bend down to drink! Their hearts can weigh up to 25 lbs and are strong enough to pump blood up their long necks.
How cool!

Watusi: Vertebrates - Mammal

Bactrian Camel: Vertebrate - Mammal

Capuchin: Vertebrate - Mammel

Camels have HUGE heads. I never though of a camel as "intimidating" before today.

Cheetah: Vertebrate - Mammel (terrifying without even trying!) This was Bean's favorite.

Chimp: Vertebrate - Mammal (So fun!)

Sloth: Vertebrate - Mammal

Totally blanking on the name but the baby and adult were sweet to watch.

Kangaroo: Vertbrate - Mammal - Marsupial (aka babies finish their growth outside the womb.)

Leopard: Vertebrate - Mammal (Bee-You-Tea-Full colors in person!)

Lion: Vertebrate - Mammal (lazy sack o'....)

Rhinosaurus: Vertebrate - Mammal - HUGE!

We saw plenty of birds and mammals though no fish or amphibians.
Guess we may have to head to the aquarium soon!
All in all we had quite a fun day and I recommend you check it out!

18 August 2014

My Secrets To A Great "Boy Party"

Our oldest, CJ, is turning 6 on Wednesday.

Cuh-raze-eee!

To celebrate, we had a "boy party", per his request.

(You'll note in the pictures that two girls were present. One is CJs sister, Miss Mak, the other is a friend to play with Miss Mak when the boys inevitably ganged up on her.)

When it came to activities for the day CJ only asked that they play Legos and wrestle.

I found the request strange and also figured those two things alone were not enough to keep the crew busy for three hours so I added a few things of my own.

The results were rather low-key but still a lot of fun so I thought I'd pass along some experiential wisdom gathered today...

Step 1: Have plenty of water on hand. If you mix dirt with that water, even better!

Step 2: Be on guard. You may or may not get wet.

Step 3: Water your newly seeded grass during the party. This provides unintended but long lasting entertainment.

Step 4: Bury gummy worms under a mound of whipped cream and send them digging using only their mouths.

Step 5: Expect some confusion about your WANTING the kids to get messy.
"It's okay to get dirty, bud, mom's not here."
"But I don't know how!!"

Step 6: Hope for at least one clear winner.

Step 7: Also anticipate that some weirdos may not enjoy whipped cream or gummy worms and request that they provide the "in-game-entertainment". This guy gladly did so with his "on-demand" burping.

Step 8: (Not pictured) Have your laundry room ready and waiting to do one load during the party.
Step 9: Provide Legos and be delighted when the party-goers give you a chance to clean up as they quietly exercise their little engineering minds.