The Adventures of the Faterkowski Family: May 2010

Monday, May 31, 2010

A Little Bit of Sunshine

My sweet sunshine after her nap sporting her new pony tail that now works in her hair and she allows us to put it in....well, with a few complaints of "ouch"!

Jason took off work on Thursday and we took the kids to the Bayou Wildlife Park in Alvin. It took us about 50-55 minutes to get there but it was so worth it. As most of you know my kids LOVE animals, especially Emerson, so they loved every minute of it. They first went into the petting zoo and took a close up look at the giraffes as they were just a few feet away from us. We didn't get to stay long as we wanted to hurry up and get on the tram for the safari drive and not have to wait for the next one. It was so neat as we got a really close up view of all kinds of wildlife and got to feed them as well as all the neat information the guide gave us along the way. Most animals came running right up to the tram for some food except all the deer and zebra who would only eat off the ground. Luckily we got a seat in the back of the jeep so most animals came to us first and we were sitting next to the edge. Of course we lost 2 buckets of food to the Water Buffalo and Giant Eland....they were very strong! Landon preferred to throw the food on the ground and kind of hang back while Emerson wanted to hold the buckets all by herself and pet all the animals and get right in their faces. Landon as usual was not a fan of the emus and ostriches after our experience last May at the wildlife place in New Braunfels/San Antonio where he got pecked by one. I have to admit they are very creepy and freak me out....I held my face way back while they ate out of the bucket! An usual creation...God must of had a sense of humor! :) After the cool safari drive we were going to head back to the barn, petting zoo, and pony rides, but we had a flat tire, again, so instead Jason changed it while I took the kids up to the barn to have a snack and drink in the shade as it was HOT. We had some company as the "local" reindeer like to scope out the barn/picnic area after all the kids leave and eat the crumbs. They wanted to see what we had and even dug in my purse and Emerson's backpack. So funny! The kids thought it was so cool and enjoyed petting them after their snack. We loved the park and will definitely return again in the future but in cooler weather. After we left the park we went to eat at Whataburger and headed home with some exhausted and sweaty kids. Emerson slept great in the car and when we got home while Landon went with Jason to spend an unexpected $575 on new tires. Oh, did I mention that Jason had to change the tire on an incline with Al the 800 lb. Alligator a few feet away from his rear end while laying on the ground???!!! Yes, he was behind fences, but still an unsettling thought! :)

Come on in! This goat wanted some company.

This giraffe was just a few feet away from us just behind a cattle gate.

Mama goat and her kids. Landon and Emerson thought it was hilarious when the kids were calling their mom...so cute sounding!

Getting ready to go! The kids were so anxious.

Feeding an Emu. An Emu has 3 toes where an Ostrich has 2 toes....now I know the difference!

A 3 lb. Ostrich egg. Did you know that it can withstand the weight of a 250 lb. man standing on it and the yolk equals the yolk of about 23 chicken eggs???

The Giant Eland that took our bucket

A Llama that Landon really liked

The Water Buffalo that took our other bucket...a very strong and messy eater

This was hilarious to watch as the ostrich would chase the Beefalo around the field non-stop. The poor Beefalo never got a break!

Yes, it's a Beefalo...part Cow and part Buffalo

The mean Ostrich. Such a funny creature to watch running!

The kids really liked this sweet and gentle Camel

Emerson didn't have a problem petting him and getting right in his face. She even tried to kiss him....gross!

Precious baby zebra who was a little skiddish

Emerson wasn't feeling good towards the end as she had a low grade fever again I think from her 2 year molars. And, she was hot!

Playing with our new friend

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Hot Day at the Oil Ranch

Last Saturday we all went to the Oil Ranch for the Exxon Mobil picnic (where Jason's mom retired from in October) and had such a great time. There really weren't that many people there either since the place is so spread out and there are so many things to do. We didn't even have time to do everything as we were tired and hot by 2:30 as we got there at 10am. The kids loved looking at the variety of animals and petting them (or in Emerson's case chasing and herding them...that child is nuts about animals!), riding on the hay ride and feeding the horses, riding on the train, fishing, playing on the many playgrounds/swings, and just plain running around freely. Emerson loved milking the cow and did so a few times just barging her way right in and "grabbing" on with no fear. Landon, not so much! Emerson also rode a pony...she was very unsure and cried at first but once the pony started moving and Nana walked with her holding her finger she was perfectly content and seemed like a natural. Once again, Landon wanted nothing to do with actually getting on the pony. Emerson is definitely our wild have no fear child! We also enjoyed a delicious bbq lunch, snow cones, popcorn, and sugary drinks galore as well as party favor bags for the kids. After lunch and some more exploring we let the kids go into the pool as it was SO hot....we literally used half a bottle of sunscreen that day! Landon was surprisingly the only one interested in getting into the pool even though he just enjoyed running around in the 2 foot section. It was such a fun day and the kids were exhausted and in bed at 6:45pm that night for bed. We will definitely be going back again, but in the cooler Fall weather.

I took so many pictures that day. Here are some of the highlights:

Emerson milking the cow

Checking out all the animals with Nana in the barn. There were lots of rabbits, goats, sheep, pigs, piglets, chickens, chicks, geese, baby geese, roosters, a huge turkey, cows, and more.