School at the Arboretum - Part !

On Tuesday this week, the kiddos and I went to the Arboretum. It was the greatest blast. When I tell you we stayed ALL DAY...we stayed ALL DAY. The kiddos were having such a wonderful time and I was enjoying the surrounding beauty, we virtually stayed until they closed.

A dear friend of mine offered me some free tickets and I said YES! The planner in me didn't want to reck my week by taking the day off but I'm so glad I did. Days like these only come around once in awhile and you have to seize the day! I even got adventerous and added one more little one to my brood (my sweet nephew) and we all headed out to for a fun-filled day.

All of us getting ready to go on the wagon ride!

When we arrived, we headed straight for the face painting. I was anxious to get some good "pumpkin patch" picks of my little ones with the good old 35mm before their faces were altered and I got 'em!

Then came the paint! The boys were all AMAZED at their transformations! In fact, we had to wait "awhile" until we could coax my oldest that it was time to wash it off! (the next evening)

My sweet nephew!

What would I do without my oldest daughter?

I really think that my son thought he had transformed into a tiger!

Then we were off to the petting zoo. They boys got to waltz right in and be up, close, and personal with a few. I kept my youngest strapped in the stroller and let him pet from a short distance :)

Since I entitled this blog, School at the Arboretum, let me share what we learned about today. My young ones learned about animals. They got to look like them, pet them, brush them. They learned more about tigers, goats, horses, and such. We talked about the sounds that animals make and what they eat. We reinforced the concept of gentle touch and taking care of God's creation. Because there were a limited number of brushes available for the children to use, the kiddos got to practice sharing and the quality of putting others first. Selfishness starts early so I'm glad for the opportunity to encourage the trait of UNSELFISHNESS with these little guys early.

My oldest got a lesson in photographing children. The tricks of catching them in their "moments" and getting them to sit still and focus on the camera! CHEESE! She plans on entering the photography competition next year in the Texas State Fair so she is always looking for opportunities to sharpen her skill :)

I'll write more about our field trip tomorrow...