Alternatives to stubborness!

Monday was my first day back in the saddle.  Suprisingly, I met the morning without any dread.  I asked hubby for last week off from normal duties.  Often times I do that and then push through and do stuff anyways.  Last week, that wasn't happening God and my body pretty much made me rest.  I didn't get much done other than what was on the calendar appointment wise.  There are big decisions coming, but first the discussing needs to happen and the prayer.  For now, I just put one foot in front of the other...after my prayer filled shower.  I don't know why it is, but my prayer closet is the shower.  The only time these days I pretty much can't be disturbed.  Alone in the warm shower, I am able to be quiet and seek the Lord about my day, my thoughts are sorted and I have direction.  And Lord Help Us, if my shower gets delayed!  Today, was one of those days, but it worked.  It worked for the best because I had a chance to meet the disagreeables and argumentatives first and I knew what the battle was before me for the day...and because I wasn't going to argue, I assigned a chore or two and headed to the shower before I became grumpy. 

The battle:  Whether learning how to make a map was important?  Whether maps were important at all?  Why should I have to do it again, when I already did it and I did the best I could the first time?
AIY!  Somewhere in there I heard a voice speak about technology and SIRI and GPS and I honestly don't know if it was the sarcastic inner me talking or it was one of the kids.   But AIY!   First I addressed redoing the assignment issue....We do our best and sometimes we learn our error and retry because we know our best is now not the best we can do, because we can easily redo and fix our mistake.  In otherwords practice and practice may not make perfect, but it makes better and leading to our best.  SO NOT THE ANSWER someone wanted! 

And to the shower I go.... and since the morning was almost gone, I exit the shower with a plan and instructions for all children to be ready to go in 10 minutes.  Yep, I am so able to pull that off these days. 

My plan: The children will navigate me to Big Sis's job where we will drop her off.  Then they will navigate me to McDonald's and then to the Zoo.  Fun Girl freaks!  Convinced we will be late.  And the extra 15 minutes of drive time I have allotted will not be enough.  Silly girl.  The did great and we arrived with minutes to spare. 

THE MAN begged for a turn, and so it was granted.  He had to direct me to the nearest McDonald's.  He is 7.  Not one sibling had an ounce of faith that he could do it.  But I had listened to him in the car and he was amazing.  He has an awesome sense of direction.  To everyone's delight we arrived in good time and there was food to quiet the natives.  Not the best of food, but food nonetheless...I was doing this on zero prep time, but on totally on God's clock!

The next task...navigate me to the zoo!  THE MAN jumps on this one and quickly starts telling me which way to turn.  None of the others dared to try.  He was awesome, directing me the whole way with affirmation from Hockey Player! 

At the Zoo:  Child 4 picks an animal to visit..Child 5 navigates the way using the map.  Then Child 3 picks an animal and Child 4 navigates the way but including a bathroom stop along the way.  Child 2 and 3 the next and so forth.  We had to modify the plan along the way as I started to fatigue near the end.  The point, to learn to read a map and appreciate a legend and compass rose.

 

Success!
As the momma was getting droopy she saw the lying lions and wanted to join them.

 

Shortly after getting home and trying to work on seat work
these cubs were down for the count!

and this one found a sunny spot.

 



Campout with the Gorillas!

We have an awesome Kidz Ministry at our church.

I adore how they reach out to the 5th and 6th graders.

Knowing they are capable of much.

Not as big as Middle and High School-ers

But definitely not as little as the younger set.

So what do they do?

They have their own weekly Bible Study through the summer

They do service projects.

Like yard work for home bound members

Gardening for the church

Helping with VBS

It is not all work and serious study.

They have fun. 

Mighty Goofy Fun that can only be had at this age.

We have some awesome leaders.

This time it was a campout at the zoo.

Camping in the Gorilla exhibit.

Not in the enclosure with the animals.

But in the viewing area.

Listening to the animals throughout the night

and the first morning stirrings and rumblings.

Puts a whole new light on waking up at home with brothers and sister.

 

Entering the ZOo!

Happy and Caffeinated

 

The next morning, the smile is there just not as big and bright.

 

William, the whale.

A bigger smile, just a few less sparkles in the eye

She had a great time.

The next day, she had lots to say,

after a good night's rest.

 

Painting by Bebe the Rhino

If you remember my post about Fun Girl winning a trip to meet Bebe the Rhino.

This is the super fun painting Bebe did with her lips.

We chose colors the day we visited and they did their best to make it work.

Super Fun!

 

Human passports, Bebe the Rhino, Sweet Sixteens

Back in the Spring...clear back in May

Dad's Bud was learning about Endangered Species for Cub Scouts.

Then I heard there was an Endangered Species event at the zoo.

So off we went. 

Since, I wing things. 

I don't always ask questions,

just kinda jump in with both feet...

we start exploring.

There's a table! 

Let's go check it out.

People have papers getting stamped...

We don't have a paper.

I don't really want to walk ALL the back to the front of the zoo.

I ask the person at the table about alternatives.

She offers to stamp the kids. :)

 

Yeah !

Next stop the Rhinos.

There Fun Girl who is trying to enjoy herself, signs up in a drawing.

We do the activities. 

I ask a few more questions.

Collect all the stamps and get a button with Bebe's picture

 

Kids are excited  

AND then we race to find the other exhibits cause the zoo closes in an hour.

 

THE Man becomes our passport.

Each exhibit station for Endangered Species, he gets stamped!

 

 

 

All is good till I want to get a picture of our Living Passport!

 

 

That's better

 

 

 

 

and some more!

 

 

 

 

In exchange for getting all our stamps we get a button with a picture of Bebe the Rhino

 

 

Then we go home.

Driving and the phone rings... but we don't answer in time.

It is the zoo.

An hour later, another call from the zoo.

Apparently, Fun Girl's name was drawn in the drawing.

She won a trip to the zoo to meet the Rhino.

She and 3 others.

Then they asked how many were in her family.

7

(Who would she pick? is running through her mind)

But before that was an issue, they graciously extended the offer to the whole family.

Not only that, but she also won a painting to be done by the Rhino.

When could we do this?

Hmmm, were they available on say Monday morning?

(This was late Saturday)

Cause what would be cooler than Fun Girl getting to feed and meet a Rhino on her 16th birthday!?!

Not every girl gets to do this.

 

So Daddy O makes some arrangements to be off work and

 

 

two golf carts met us at the entrance!!

 

 

 

Meet the Rhino we do !

 

 

Happy Birthday Fun Girl

(I happen to think this is quite the FUN event for a Fun Girl)

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I did feed the Rhino

But this was me taking the picture...

I am up and close...

but I have the camera...

so there is no pictures of me...

We didn't think of it, till later.

Oops!

 

 

I don't play possum !!

I catch frogs.  I catch toads.  I catch snakes.  I will even hold a boa constrictor.  I dissect creatures for science classes.  I put worms on fish hooks.  I take fish off of fish hooks.  I don't do possum. 
I "caught" a possum eating Gus' dog food last night. 
Scared it off.  Except it went under the house.  **sigh**
Now we know why Gus keeps having the HUGE barking fits.  Why he runs like a crazed animal we don't recognize.  He runs in circles from one of the yard to the other, back and forth, back and forth for what seems like forever.  Barking and freaking out. 
So I started making calls this morning.  Animal control won't do anything.  Told us to talk to Animal Services.  They don't do anything.  They told us to call  the Department of Wildlife.  They don't do anything. 
Somewhere along the line someone thought it was helpful to tell me we probably had a nest under my house. 
A NEST ! * ** * * *  A NEST !  * * * **
And noone can be of help.  They offer suggestions on how to trap them.  Tell you how to release them. 
And then they all feel the need to tell me the good news...they don't carry rabies.
And then they tell me, they have ugly smiles and yucky mouths.  Their mouths are incredibly dirty and full of bacteria.  BUT they don't bite unless provoked.  They are possums.  Don't bite unless provoked.  I kinda forget some of the other things they said it was rare for possums to do... Cause all I can think is I have 3 boys.  Setting a trap to catch a possum would be cool.  As for bites and how rare that is, I am having flash backs to a collison with a bowl of ice cream and the need for stitches....and the many other strange and rare events my family has had the joy of experiencing.  Somewhere along the line, something was said about kids and traps and not a good idea and I start hyperventilating..
Big O Daddy O looks at me.  I am hyperventilating.  Pretty much freaking out.  My kids jaws are on the floor.  I don't do possum.  Giant, filthy, bacteria infested, foaming from the mouth, overgrown, wiry, hairy, ugly RATS!  I break down sobbing, big sobbing.  Big O Daddy O just looks at me.  I sobbed, I don't know why I can't do this, I just can't.  I do all the other things, just not possum.  PLEASE, GET THEM OUT OF HERE! ! ! !  It doesn't help not knowing if there is a "nest".  I am certainly not getting down on the ground to look under my house.  This is not the kind of zoo I live in/with.  This could take days, weeks....  Can I go somewhere else, please????

Tigers and sickness!

Couple of weeks ago the two boys and I were feeling a little puny. We didn't go to church cause we didn't want to share any puny~ness that we might have. We did however head on over to the zoo to see the tigers. Dear D, missed going the day before, as did I, cause we were at the doctor office for an ear infection. He did not feel good at all. But 24 hours of antibiotics and he was ready to take on the tigers!