field trip fun

The kids both went on fun field trips recently, and I was lucky enough to get to go along! Despite the fact that I sprained my foot the week before (the day after getting back from New York) and walking was pretty painful, I was glad I got to be there and wouldn't have missed it.

Two weeks ago, Hannah's kindergarten class went to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. Several parents went as well, to help chaperone. One drawback from living in a small town: you often have to travel to go fun places.

It took almost three hours to get there, the school buses having to drive slower on the interstate and stopping at the rest stop for all the kids to go to the bathroom. {To put this into perspective, it took just over two hours for Hannah and I to get home. School rules state that the kids have to ride the school bus to the destination, but can ride home with their parents.}

But once we were there, it was all fun for this little Monkey and her classmates.

I was responsible for Hannah and Janay. They are BFFs and had a ball together, posing and asking me to take pictures of them on all the little animal statues.

We checked out all the animals. The reptile exhibit was "kinda yuck and scary...there were beetles and big snakes and...how did they catch all of them?...The flamingos were cool, too, but I thought they stinked."

The huge tortoises and baboons were among the favorites, but the best were the giraffes. Hannah got to feed one! {They like lettuce, just like she does!}

Joseph loves giraffes, so we took a video for him. While I was recording, one giraffe took off on a sprint across the exhibit. Never seen that before and it was quite entertaining! We watched it over and over again.

Little brother went on his own out-of-town field trip with his pre-K class the following Monday. His was to Sunny Day Farms in Louisville, GA. That is the best field trip either of the kids have ever been on. Hannah loved going last year when she was in pre-K. I enjoy it about as much as they do!

The fun started with feeding the goats. New this year was the "Goatel" where the goats love to play and climb. 

And the coolest part was the little tin-can contraption where you could fill the can with food and use a crank to send the can up the conveyer belt. As soon as the goats hear the food going up they make their way across the "Golden Goat Bridge" to eat. And they can eat, eat, eat, those goats.

We checked out the chickens and saw where the hens lay their eggs... 

There is a "Corn Pit" where all kinds of products made from corn (corn starch, corn syrup, etc.) are buried. The kids get to dig and try to find things. Joseph was so funny and had a ball in there. 

Then we climbed on a trailer hooked to the back of a tractor and rode up to the big corn maze. Our tour guide walked us through the maze, reading a little story along the way from little signs posted along the route. Joseph kept trying to pick the leftover corn off the stalks the whole time. That kid loves any kind of corn!

We hit the playground, had lunch at the picnic tables, and then went to the huge jumping pillow, trampoline thing. This place is seriously so fun. I have a picture of Hannah on this yellow tire, too:

Joseph's favorite part? "Playing in the corn!...and riding the tractor to the corn maze!!...and I wanted to eat that corn 'cause I was so hungry!!...and riding on the bus!!!" He also loved running onto that big jumping pillow yelling "cannonball!" every time. He had a great time, can you tell?

What a fun day! The weather was amazing and not near as cold as last year. I know I will be not included in many field trips as the kids get older, so I'm taking full advantage now!