Milton Keynes Sausage and Cider Festival

A couple of weeks ago we joined our friends at the Milton Keynes Sausage and Cider Festival.  We were really lucky that it was just up the road at our local rugby club and so an easy walk.  Unfortunately, we were a little unprepared wearing shorts and tshirts when we should have been wearing hoodies as it got a bit chilly, but luckily it did not rain.

They had a huge selection of sausages (my favorite was the stilton and grape) and ciders (my favorite was the strawberry).  I drank a bit too much cider, 2 pitchers!  Woo!

The music was pretty good, but the entertainment provided by our kids was fabulous.  A person in our party told our kids that the cider place would pay £1 for returning the good plastic cups that they handed out on premium drinks.  My kids got to work scouring the fields for discarded cups.  Let's just say, I love that my kids were working so hard to make their own money, and they made quite a bit, at least £20, if not more.  They spent most of it on tat and sweets at the donut stand, but they did save some of it.  After awhile, unfortunately, the cider people stopped paying them for the cups, which we thought was a bit unfair, since they would still give it to others...but oh well.  They had a blast, and so did we watching them run up to us with empty cider glasses excited that they made another £1.

 

July 20, 2013

Joseph's Safari Adventure

During the summer Woburn Safari Park hosted a week long day camp for kids 8-12, effectively letting them be a zookeeper from 9-3 each day for a week.  We agreed that if he saved up his chore money to equal half the tuition, then we would throw in the other half.  As the time drew closer, it was clear that he wouldn't be able to reach that much money, but we went ahead and advanced him the money with the understanding that he still had to work off the rest of the money that he owed.  To say he was grateful and excited would be a gross understatement.

Joe took his camera along with all the other items that he needed for the week and had tons of photos.  It was amazing listening to his stories from the day.  Some of his highlights:

-He got to ride in the park Humvee and get close, really close to the animals.  (it's one of those parks that you can drive through but you have to stay on the path, he got to go offroad).
-His hand was bitten by a giraffe.  Apparently, the only person EVER to be bitten at Woburn.

-He held several different snakes.
-He cleaned up a lot of pooh.
-He had a lemur jump on his head.
-He got to feed marmosets with the food he made for them, and provided them an enrichment activity.
-He got to feed a wallaby, the albino actually, which is apparently difficult to do as he is very skidish.
-He held a giant snail.

I'm so, so happy that we were able to provide this for Joe.  He was so in his element, loving be close to the animals and learning more and more things about them.  It went a long way to supporting his ambition to become a veterinarian.  I am very proud of him.

 

The infamous giraffe that bit Joe.

August 20-24th, 2012

The Dublin Zoo

Jon and I have been talking a lot about how we need to incorporate the kids more into our travels.  That's not to say that we don't take them.  But, I think while we are touring and driving and discovering so many amazing things about Europe we need to do a better job of including them in the history or information of what we are experiencing.  True, we've done this, and most of the time, they could care less.  But we believe it's very important that they understand and remember these times that we are experiencing right now.

Ireland was a big part of this process.  And so, the first full day of Ireland we decided we would do something really fun for the kids.  We went to the Dublin zoo and had an amazing time.  Jon had a 'moment' with one of the chimpanzees as he looked at him through the glass in a weird, kind of knowing way.  I joked with him that he was wondering how Jon got out.  Joci followed Joe trying to jump a mud puddle and landed, unfortunately, face first into said mud hole with her arms tucked inside her jacket.  She was quite literally covered head to toe in mud.  I was never so happy that I brought some wipes in my purse that day.

This sweet tiger was pacing back and forth right in front of a huge glass window for us.

This big guy was amazing.  He was begging for pieces of our apple, but didn't put forth a lot of effort to do it.  He just sat there and held out his hand.

An African Sulcata tortoise just like what our tortoise at home will look like when he is older.

Joe had so much fun snapping pictures of all the animals.

Who is that adorable little penguin in the back there?

The California Sea Lions were hilarious.  They swam around and would play king of the platforms with each other.  We decided that they must have been siblings as much as they fought and played at the same time.

Joci's favorite animal in the zoo is the Flamingo.  We had to circle back just so we could get a picture of her in front of them.  Side note...here you can see some remnants of the mud puddle that Jocelyn fell into.

I'm not sure how this little red panda found such comfort being perched up on top of this pole, but he looks cozy to me.

Love this picture of the kids.

Sonoran Desert Museum

Before we left for England, the kids and I lived with my parents for about two weeks. During that time, my parents took the kids down to the Sonoran Desert Museum down around the Tucson area. They had so much fun. I'm glad that they went without me, being able to spend time alone with the kids.