Brady's best buddy, Jacob, has terrible cat allergies. We didn't realize how terrible until we attempted a sleepover a few weeks ago. He's now starting weekly allergy shots, but is not allowed in the house to play for several months (possibly up to a year!).
However, with the gorgeous weather we've had, it’s been a blessing that Jacob can’t come in the house! I love that the kids are outside all the time. (And my floors love it too!)
It is the middle of February, but we've finally gotten our first real taste of winter (followed immediately by days in the mid-50s!). It's been a strangely warm winter, but I'm certainly not complaining!
It was too warm for the snow to even stay frozen on our usual sledding hill (the cart path), but our newly graded side yard worked almost as well!
All three boys watching a little TV in the little boys' bed:
Skyping with Brady's class back home:
Today was the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It was another perfect California day and we squeezed every moment out of it, arriving just before opening and staying almost all the way until closing.
Turkey chasing a turkey. (HA!)
Learning about the pygmy falcon. From listening to this keeper, we learned a handy little phrase:
Eyes on the front, made to hunt.
Eyes on the side, made to hide.
Egg heads...
I can jump as far as...
With a running start, Brady could make it almost as far as a rabbit.
As a broad jump, the kids were all somewhere between a grasshopper and a tree frog.
Of course, James showed them all up and made it to the rabbit!
Meet Winston, the 450 pound silverback.
Over to the grasslands:
Okapi. And I thought the giraffe had a long tongue!
Bat eared foxes. (Had to take a picture, since Brady has a stuffed animal bat eared fox!)
Giraffes sticking out their tongues at us...
One of only six white rhinos left in the world. How sad :(
Ankoli cattle. Their horns are 7 feet across! We learned about different horn types. Horns that point inwards indicate animals that will work together to protect their own. Horns that point up will protect themselves. Or, as Peggy put it:
If an animal's horns point inward and the baby Bob gets attacked, those animals will say, "OH NO, Bob is in trouble! He's getting attacked! We'd better go help him!"
If an animal's horns point up and baby Bob gets attacked, they'll say, "Ohh....look at Bob. Poor Bob."
We also learned about the alert circle. Animals rest in a circle with each animal facing in a different direction to look for danger.
Lion, sleeping on the Range Rover:
Our tour guide, Peggy, introducing the hyacinth macaw.
Then, it was back to the grasslands!
Cool! Headed into the lions' house! We learned a lot of new and useful facts about lions. Like the fact that the keepers have to get regular fecal samples from the females, but it's hard to track that sort of thing in a large enclosure. So, to solve that problem, the keepers add different colors of non-toxic glitter to the lions' food. The lady lions leave behind sparkly poop!
Yikes...it doesn't look like Izu has been feeling very friendly!
Out to see baby black rhino, Erik, and his mom:
Feeding the red fronted gazelle. Peggy told us that they allow the animals to choose whether to come get food, and then the keepers track which animals seem most interested. They use their records to determine which animals are most temperamentally suited for petting zoos.
Back on the safari cart, with a great valley view!
Erik's dad, Jambia. All 3500 pounds of him!
