Field Trip Friday: Old Mine Ranch

For Field Trip Friday, my sister-in-law and I took the kids to a local ranch ... err so they call themselves. I think it is more like a farm, but we'll stick with ranch since that definitely sounds much more intriguing.

We had to drive separately in order to fit everyone and as we pulled in, we saw the ranch and the big grassy field that said PARK HERE. The only problem was there was not one car ... nada, zilch. My sister-in-law and I looked at each other through our car windows and died laughing. Before going, I had referred to the ranch as a hokey ranch in BFE ... and this just seemed to prove my point.

That said, we ended up pretty much having the entire place to ourselves, along with a personal tour guide ... which ended up being really nice. It only cost us $6 per person to get in and that included a free pony ride and hay ride. Plus the kids got a huge bucket of feed for the goats.

So all in all, our visit to the ranch ended up being a good idea.
Mason refused to feed the goats ... I think he thought he was going to lose a finger. Payton, however, agreed to at least throw the feed to them. Look at the way the goats are looking at her in this picture, like Hey Chicky, are you gonna feed us more or what?Ms. Nika stayed back from the goats ...
Isn't this the coolest llama you've ever seen? Actually, I think the picture did him a lot of justice. And check out the catchlights in his eyes! Go me! Haha ... if you know nothing about photography, you probably think I am a nutso right now.Nika got a little ballsy, getting up close and comfortable with the pigs. What you don't see in this picture is the sign hanging above her head that said CAUTION: PIGS BITE. Alas, I didn't notice the sign until after I snapped this picture. And then Nika stood up and slipped, causing her foot to land right in the muddy pig slop. Lovely.There was an 8-day old baby goat. It was so cute and teeny tiny, like the size of a cat.
The hay ride ... Payton wouldn't leave my side, so I didn't get a shot of her ...
The end.

Three Day Recap: A Trip. A House. A Sliver.

Unfortunately, we missed Field Trip Friday this past week. Err, actually, our field trip consisted of a long drive in the car to New York. Note to self: Never, ever leave DC during rush hour on a Friday night. What could have been a 4.5 hour trip turned into a 6.5 hour trip. We discussed with Mason what we saw along the way, but mostly all he cared about was this ...

Are we there yet?

How much longer?

Are we going to be there before dark?

I remember annoying my parents with those questions when I was little. Since when do I have a kid that is old enough to do that? Geesh ... that makes me feel old.

On with the story, right?

We went up to New York ... Binghamton area, not NYC ... for my cousin's graduation party. We stayed in my aunt and uncle's guest house ... no cell phones, no computers and not even any pictures. Gasp! We had a great time hanging out with family and basically doing nothing ... just the way I like it. Ha.

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I actually was born in the Binghamton area and we lived there for a short time after I was born. I have been back there only a handful of times in my life, even though I have family that lives there. This time, I decided that I wanted to see the house we lived in when I was a baby.

I'm historical like that.
So yeah, there is the house. I'm told it hasn't changed in 33 years.

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They are slivers. Or splinters ... I guess it depends on your use of the English language.

Small.pieces.of.wood. In.his.hand. Yeouch.

So I mentioned we stayed in my aunt and uncle's guest house over the weekend. The house was built in 1800 and something ... so it is real old. The walls were built with wide slats of wood and these days, they are very rustic.

Rustic as in not smooth wood.

Not smooth wood as in you will get a sliver if you touch it.

Mason was trying to take off his swimsuit and lost his balance. Naturally, he put his hand out to catch himself, although he fell when he was doing it. And ran his hand down that very rustic, sliver yielding wood. And screaming ensued. And tears. And yeouches.

My poor baby.

Since his hand was wet from just spending an hour or so in the pool, I think his skin soaked the slivers right up. I got out the tweezers and a needle and went to work. While he screamed and winced. He seriously had about 50 slivers in his hand. After removing about 20, we had to take a break. His hand was completely red and raw. Many of the slivers were really deep, requiring the needle ... and that pretty much put Mason over the edge.
So this is a picture of his hand about 36 hours after it happened ... there are still a good 20 slivers in there. Mason keeps telling me his hand feels better, but I know better than that. Tomorrow I am going to try to remove more after he plays in the pool for awhile.

I'm hoping for success. Hoping. Praying.

Field Trip Friday: Clemyjontri Park

This summer, the kids and I are having Field Trip Friday every week. My initial plan was to go somewhere educational and have Mason document the things he learned, but I guess that won't happen every week ... maybe every other week? Ha.

Today we went to Clemyjontri Park. The history behind the park is that the land was donated to the county by an elderly woman, with the contingency that the park be built to accommodate children with all abilities. It received a lot of press when it was built, for that reason alone ... and the story hit home with me, for obvious reasons.

Here is some of what the park has to offer ...

This park is a place where children who use wheelchairs, walkers or braces, or who have sensory or developmental disabilities, can have a parallel playground experience of fun and exploration. At CLEMYJONTRI....

• Ramps connect structures
• Swings have high backs, arm rests and special safety features
• Rubber surfacing allows wheelchairs to roll easily
• Lowered monkey bars provide easy access
• Equipment is designed to be sensory rich so all children can participate with peers
• Wider openings allows easy access to play structures

Pretty cool, eh? The park itself is huge. There is also a carousel for the kids to ride on, as well as picnic space.

Today some friends of ours joined us for Field Trip Friday ... the kids had so much fun!

Payton being the monkey that she is ...

Nika exploring her territory ... she was loving it!

Mr. Cool Dude Mason ... the 2.2 seconds he stayed still ...

Our little friend, Jillian ...And her big brother, Alex ... Mason's partner in crime ...

How did I not get a picture of Hannah, Alex and Jillian's sister? Oops!