An Adventure!

Last week was an extremely busy and somewhat stressful week, and thankfully I can say on this side of it that we made it through just fine! Wednesday I had my first doctor's appointment for the baby, and it came in the nick of time as I had been vomiting non-stop that morning. They gave me some medication to take for nausea but said if I couldn't keep it down, I'd have to call so they could admit me into triage for IV fluids and medicine that way. All week I've been sick, but the medicine helps keep everything stay down. I don't feel great, but I'm not dying. That night, I made it through worship practice (praise God!) and the following morning was Joshua's preschool trip to Cherry Crest Adventure Farms. I wasn't sure if I could make it, but I knew I had to. His entire class was going, I had already paid for it, and I needed to not only get him there but have a supervising adult stay to be with him. Shawn has to work, of course, and thankfully Grandma agreed to watch Caleb, so I took some Saltines and Ginger Ale and headed to the farm with my Bean.

When we got there, it was COLD! I had Joshua in layers including a t-shirt, a hooded sweatshirt and a warmer coat. Even with the hood up and all those layers, he  told me that he was chilly and wanted to be held. But, as the day went on, the sun came up and eventually he shed the outer jacket and got too hot. Gotta love fall weather! There were other classes from Calvary there that morning as well, and we were grouped by sports team names. Our group was... the REDSKINS! Daddy's favorite team, how ironic! We waited for instructions at the entrance to the park, and the kids played on the little train there.

Then we were allowed to go in. The first stop was the petting zoo. The only time I was ever at this place, I just went through the corn maize with my good friend Suz. I never knew all these other kid activities existed! Unfortunately, I didn't realize that quarters were needed, and one of Joshua's friends moms gave us one to feed the animals. But, thankfully I had some ones in my pocket and later found a change machine so that Joshua could feed other animals. Some of the moms were familiar with the set-up, and some were just like me or didn't have any money on them. The first thing Joshua wanted to do was crank some food up to the goats who were at the top of this pulley-thing.  He could have stayed there all day if  I would have let him, and there got to be quite the line-up as every child thought this steering wheel thing looked cool. He's working the contraption above, and below are the goats getting the feed. I was impressed that the goats weren't walking around us like some petting zoos. At Lake Tobias, they ate our shoes, coats, pants, strollers, etc. So, it was great that they were in different areas, but still accessible!

Finally, I was able to persuade Joshua to feed some other animals. These pigs licked our hands - YUCK! Joshua thought it was great. They smelled so bad, I all but lost my breakfast near their pen.

We fed some more goats and saw the llamas, too.

 Then we found the area where the children could hold little chicks. Joshua was in awe of this tiny, soft creature!

He also took a shot at milking the fake cow! And afterward he signed the wall that was there to color on (with washable markers).

He then told me he had to go potty, so we went to these glorified outhouses. Again, I was so nauseous I wasn't sure I was going to make it, but I did! We washed our hands really well afterward, and when we came back it was time for snack. Mrs. Dearborn had baked cookies and brought little packs of pretzels and juice for the kids. Joshua shared a pretzel with me, sweet boy! When the snack time was over, we headed toward the wagon ride, which the 'Redskins' needed to catch by 10:25. Since there was time to spare, some of the kids started going through the little hay maze, but Joshua decided he didn't want to be a part after he saw some of the climbing the other kids had to do to make it through. He turned around and came back.

It wasn't long before it was time to get on the wagon ride. I grabbed this picture off their website since I didn't take one of my own. They gave us a short tour of the farm and lots of education about it. That said, with all the little kids and parents talking, I heard very little of the actual presentation. But, I think the Bean enjoyed the little ride.

Since the entire class was together, we lined them up for a picture. I think most of the faces are visible in this shot.

And I loved this one of Joshua. He started smiling long before all the other kids were lined up completely, so I had to take a few of him. Oh, such sweetness! I love our oldest son. :) :) :) He was having fun with his friends, even though he had begged me that morning to let him stay home and play with Caleb instead.

Our next stop was a bouncey-thingy. I have no idea what it's called, but I would liken it to a bounce house. One of my favorite things that Cherry Crest Adventure Farms does is they set up two of these, and they have height restrictions for both. If you're under a certain height, you go to one and if you're over a certain height, you go to the other. I think it's genius! There were no large, rough kids in with these little guys; and there were no little kids falling in front of big ones, etc. The kids had a blast. They took off their shoes, ran through the sand, climbed up on and jumped away! At first, Joshua struggled to get on as everyone was bouncing, but I was impressed that Mrs. Wolfe showed him how and encouraged him to give it a try. He beamed and went right up.

And he could have stayed there the rest of the day. We did spend a majority of the rest of our time with him jumping there. Soon the coat came right off!

Almost all the other kids had gotten off the jump area to go explore some more, and Joshua was one of maybe a handful left. I convinced him we should check out the other areas before it was time to go. Our group was done at 12 noon, but I wasn't sure I would last that long. I felt good about making it through that far with how queezy I was. Joshua agreed, and we put his shoes back on. As we walked out, he saw these horse things and climbed aboard.
Next, he followed his friend Mia into this hay tunnel maze area. I wasn't so sure because he typically doesn't like to climb and crawl, etc. And it was far too small for me to go in after him. But, I thought to myself "he's a boy... I have to let him be a kid, etc." Well, it turned out to be the worst part of the day. After 5-10 minutes, his friend Mia came out. But, no Joshua. Other kids went in and came out. But no Bean. I was trying not to panic. I was talking to Mia's mom, who is also claustrophobic. I didn't hear Joshua, but I wondered if the hay would muffle the sound. Was he upset? Or was he having trouble breathing? My mind started to wander, but I didn't want to seem ridiculous in front of our friends. After another long while had passed, Mia's mom told her to go in and tell Josh to come out. I was so thankful! But, Mia went in and said Joshua didn't want to come out. At least at that point, I knew he was having fun. Still, I was ready for him to be done in there. I didn't understand how other kids were getting around him in this maze tunnel thing. I didn't want to have to go in. Finally, I saw him come around the corner and go to start again, and I was able to get his attention and tell him to come out NOW! He didn't want to, I could tell, but he came out. He told me he was going back in. I said no, we'd had enough for the day. He was upset because this must have been extraordinary fun - but I was finally able to convince him that we were going down the slides next. This picture was on the website of the tunnel, but it must have been from the kids perspective once you're inside.

Thankfully, these slides were an option. They were quite the climb up the hill, but reminded us of the slides at Dutch Wonderland. He eventually forgot about the maze and got interested in the slide. He carried his potato sack up and we waited in line to go down. It was fun - we were able to go down together. It was soon time to go, so we held hands and walked out together, thankfully ending on a good note. He said he had had fun and was glad I had come along with him. I ran into one of my sister's friends on the way out, who was just visiting with her kids. We came home and found Caleb and Mamaw playing. Mom had bought us stuff to make for dinner, some juice and snacks, and had cleaned up a little since I hadn't been feeling well. It was nice.

That was our adventure that morning! That evening was my evaluation at MU. While I always do fine, it still makes you nervous to be evaluated by another professor, particularly with how I was feeling. I haven't been back to see the report, but the evening went well. God always takes care of us! I was so thankful to be home that evening and that the day was done. But, I have to remember to try and enjoy every moment, no matter how I'm feeling. :) My kids are too precious to take for granted even one second.