A Day At The Farm

Today I took A and N to Green Meadows Petting Farm. Green Meadows is a petting farm located in Kissimmee, Florida. We had been invited by a friend of N's who was going with a large group. As it turned out, a few of A's friends were there as well due to various school and preschool connections. But I digress. Since there were more than twenty people in our group, we qualified for the group rate of $10 per person for ages 3-adult. The regular admission price is $21 or $19 for Florida residents. Little red wagons were available to rent for $3. A was excited when she spotted the wagons and I rented one to pull her around in.

Once our entire group had gathered, a tour guide took us on a 2 1/2 hour tour of the farm. We learned about a variety of animals, including turkeys, chickens. ponies, cows, sheep, goats, llamas, and pigs. After a brief lesson on each animal, we were able to enter the pens and pet the various farm animals. In the case of the chickens, ducks, and geese, we were allowed to pick them up. The geese and the ducks were quite hilarious as the kids dashed around trying to catch them after the tour guide showed the proper method. We were not permitted to enter the pens of the larger animals such as the llamas, cows, and bison. However, we could pet them through the fence. At the pony enclosure, each child got to ride a pony. We got to feed the sheep and goats as well as pet them. One friendly goat put his front hooves on N's back and started nibbling at his t-shirt. Everyone also had the chance to milk a cow. N and A both enjoyed the animal tour immensely and both managed to pick up and hold chickens, duck, and geese. I was impressed that outside each animal pen there were hand sanitizer stations and the tour guide never missed reminding everyone to wash up.

In addition to the animals, the tour included a train ride around the farm, where we got to see some animals grazing in the fields. The tour concluded with a tractor drawn hayride. Each guest received a souvenir cup and a free child's admission ticket for a future visit. For fall visitors the cup is replaced with a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.

The farm also has several small playgrounds and large covered picnic pavilions. The grounds and animal enclosures are shaded by numerous large oak trees, so even the Florida heat was not to overwhelming. When it is time for lunch, you can borrow a wheelbarrow to retrieve your cooler from your car. The tour guide gives a break in the middle of the tour for you to enjoy your lunch or just relax a bit. Birthday party packages are available as well. There is a small souvenir stand and the items ranged in price from $1.00 -$5.00.

Green Meadows is a great outing for families with kids of all ages. A and N have already asked if we can go back. I'm thinking a trip in the fall when the pumpkin patch is available is in order.

Sky Diving

This week, A and N attended Vacation Bible school. This was A's first year and she was a bit apprehensive at the start of the week. What if she didn't like the kids? What if she got scared? And so on and so on. I did my best to soothe her fears, then dropped her off with a wave and a smile. Luckily, she loved VBS and we had no issues. In fact, by the second day she was instructing me on how to drop her off and "Just go mom!" One of the activities this week was tie dyeing t-shirts. A loved this particular activity and had the tie dyed legs to prove it. Her grandpa asked her what she had done at bible school and she told him she had sky dived. Huh? Surely the people at VBS weren't insane enough to have three year olds jumping out of airplanes. He repeated the question and got this response, "You know papa, I sky dived my shirt."