World Bird Sanctuary

This past Monday we had quite an adventure. Aaron had stayed home for the day b/c he had a project for his Master's class that he needed to finish up. He was nearly finished so we decided to call the Alligoods and see if they'd like to have an impromptu field trip to the World Bird Sanctuary, since both Dads were home and we were just finishing up a bird unit in science. That all sounded great until Amber mentioned some weird abdominal pain that she was having that had kept her up the night before. Fearing that I was hearing appendicitis symptoms, I suggested that she call her doctor (which she did). He had the same concerns and sent her to the ER. The good news is that the kids are all doing the same stuff for school right now, so we just had a larger than normal homeschool class. After we were done with most of our school stuff, Aaron and I decided to be adventurous and take all seven of them to the Bird Sanctuary anyway.
-

(All 7 kids crowded around the chicken who later tried to peck Aubrey in the face - completely freaking her out!!)

-

It was a wonderful day for an outdoor field trip. Highs in the 70s, gentle breeze. We looked at a few birds inside, then spent the rest of the time looking at outdoor exhibits. Some of the birds they had were massive . . . it really was shocking to see them in person. It was cute to hear the kids shouting "Look at those sharp talons and his curved beak . . . that's a bird of prey!" They were able to observe some of the bird facts that they've accumulated of the past few weeks and also get out some extra energy.
-

(Then, of course, I can't resist the big group shots. Having a super speed camera is wonderful . . . when you can take 20 shots in 5 seconds, you're bound to get one where everyone is looking at the camera!!)
-
We ended our trip with lunch for 9 at McDonalds - boy were we a sight! The little ones took good naps, the big kids enjoyed a movie together and I went to the gym! Jason and Amber were home just before dinner (No appendix problems - a hemorrhaging cyst on her ovary. Painful, but not urgent.) and the kids were sad that they didn't get to stay the night!