Reptile Show

Did you know that I am terrified of snakes? I think that they are beautiful creatures, when they are on TV or behind glass. This past week we had a Reptile Expo come to town. I did what any good mom would do...had a mild panic attack at the entrance and went in. The most amazing thing happened. I actually fell in love with some of the creatures. I loved the lizards, bearded dragons and turtles. I especially fell in love with a fire beaded dragon. It had the most beautiful red coloring. By the end of the 2 days I had been convinced that I need to get a snake for the house. One vendor actually had me holding a snake at the end of second day. My kids were so proud of me. Now we have a wish list of pets...snakes, spiders, and bearded dragons.

Alligators, Goats & Snakes

It was a beautiful day out. I did not want to be stuck inside. We went for a walk around one of our outdoor malls. While there the children noticed that there was a creature had parked itself by out car. It was a 4ft alligator getting some sun. After that we decided to go a local farm. I wanted to check out their produce market. On the way to the farm we saw a "U Pick Grape" sign. Dh pulled a U turn and we ended up picking some grapes, $5 for a small basket. We were done in 5 minutes. LOL. We are going to try and make jelly out of some of them. Dh wanted to do this as an experiment. If they turn out well they will be Christmas gifts.

Once we got to the farm we went into the market and saw a ton of tomatoes. If I had the space or the materials to process them I would of bought them. There must of been ten pounds of big tomatoes for $6 and a bushel of baby romas for $13. Unfortunately, I do not have the space. After we picked up some goodies we went for a walk around the farm. We had fun walking around looking at the animals. I thought that I took a picture of a goat trying to eat from the feed machine. It was rather funny he just climbed the fence and was putting his tongue inside trying to get treats. We also met "Pooper". His real name was Humphrey, but my kids renamed him. He followed us around everywhere. The first time that he came up to us he came right up to me and put his head in my pocket. I jumped the first time. The kids thought that it was the funniest thing that they had ever seen. I would move away and sure enough he would follow me. It was rather cute. We also saw about 6 of the world's cutest piglets. They were precious. Squirrel went running to try and see them & was surprised when they took off. She thought that they were very fast. They were also very clever. I had a lot of fun watching them run around. They would approach us and then take off.

We also had an amazing opportunity to observe a turkey hen defending her nest. The nest was in a stall and a hen(chicken) and her chicks entered it. The mama turkey did not like this at all. When the chicken would get close to the turkey nest the hen would defend the nest. The kids watched for a little bit and thought that it was neat.

The funniest thing happened about 10 minutes later. Dragon wondered where the peacocks had gone to. We found then and started walking to their pens when all of the sudden Dragon let out the biggest scream that I have ever heard in my entire life. He went running with tears running down his face. I was wondering what was going on and then I noticed the 3 or 4ft grass snake that was coming fast. I scream and jump back then just start laughing my a$$ off. I found it extremely funny. I was trying to comfort him while not splitting a gut. Tracker and Squirrel came running and to see what happened. I am seriously surprised that a farm employee did not come out to make sure that everyone was ok. However, Dragon and I both started to laugh when we saw that Pooper had come hurrying to make sure we were ok. He went right to my hip. He stayed there until we started to move again, and of course he followed us.

It was a great day. We had some laughs, thrills and some more laughs. The entire way home the kids just kept saying that it was the best day.

Cypress Gardens

We went to Cypress Gardens last week. I wanted to experience it before recommending it to my homeschool group. Well, it was worth the trip. We went on a boat ride and saw turtles, alligators, frogs, and birds. Did I mention seeing a few alligators? I was not thrilled with the idea of getting into a canoe with alligators in the water. I am very glad that my family talked me into it. I took some amazing pictures.

After the boat ride we went into the butterfly house. Squirrel was in 7th heaven. She loves butterflies. The kids loved putting their hands against the beehive. They thought that the vibrations were amazing. We were able to see the larva in the hive. It was really neat. The other neat things that we were able to see was a monarch pupa and some butterflies emerging from their cocoons.

Riverbanks Zoo 2

Here are some more of the animals that we saw while at the zoo.

We also stopped by Riverbanks Farm where the kids found a friendly bunny that they wanted to take home.

Tracker & Squirrel tried their hands at milking a cow.

This goat just wanted to be everyone's friend.

You can see more of our trip here:
Riverbanks Zoo 1
Riverbanks Zoo 3-Snakes
Riverbanks Zoo 4-Penguins

Riverbanks Zoo 3 - Snakes

Before you read any further let me post a disclaimer. There will be some pictures that will be a little graphic. It is a picture of a snake eating. If you think that you or your child will get upset by this please skip the end of this post.


One of the boys' favorite places to visit at the zoo is the reptile house. They love looking at the snakes & lizards.

*****End here if you have a queasy stomach******

One of the neatest things that we saw was a constrictor eating a bird. It was gory, and creepy, but really neat. Here are the pictures that I previously warned you about.

You can see more of our trip:
Riverbanks Zoo 1
Riverbanks Zoo 2-Farm
Riverbanks Zoo4-Penguins

A Day Away

Last week we all really needed a day away. We decided to take a day trip to Charleston, SC. We went to the South Carolina Aquarium. It is one of our favorite places to visit. While we were there we were able to see them move in the new penguin exhibit. It was really neat. We got to see the staff use math to figure out the best angle to get the exhibit in. We talked with the staff who were just as fascinated by the move. Here are some, ok a lot of, pictures from our visit.

Year of the Ox

We spent yesterday morning celebrating the Chinese New Year. A local museum had an amazing day. We watched a lion & dragon dance. It was very interesting. The kids were captivated by the dragon. I have never seen anything like it. I really enjoyed it.

The kids created plum blossom trees and masks. We all had our names written in Chinese. We are going to get these framed and hang them in my living room. I cannot wait to see how it turns out. We all participated in a noodle tasting where we had to use chopsticks. This wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

The Zoo

We decided that we needed a day away from everything, so we went to the zoo. We love our membership to Riverbanks Zoo. It is a nice day trip. Here are some of the pictures from our trip.

We were treated to an acrobatic show starring the howler monkeys.



Unfortunately, we learned that one of our favorite animals had passed away. Montgomery("Monty") the Hippopotamus, was one of the original animals that the zoo had. He was just 2 months shy of 36yrs old.

An Afternoon on the Farm

We have the most amazing farm near us. It has a gorgeous nursery, a farm full of animals and an absolutely amazing produce store. We found out just how fresh their produce was. The asparagus that we bought was picked fresh just hours before we got there. You can't beat that! After we walked around the farm and looked at all the animals we went and picked our own strawberries. YUMMY!! We picked a total of 17lbs. On the way home we discussed why it was important to support our local farmers.

A Trip to the Zoo

I think that I finally figured out how to do this. This is a recent field trip to the zoo.

Habitat Hike

Last week, we went to the state park for a habitat walk. We were able to see 3 different habitats. We saw the ocean, forest, & pond.

This is suppose to be a pond, but with the drought it doesn't look like one.

We used this opportunity to talk about droughts. We discussed the effects on the animals that live in the habitat. Princess was upset that all the ducks had to find a new home. She is very sensitive to animals.

We also tried to guess how old tree stumps were. Dragon made it a game to try and guess how old all trees are.
The kids saw this tree root ball and said that it would make a great den for animals. They determined that it would be great for skunks, foxes or rabbits. They weren't sure if a deer could fit in it or not. The kids practice their map skills.

We ended our hike at the beach.
It was too windy for us to walk on the beach. We decided that we would go back in a month and see what has changed. On the way to the beach we stopped at the swash and we found 4 blue crabs and some minnows. Can you see the crab in the picture below?

Brookgreen Gardens

Every year we go to Brookgreen Gardens for their Night of a Thousand Candles.

We always have a great time. Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture park. It is just amazing. Here are some of their sculptures. These are the ones that the kids picked out.