A Much-Needed Family Fun Time!

     This weekend we were able to get away for a little trip as a family.  It was First-Born's 8th birthday last weekend.  One thing we have found that works for us is to take the kids on a trip somewhere for their birthday instead of buying them another "thing."  (Because, believe me, we have enough toys to stock a store for a week!)  They tend to remember it longer as well.  This works especially well for First-Born, because he is a "see-and-learn" kind of kid, rather than a "play-with-a-toy" kind.

     So, we decided to take a family member up on their invitation to visit and spend the night, and then head to a wildlife preserve and natural science museum the next day.  First-Born is our budding naturalist, and really enjoys learning about God's creatures and creation!

     After a fun visit with family, and a yummy breakfast of French Toast, we set off on our adventure.  We went to the wildlife preserve first, to beat the heat of the day.  This preserve mainly focused on birds, and we were able to see several different kinds of birds, plus...an eagle's nest!  This was VERY exciting to the boys, as they love eagles, and have never seen a nest that big before!  Here is a picture of it from the car...

     We also went for a hike on one of the nature trails that was a part of the preserve.  We always enjoy hiking together, but Daddy said it will obviously be a little while before he can take the noisy boys hunting with him!  :) 

     After the hike, we let First-Born pick where he wanted to go eat lunch.  Thankfully for our budget, he picked Arbys, which has a great dollar menu!  (When you have a growing family, you judge restaurants based solely on the caliber of their dollar menu.  Our favorite pick is Wendys!)  So, after a good lunch, we headed to our next destination.


     Cooks Pest Control Museum was the next stop.  I know, I thought is was odd for a pest control company to have a museum as well.  But we had heard good things about it, and it was FREE, so off we went.  It turned out to be a really neat place!  They had a lot of interesting exhibits of local AL wildlife, plus a good collection of rocks and minerals.  The boys thought it was really great, and spent a lot of time looking at each thing.  One of their favorites was the stuffed alligator that was right on their level.  They just HAD to get a picture doing this...

And this...

And don't forget this!

     Then we hopped in the car to head home, with a trip to Dairy Queen for ice cream cones.  Mommy was even brave and let the boys eat their cones in the car!  There were no messes though, much to my relief!  All in all, it was a really great family day...the only problem is, when you have one fun time like that, you always want another one!  Hmmm, when's our next day off from school...? :)