This is the conversation that randomly happened in the car as K and I were going to pick-up D from his school
K: Mom, do you know what super power I would like to have?
Mom: No. Which power would you like?
K: I'd like the power to control minds. And I'd never use it for good. I'd only use it for evil. I've always wanted to be evil.
Umm...that's interesting.
No really, we had sun today.
Today the boys and I had a lot of fun getting out of the house and playing around. Since K is on Mid-Winter Break (whatever the heck that is) and D's school was closed for a teacher work-day, I took the day off from work. We had planned to go to Northwest Trek or the Zoo, but due to certain economic difficulties I decided that we would do some fun things closer to home.
After much discussion about a park hopping day and after eating some lunch (and the boys not getting dressed) we ended up leaving the house around 1p headed to somewhere I promised the boys they would enjoy but which I wouldn't tell them. That drives K nuts so I don't do it to him often but I asked him to trust me and he took it fairly well.
Our final destination was the Mukilteo Ferry and Beach. We walked on the ferry (remember this was a cheap playday) which I had never done before. K was a little scared at first and as we were walking up the big steep stairs kept asking me to get him off, turn around, he didn't want to be there, etc. I once again asked him to trust me that I wouldn't take him anywhere that he wouldn't like and he finally consented to continue up the stairway. Once he relaxed he had a good time although he still wasn't too thrilled about going out to the front of the boat.
D was his normal fearless self and was ready to explore anywhere and everywhere. He had a great time no matter where we were.
As we were walking down after the first ride K noticed they had a cafeteria so on the return trip grabbing a snack from the cafeteria ended up being their big treat, (note, if you are trying to save money don't buy food on the ferry) cookies and chocolate milk for the boys.
After the ferry we played at the beach, throwing rocks into the water, playing on the playground then throwing more rocks into the water. The only bad moment came when K stood in front of and slightly to the right of D. Come to find out, standing four inches away from a three year-old throwing a rock is a good way to get a rock to the side of your head. Who knew.
Finally as the day started to get cold and D was about to fall asleep while he played, we headed home. We got some sunshine, some fresh air, played around and enjoyed the day...sometimes being the Mommy is good.
Tonight we attended a program at K's school by The Reptile Man. We were late, of course, because for some reason while my kids understand the individual words once I string them all together into the phrase "Make sure you are ready, we are leaving in 10 minutes" it is like I'm speaking Swahili or something. The words lose all chance of comprehension.
Because we were late there wasn't any room to sit so I sent K up and around to the front of the audience to sit with the kids while D and I stayed in the back. I held D up (for the most part) so that he could see the animals as they were being discussed. He got upset because he couldn't go up and touch all the animals. I got hot and bothered because I'm trying to wrangle the little one, keep him quiet so the people around us can hear, take pictures, and discuss the animals with D. By the time the program was over and we could walk around for a close-up look at some of the animals I was 'moist' and starting an asthma attack. I also don't remember yelling at all but my voice is hoarse and my throat is really sore now.
The program itself was fun and interesting. The guy presenting the animals really knew how to hold the kids' attention. He'd done an assembly at school that afternoon with some of the same animals and the kids were still as fascinated with those animals as they were with the new ones. One really cute point was when he was about to bring out the Black Mamba he talked about how they are an aggressive snake, how they flash their mouth and how they are extremely quick. He went on to say that once he opens the container he has to move really fast to make sure that the snake didn't just jump out. The kids are all sitting on the floor in a semi-circle around the stage area and they are all just fascinated, leaning forward, etc. He opens the container, rustles around a bit and all of a sudden these two black shapes come springing out of the container. The kids all shriek and then everyone starts laughing as they realize it is black cloth over some sort of spring that he released from a can. I love the sound of children's laughter.
Even knowing what all of these snakes look like, their habitat, etc (I know, I watch too many documentaries) I was still surprised by the size of some of these snakes in person. The Water Moccasin he had was probably bigger around than my forearm. The Black Mamba was so much longer in person that I was expecting. It is on thing to know they grow from 7 to 14 feet long and another to see this long length of thin snake in person. The Gabon Viper was another one that I was shocked at how big this things' head was! Seriously, I knew it had 2" fangs, but its head was probably wider than my hand. (As you can see, Mom enjoyed the science part of the program)
D held true to his nature. He is definitely my child in that he loves animals. He wanted to see them all and got very upset because he couldn't touch the Gila Monster, Gabon Viper, the Black Mamba, the King Cobra, etc. After the program there was the opportunity to have your picture taken with the Crocodile (about 3 or 4 feet long) or the Red Blood Python (I think that was the snake, it was hard to hear with someone making high pitched noises in my ear) but the lines were huge and I just couldn't see standing there with the wiggling little one. The boys were disappointed but we did get to pet a few of the other animals.
The boys really liked the Spur Thigh Tortoise and they both thought the Albino Boa was cool. D also enjoyed the Rock Iguana but K wasn't so sure. I think he misheard and thought that the tail would cut him just by him touching it. The presenter had talked about how the Iguana uses it as a weapon against predators. D didn't have any such problems and wanted to sit and pet him all night. He really liked touching the large cheek area (it was a male). I lifted him up a little so that he could reach further and he thought the sandpaper texture of the skin and the spines on the back were cool to feel.
Both of the boys petted the tortoise three or four times. D wanted to hug it but I told him that wasn't a good idea.
I had to touch the Boa first before K would touch him (D was already right up there making a spot for himself), but once K touched the snake he thought it was pretty neat. He even went up to the snake's face at one point and let the tongue flick out and touch him. It was so cute. The boa was really soft and smooth feeling. Almost silky.
This Boa was one of the big ones. It took at least 7 kids to hold it. D was upset, what else, because he was shorter than the others holding it and couldn't rest it on his arms. He finally settled for just putting both hands on it. He also get a few boa 'kisses' before we left.
Despite the less than auspicious beginning I'm glad that we went. I love exposing the boys to things that they don't see in their everyday life, not to mention fostering their love and understanding of animals. The boys were both very happy and excited to talk about the animals when we got home. Both of them are so cute.
