Today, Brianna's Pre-K class went on a field trip to an exotic petting zoo, Rainbow Ranch. It's about an hour away from our home, in Nashville, IL. Brianna was REALLY excited about going on a field trip at school! It's been since November 2009 since their last one. The school had to wait to receive more grant money from the State of IL before scheduling any more. Since Jack had been laid off from work the past few weeks, he was excited about it too. He wanted to go with us. He's never been able to go on any of Brianna's field trips. We decided since the three of us were going, then why not take Jacob? I thought he would enjoy seeing all the different animals. Besides, Jack would be there to help me out. Now, I SHOULD know better. Things NEVER go the way I plan...NEVER. The ONLY time things went EXACTLY the way I had hoped was on Jack and my wedding day. That was over 12 years ago. I must say, I don't have a great track record, but who does? I'm getting used this. Jack got a phone call this morning about 10 minutes to 6:00 am from the union hall. They had a job for him! YAY! This was bitter sweet. Don't get me wrong, I'm super happy that he's going back to work AND where he's working. He'll have the potential to be working for the next 2 years! BUT unfortunately, this meant no field trip for him. He was really bummed out about this. I was too. That meant I had to deal with Jacob AND Brianna by myself on an outting. I'm sure most of you are thinking, "What's the big deal? I've done it/I do it all the time." WELL...Jacob is a TWO man job all by himself. You'd have to babysit him for a whole day to understand what I'm talking about. That is IF you could make it all day. I'm sure he's not the worst little boy on the face of this earth, but he's VERY busy. Anyway, I took him and we were fine. He kept me on my toes the whole time! I lived through it and I survived. I need to have a T-Shirt made that says, "I. SURVIVED. JACOB." PHEW!! I took TONS of pictures to post on here. A lot of you were interested to know what Rainbow Ranch was all about. Well, come along and I'll show you...
We had to wait for all the children to show up at school before we could load the bus. Jacob had a blast playing with all the other kids and "new" toys in their classroom! We were scheduled to leave about 9:30 a.m.
All the little girls loved playing with Jacob! I over heard some of them saying, "Aww...he's so cute!" OMG...he's ALREADY a chick magnet!
Brianna getting ready to go on her field trip. The school has each child wear a red T-shirt with their school name on it. That way if they get lost from their group, it's easier to spot them and they won't blend in.
While sitting in the car, waiting for the kids to get on the bus, I saw this cute little piggy in the fence. I later asked Brianna if her class did this. She said they did. How cute! Since I had Jacob, I had to drive. I reluctantly let Brianna ride the school bus by herself. She was more excited about getting to ride by herself! I figured there were a lot of her teachers and other parents on there to help, so she'd be okay.
Brianna's school bus was in front of us. I STILL can't believe I let my baby girl ride all by herself! I know...I'm just a LITTLE over protective. I can't help it with all she's been through. (sniff, sniff)
This little goober was sitting in my back seat singing the WHOLE time. I might add that it's NEVER a good idea to be taking pictures of your child (in the back seat) as you're driving down the road. That's why half his body and the top of his head is chopped off in this picture! This is definately not a skill I want to perfect! I don't recommend doing this by any means, people. :D
WE'RE HERE!!!
Rainbow Ranch
Where all the animals were
This little girl is such a darling! This is one of Brianna's little friends, Candria. She is such a sweetheart. Jacob kept knocking on the door so she looked out to see who it was. She was smiling at him in this picture. It was adorable! She was so nice to Jacob! She even lead him around by the hand to show him some of the animals. Brianna, Jacob and I were waiting in line to use the restroom. Most all the children had to go after that LOOONG bus ride! The bus driver got lost so it took us longer than expected.
HI MOMMY!!
This purdy little gal's name was Angie. Seriously.
The kids got to feed the goats and baby lambs. Brianna and Jacob were kinda freaked out by the goats so I took pictures of other kids. This is one of Brianna's friends, Mykala. I don't remember what this little baby lamb's name was. They ALL had people names. This baby lamb was only 2 weeks old. Isn't he cute? Jacob liked the baby lambs!
Brianna finally worked up enough nerve to pet a goat. She must get her fear from her momma. I'm petrified of goats. They scare the heebie geebies outta me! I had a terrifying experience when I was 6 years old. Don't ask...I don't wanna relive it...lol.
This isn't so bad. Goats are okay...
Some of the goats and other farm animals
She was looking out for her little brother. He was interested in grabbing one of the little goat's tail. NOT a good idea, buddy!
This was Big Al and his macaw. I forgot what the bird's name was. Big Al is the owner of the ranch. He was trying to get his macaw to say "Hello". The bird didn't feel like talkin' too much today.
Big Al would hold up his cell phone to try to get the bird to talk. He finally said "Hello".
Then he turned his back and wouldn't talk anymore. He sure is pretty though!
Next up were the bunnies. They were sooo soft and furry!
Look at this guy, isn't he cute? When Jack saw these pictures, he said they were just the right size for eating. Shame on him! BAAAD Jack!
These were little baby chicks. I didn't get to hear or see too much about them because I was too busy chasing Jacob around the yard.
Here, Big Al was letting the kids feel a deer antler
He had Fallow Deer there. They're from England. They're all different colors.
Look at THAT BIG daddy in the center! WOW. Those are some BIG ol' antlers!
He was explaining to the kids the difference between the antlers. I thought if you'd seen one antler, you'd seen 'em all. Who knew? He said these were the kind that reindeer wear...lol. He also said that animals with antlers shed them every year. Animals (like goats) who have horns, don't shed them. He said unless they break one off. Then they'll grow back. He said that horns eventually stop growing. Does that mean that Jacob's horns will EVENTUALLY stop growing too? Oh, sorry. Wrong kind of horns, I guess!
LOOK AT THIS MONSTER! WOW. I'd like to see the deer this one came off of!
We passed these guys on the way to the next exibit. I thought they were interesting.
Then we visited with this gal for a bit...Harriet the ostrich
She's a big ol' gal!
There were emus in with the ostriches too. They never came up to the fence. They weren't near as big as the ostriches.
This goat kept following Brianna around. She was getting tired of petting it. She thought the goats stunk. She asked me what all the little "black balls" were on the ground. I told her that was poop. Well, that must have grossed her out. She then asked me, "Mommy, why do these animals poop on the ground?" I told her that's where they're supposed to go. She said, "That's gross! These stupid animals should learn to poop on the toilet. I did!" THEN she wanted me to carry her because she didn't want to get poop all over her shoes! I told her I couldn't because I had to carry Jacob. She was really freaked out about all the poop on the ground! I guess princesses aren't supposed to be walking around in poop!
We also saw Zebras
And donkeys. I thought this particular one was really pretty.
Here is momma potbellied pig with her little babies
Big Al "borrowed" one to let the kids pet it.
The kids really enjoyed petting the baby piggy. Brianna and Jacob did too! Ella (the blonde haired girl) was asking Big Al a question about this little piggy. I couldn't hear everything she said.
In the next area, we saw Llamas. Brianna pointed them out right away!
Jacob LOVED the donkies! Especially this one. I think it liked him too.
I thought he was trying to give it a kiss!
He kept saying, "Aww!" and pointing to this donkey as if to say, "I LOVE HIM!" Jacob cried when we had to leave to go to another area. He made a friend! How sweet.
After we left the donkey area, we went into another barn to visit with 1 week old calves. Their momma wasn't too happy about this. In here was where Brianna lost it. She couldn't take the smell for one. She also couldn't handle all the poop on the floor. She said it was making her sick. She froze up one time and refused to move. I told her to come on cause she was gonna be left behind. She said, "Mommy! I can't move because I keep steppin' in all this poop on the floor!" She was NOT havin' any of that! Jacob, on the other hand, kept trying to pick up the "little black balls" off the ground. **Hey mom, does this remind you of anyone in particular?? LOL. Too long and too gross of a story to tell. My mom knows ALL about this!
Big Al was teaching the baby calves how to bottle feed. He said this would make them used to human contact and would make them sweet. They sure were cute!
There were even swan and geese there!
Next up were the horses. This one was a very big guy! He was 17 hands tall. I'm sure all you horse people know what that means. I'm not into horses that much. I had a bad experience with one, the same day I had one with a goat. It was traumatic, people. I was 6. Pretty much any bad experience is traumatic at that age! I've NEVER forgotten about it to this day. I'm traumatized for life! LOL.
Jacob really liked the horses too! He wanted this one to come back so he could pet it some more. I didn't see if Brianna got to pet one or not. She said she did, but didn't seem too thrilled by them. She isn't aware of my fear of horses. I didn't tell her about that. Didn't think it was necessary.
He is kinda pretty, in a horsey kinda way. From a distance!
We even saw a peacock up in the rafters of the barn! Brianna couldn't believe it!
*Bare with me people. We're almost finished here. I told you this was gonna be a long post! I'm even leaving out a bunch of pictures.
We got to visit with some camels. I think it was lunch time. This one decided to snack on this little boy's hair!
These camels were a little too weird for me. They kept snackin' on kids' hair. I made sure I stayed away...lol.
Jacob and Brianna got to pet a Llama. He was nice. He didn't nibble on anyone!
Big Al had to come to this little girl's rescue. Looks like this camel was gonna take this little girl's head off! Guess he was REALLY hungry and she tasted REALLY good. HAHA!
After visiting with all the animals, we sat outside to have a picnic lunch. Some sat on picnic benches...
While others sat on blankets to eat. I brought Jacob and I a picnic lunch and a blanket to sit on. He kept trying to get up and wander off. I had to keep fetching him. There was a busy road out front and I didn't want him to wander off. He's really interested in cars, trucks and tractors right now. When he sees one he says, "VROOM!"
These chickens were trying to get on the school bus. I told Brianna that the chickens wanted to go back to school with them. She didn't know what to say. My camera wasn't fast enough to capture them trying to get on the bus. The driver shooed them away by opening and closing the door on the bus! They got the hint real quick and took off!
I was so proud of my girl! She did a fabulous job eating her lunch. The kids had bologna sandwiches, orange slices, carrots and potato chips for lunch. Usually Brianna wouldn't touch bologna with a 10 foot pole. She ate 3/4 of her sandwich, all of her oranges and a few of her chips. She won't eat raw carrots so she didn't touch them. All I can say is the girl musta been starvin'!!
After our picnic lunch, it was time to leave. We made one more pit stop to the restroom then headed back to school. Brianna wanted to ride the school bus with her little friends so I let her. I should've had her ride with me so we could've went straight home. I wasn't thinkin' too clear. I was tired (I chased after Jacob for the past 3 hours and was pooped) and ready to go home. I was so exausted, I had a hard time not falling asleep on the way home. Not good cause I was driving! We had a fun time visiting with all the animals.
If you're interested in visiting Rainbow Ranch Petting Zoo you can visit their website at: http://www.rainbowranchzoo.com/
OR
You can contact them. Their address is: Rainbow Ranch
9906 State Route 15
Nashville, IL. 62263
(618) 424-7979
**They're also on FaceBook too.
It's a great place that's educational for adults as well as children! If you want to go, you must make reservations first. Don't for get to contact them!
T H A T' S A L L F O L K S !!!
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