Lazy 5 Ranch

These are most of the pictures from our trip to the Lazy 5 Ranch with the Reid's. All I can say is.....Disney's Animal Kingdom can SUCK IT!!!!
It just doesn't come close to this place! You have a choice when you get here...drive your own car through the safari or for $5 more, ride in the horse drawn wagon. As you can see, we took the wagon ride. From some reason, Brian and Carrie didn't want to drive the Porsche through animals with sharp beaks and horns. :-) haha

All of the animals just wander peacefully around the property. Most of the seem to stay in groups, but the pigs run around everywhere.

We were actually able to feel these GIANT water buffalo. One of the kept running beside the wagon to try to get more food.

Our little terd, Rudy, threw food all over the poor buffalo's head.
:-(

Rudy, with his bladder of a 70 year old woman, had to pee about 5 minutes into an hour long wagon ride. We had just passed the buffalo and were next to the alpacas. The guy on the wagon said it would be ok if Rudy got out and pee'd behind a tree. He said that none of the animals nearby would bother him. I was a little nervous, but they(the animals) could have cared less!

We weren't allowed to feed the zebras because they're the only animals in the park with top and bottom teeth and they could get somebody's fingers. Carrie did get to pet one, though!

The rule was....if the animal has 4 legs, feed it with your hand...if it has 2 legs, feed it with the bucket. I think these were ostriches (?). You could see a giant lump in their necks as the food worked it's way down their throat. It was so creepy looking!

The giraffes were definitely my favorite part. I couldn't believe that we got to feed and pet giraffes!!! I never could have imagined that I would have a chance to do that! This place was so amazing!

We definitely did not touch or feed these guys!

The giant cow in the background is actually a holstein ox. He is the local celebrity, as he was painted brown and used in the HBO series, John Adams.

There were several kangaroos and with a lot of patience, you could coax them closer to the fence to feed them. The way they moved and hopped around was so neat. They use their thick tails to balance themselves when their back feet are off the ground. So Cool!!!

Jacob made a friend. This was the only goat that would let him reach in and pet him. Jacob decided to name him "Fredericksburg".

We had such a great time at the Lazy 5 Ranch. I would STRONGLY encourage anyone who reads this to head down and experience it. We can't wait to go back and see even more animals when it's warmer! Thanks Carrie and Brian for taking us!!!!! We will never forget the awesome time that we had!

Our First Rv Trip!

We left on Friday after Jake got home from school and headed down to Fort Mill, SC (where Carrie and Brian live). It was a long trip, but we made it to their house around 12:30. We hung out for a while and stayed in the parking lot in their subdivision for that night. The next morning we headed over to the KOA campground and attempted to get hooked up. It turns out that we were missing a few things that allow us to hook up to sewer, so after our safari ride we went to a local RV dealer and picked up the necessities. It was the best weekend! Brian and Carrie taxi'd us around town all weekend. On Saturday we went to the Lazy 5 Ranch (which deserves a post of it's own), then to TGI Fridays, then did some shopping and back to the RV for the night. It rained and rained Saturday night, but we woke up warm and dry, so I was thankful for that. Sunday, we played on the jumping pillow and then met up with Brian and Carrie and headed to Hickory Tavern for lunch. The playoffs were on, so the place was crowded and loud, which meant we could be as loud as we wanted! After lunch it was time for a nap! Later that evening Brian and Carrie came over for some chili and to watch Dumb and Dumber (for about the 5th time that weekend). By the way...Dumb and Dumber is the kid's new favorite movie...Jake couldn't remember what it was called and asked me if he could watch Goofy and Goofy-er (sp?). Rudy actually thinks their names are Dumb and Dumber, so he asked me, "Why did Dumber catch on fire?" So cute!
On Monday we did a little more jumping on the jumping pillow and then hit the road for home. I even helped with the driving. Besides clenching my butt the entire time, I didn't mind it too much. It's not as hard as it looks! (Mom, you should give it a try sometime!) Believe it or not, at times it's easier to be the driver instead of the passenger...between "I have to go to the bathroom" or "I dropped my crayon" or "Is it my turn with the ipod?" the kids keep the passenger VERY busy! We made it home safely sometime early in the evening.
All-in-all, I couldn't have asked for a better start to our RV'ing future. Everything functioned well and we were all comfortable, so I couldn't ask for more.

Carrie and Jake wrote notes to each other at lunch. Jake wrote that "Keree smells like a bat"...translation...Carrie smells like a butt. :-)

After Christmas Fun!

Suzie's dad, Bruce was nice enough to take us on a personally guided tour of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. What a great experience it was! We had a wonderful time touring the museum and stayed for an IMAX movie. It was all about weather, including tornadoes, so I figured it was right up Jake's alley. Boy - was I wrong! He cried within the first 2 minutes and spent the rest of the time hiding under his coat watching the ipod!

These are space diapers!

Aidan made all of the kids a treat with her new cake decorating kit!

Cheers!

On Amanda and Aidan's last night here, we went out to dinner and had the best time. Everyone was feeling goofy and I don't think I had laughed that hard in a long time (see video below).

Rudy's newest favorite dance move (as you will see from the video).

They're definitely Gann's...