Jake's First Field Trip

I got to go with the big man on his first bus ride and field trip on Friday. He was so flippin' excited the whole week. Mrs. Wolkis makes everything into a magical experience, but for this she didn't even need to try. Jake got to pick two buddies to be in his group. He made two excellent choices. The bus ride was hilarious. I'm sure all the kids on the bus have seen airplanes, big buildings, hospitals, etc...but seeing it from the vantage of a seat on a big yellow bus cracked them all up.

When we got to the zoo we had a list of animals from different continents to find and talk about. The kids were free to choose which way to go, and which animals to see first. We put stickers in their little books and talked about them for a minute and then jetted off to the next one. Of course, I played cool Dad and let them play on a lot more stuff than I should have, but that is what I do.

We went to the petting zoo. Hung out with those evil goats. Then we checked out some sheep, tractors, and desert trails. After a few more animals we stopped and had lunch. After lunch, we saw some monkeys, the elephant, and the orangutans. By this point our little group was about done with the whole walking thing, so instead of finishing our quest...we went to the tree house.

This is where the best part happened. Grandma took Brady to the zoo as well, and we just happened to show up in the same place at the same time. Too cool. Jake's smile was priceless. Brady's smile, well, he just loves that big guy more than the sun loves the sky. The hugged each other and ran off to play. They had a blast together as always.

So yeah, I am not the best tour guide/dad. We didn't quite make all the animals on the list, but the kids never stopped laughing so I figured it was ok. It was so cool to see Jake in that element with his friends. I see him in the classroom all the time being a cool dude, so this was just another indication that he doing a great job. I can't wait until next year when I get to do this with B. Wait...yes I can, because that will mean that I will have a first grader. Holy Crap. I am old.