Little Ladybug's Journey: Wildlife Safari Trip

Mommy's little goat

Well, this past weekend we had a very exciting time in Winston, OR. Auntie JuJu got really good discount admission tickets to the Wildlife Safari in Winston, so off we headed early Saturday morning. From my house it was a 3 1/2 hour drive, but with the portable DVD player, Emily does very well on long car trips. That, along with snacks and potty breaks, she did great!

When we first arrived, we ate the lunch we had packed, and then headed into the park area. We looked at many animals in there, went on the train ride (very short), went to the gift shop, and Emily rode a camel. Yes, you read that correctly...Emily rode a camel all by herself! Such a BRAVE girl!

Then it was time to get back in the car and head out to drive thru the safari. Emily was beside herself because she got to ride out of her car seat and stand in the back on the floor while mommy rode in the back seat with her. This way she could go from window to window to see all of the animals. You are only allowed to go 10 miles per hour so it was great!

We saw so many different kinds of animals, but a few of our favorites were the giraffe just walking around next to people's cars, the elephant giving people car washes ($20 we only watched), the lions, hippo, cheetahs, tigers, and the bears. All of the animals were fun to see, and the only one that came too close for comfort to make us roll up the windows was the Emu. Very aggressive bird. You just have to wait them out until they move. All in all the route lasted about 1 1/2 hours.

Then we were off to Corvallis, OR to spend the night with Tammy, our sweet dear who is like another daughter. She is currently going to Oregon State University. So that was another 2 1/4 hours in the car, and Emily did SUPER!

When we got to Tammy's apartment, she had another surprise for Emily. Tammy's mom Mary Jo (who was in China with us when I became Emily's mom) and sister Olivia were on their way to also spend the night after Olivia's softball tournament.

Needless to say, Emily was thrilled to see her Auntie as well as Olivia. It was wonderful!
We headed home Sunday, and Emily was in bed here in Vancouver by 5:40 p.m. and slept until 7:00 a.m. today. No naps on Saturday or Sunday, staying up until 9:30 on Saturday night, and going straight to swimming lesson when we got home Sunday took it's toll on the wee one!

Enjoy the pictures from our great time! Most of them speak for themselves.
Love,
Kathy