As promised, here is the lowdown on our exciting day at Clark's Trading Post in Lincoln, NH! Now I must admit that I'm not a fan of the circus, of zoos that don't offer natural habitats for their animals (I wrote about one here), and the general domestication of wild animals...but here is my exception. I LOVE this place! Maybe because it's all family owned and operated, or because you can sense the admiration and respect the people have for these beloved bears, or perhaps because I believe that they give these rescued bears the best life they can possibly have...whatever the reason(s), we had a wonderful day there with Mimi and Grampy!
First we took in the bear show...
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| These bears love their ice cream treats, though the trainers will be the first to tell you...if a bear doesn't want to do a trick, they're "not gonna make 'em!" :) |
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| You can see the see the bond between the newly-rescued cub and her trainer here |
Next, onto the big climbing tower!
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| Look at these two monkeys! Ethan was already on his second climb here! |
This looked so hard!!!! I was very proud of all three of my guys for trying it out- their Mama is NOT a climber! That's one of the few outdoor things I don't particularly enjoy....that, and I have the upper body strength of jello! They looked so cool all the way up there, and yes, it's as high as it looks! Yikes! There are some buzzers at the tippy top that the climbers can push and Ethan and Jonah were thrilled to make it up all the way and get their glory!! Hmm, should I consider installing a buzzer button at the end of the chore chart or something?
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| You rock, little dude! So proud of Caleb for trying the "big guy" wall! |
Honestly, I thought Caleb was going to be annoyed and upset that he hadn't made it all the way to the top like his big brothers had, but this wonderful little boy surprised me! He recognized that he had done his best, that climbing isn't really "his thing," and was still happy for Jonah and Ethan on their success. Very, very proud!!
Isabelle Kate, on the other hand, was slightly...ticked! She wanted to climb so badly!
We found this cool hole in a rock just for her, but she did let us know it wasn't her first choice, ha!
The boys enjoyed a very wet ride in the bumper boats, and once again poor Isabelle got the shaft- she could've gone if I had taken her, but I did not want to get drenched! And believe me, you walk outta there like a drowned rat!
Then we took a nice train ride through the woods, where a traumatizing "wolfman" chases the train and tries to scare passengers away. The boys remembered it well from three years ago, and this time they were "big enough to handle it" they assured me. J and C still looked a bit panicked at one point. I made a short video for Bill but when I tried to get out my camera, Isabelle would have none of it and she burrowed up in my lap, grabbing onto me with all her might! Poor baby. She recovered. Whew!
We even got to try a segway! So much fun! My Mom and went three times! Once you get the hang of it, it's a blast! You know what's on Caleb's Christmas List now!
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| Ready to roll! |
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| Go Mom! Look at her jacket flying out beside her! |
Isabelle was pretty happy to see the train zoom past us- as long as she didn't have to get on it again!
We let the boys get soaked again, well, two of them- poor Caleb had wandered off after instructions to stay close by, and his consequence was that he had to miss out on the bumper boats. He took it well, but sometimes it feels like all I do is take things away from him to help him learn, and it seems like he doesn't! Ethan and Jonah were on those boats for-e-ver! There wasn't a line so the attendants just let everyone stay on- they had so much fun! And should the two gentlemen Ethan got in his sights to pummel with his water blaster ever happen to read this, I'm truly sorry! Grampy said I was being overly sensitive and that they probably enjoyed being chased by a young "whipper snapper" - I love my Dad! Please note that he didn't volunteer to get in that pool with them...hmmm...
What day isn't complete without that feeling that you forgot something important? This was no exception- the whole day I was planning on getting a picture of the kiddos with Mimi and Grampy, and the whole day passed me by without getting it. Sigh. Next time! I did get a couple of fun pictures of them locked inside a cage...I could make use of something like that around here...
Well, look at that! I did get a picture with Mimi, see her back there? I didn't even notice her for the first few shots because I was so focused on my four little rascals!
They discovered her!
Caleb was really working with me throughout this photo session, ha! Stinker!
Yes, I realized too late that a much better pic would have been with them pressing their little faces against the front of the cage, but after a long, hot day, I wasn't thinking at all!
Aww, Caleb just saw these pictures as I'm writing the post, and he said how sorry he was for not cooperating. What a sweetie pie!! I just smothered him with kisses. He loves it!
I'm so glad our children get to enjoy doing special things with their grandparents!! It was a fantastic day!!
On a completely different note, here's how I found Isabelle, who refuses to sleep comfortably in the car after spending nine+ hours walking around (just to give you an example) yesterday afternoon...
a close-up...
I was afraid I was going to wake her up I was laughing so.hard.
Hee Hee Hee
