We are going on SAFARI!

I have lived in Virginia since 2006. My parents moved here in 2009. Touristically (it is a new word) speaking, they have attacked this state like small child in a candy store. Try everything and as fast a possible! They have gone everywhere! Lakes, random state parks, historical houses, landmarks, scenic parkways, educational villages, waterfalls, rivers, beaches, and towns that were influential in the building of our nation. My whole family has had these amazing experiences and I was in class or at work. My mom thinks I was there every time and is always shocked that I missed it. Well, I guess I have a degree in missing memorable family experiences.

I have wanted to go to the safari park the entire time I have lived here. They went and didn't even invite me.(Okay, they probably did but I don't remember it. Plus, it makes my story more tragic. So, indulged me.) I have asked to go for my birthday every single year I have been married. It never worked out. When my mother-in-law Margie was visiting and helping out with the baby, I mentioned it. She was astonished at the safari injustice in my life. Margie pulled the Mom card and convinced Justin that he wanted to take us on Saturday. We had had the most chaotic morning trying to get everyone dressed and in the car, which then, freaked out because it had the spare tire on. After a quick Google search to reassure us that the car was safe, we pushed along. Nothing was going to get in the way of us feeding exotic animals from the comfort of our car! 

We decided to get one bucket of food. Those guys are messy eaters because most on it is still in my car.

Penelope loved to feed the llamas. Jackson loved to sleep the entire time and had no idea he was inches away from a bison. Most 11 day olds have limited attention spans for bison. Justin was killing me the whole time. He was nervous laughing non-stop! 

We approached the camels. They are located behind a fence with a sign that reads "We steal and eat buckets. Feed us anyway.". Of course everyone was pulled up by the fence to feed them and, of course, they stole bucket after bucket and, of course, we thought we were different and all those other people were careless. Guess what? Those camels are STRONG and sneaky! They act like they are going to eat out of the bucket and then just straight up snatch it! Penelope and I were holding the bucket together and I screamed "He is too strong! HELP!". Luckily, Justin is super cheap and we spent way too much money on our bucket of food to lose it. He leans in to the back yelling "OH NO YOU DON'T, BUDDY!!!!" and wrenched the bucket out of his mouth. Our hero. The camel looked pretty defeated and that was extremely satisfying.

It was such a fun day! It was nice to get out with the whole family for the first time. 

This is where we live. Crazy beautiful!