Into the Wild...

...Animal Park, that is. On Wednesday last week, I took the boys to the Wild Animal Park where we met my friend, Brooke, and her daughter, Gwen. We had a lot of fun exploring and playing. There was hardly anyone there at all. Probably because we went earlier in the day. The kids had fun playing at the Discovery Station and Brooke and I got a good workout on the way to and from the bus tour. I loved the "bus" ride around the different wildlife habitats but Bugga was a beast (no pun intended)! I was so embarrassed at how noisy and squirmy he was. Good thing we were at the back of the bus. Another crazy thing was to see how close the fires came to the Wild Animal Park. During the bus tour, we would look left and see the animals milling about their living space and we'd look right to see charred bushes and trees on the other side of the road. There was even a burned palm tree within the animals' home. Anyway, it was a fun play date. I've said it before and I'll say it again...It's really nice to have passes to these places because I don't feel bad going for just a couple of hours and then getting back home in time for naps. We can go back again anytime to explore things we've missed. What a fun day at a fun place with great company!

Buddha getting up close and personal with a deer at the petting zoo.

Buddha's friend, Gwen, petting a deer.

Bugga trying to pet the deer without letting go of me.

Buddha taming a tiger.

Love the sign. Buddha lives by this rule.

Buddha doing a crayon rub of...

...a Pygmy Mouse Lemur. This is the actual size of this little guy!

Brooke helping Gwen do a crayon rub.

Bugga waxing artistic.

Bugga is the top predator at this African habitat.

Brooke teaching Gwen and Buddha to play tic-tac-toe.

Maybe Bugga will be a gardener or landscape artist?

Bugga, Buddha, and Gwen at the animal table watching the animal parade.

A cute little mug shot as we set off on our African "safari."

This Rhino is like 10 months pregnant or something like that. The gestational period for a rhino is 16 months. I'm glad ours is only nine.

Graceful creatures.

Bugga being squirmy on the "bus" tour.

Sunbathing Rhinos. It was a beautiful, warm day for it!

Friendly little elephant.

Buddha watched the Elephant so intently that he didn't realize he was gnawing on his own fingers.

After the trying bus ride, Bugga was more interested in his snacks than the animals. I don't blame him.