Zoo field trip!

Michael drove all night bringing the two new alpacas home on August 9-10. The morning of August 10th we (the boys and I) headed out to Greenville zoo for most of the day. We left at about 6:30 and arrived at about 8:00am. The boys were THRILLED that we had the park to ourselves for about an hour and a half.


They were especially excited that this thing did not have it's usual long line. I really get nervous when they are on it. It's like a neck injury just waiting to happen!


But THEY love it. :)


Gideon giving biggest brother a ride.


He's really into climbing things... He's a boy.


See? :)


My oldest two FINALLY learned to start themselves on the swing this year. I could hardly contain my excitement!!! Thomas got going really high here.


Judah was not feeling safe that high so he kept it a little lower.


Gideon cannot start himself and since the shoulder surgery I really should not be pushing him so he just had fun a different way.


Planes go high!!!


I like how Judah matches the truck. lol!


I'm finished swinging now Mom.


It's climbing time now!


Thomas had to get in on the action.


Gideon joined them too.


Only, he wasn't too sure about it once he got a little higher. :)


They love to spin on these things. It makes my stomach churn just to watch.


Gideon went at a slower pace thank goodness.

TWO HOURS later the zoo finally opened...



Elephants are so cool!


They really are!


The boys thought the lemurs with their loud shrieking noise were the coolest thing ever!! (They've seen them many times but I don't think they've ever heard them make that noise up close before.)


So cute!


We're having so much fun!!


I think the giraffes have got to be my favorite animal here.


I'm also partial to tortoises.


A fun time was had by all.

First Day of School Pics... about 4 weeks late.

My crazy homeschooled kids have no idea that summer is supposed to last as long as possible. So, they begged to start school the last week of July... so we did. :)

Here are pics from the first day...



Special first day of school breakfast and NO it was NOT healthy!!! Normally we make muffins at home but I wanted something fast that day. Lemon cake from Walmart with Fresh strawberries and whipped cream.


Gideon "smiles" this way for the camera now. EEK! If I want a natural smile I have to catch him unaware. LOL!


My Thomas!


There is no need for backpacks here at Basics and Beyond Academy but we do get them new school supplies each year. The usual; scissors, glue, pencils, erasers, etc.
This year they also got colored baskets to keep them in. The gifts were a big hit.

Gideon loved that he got scissors this year like a big boy!


I hope they are this easy to please in a few years.

Then again, I got practically giddy with excitment purchasing the supplies so there's hope. LOL!!

New Additions

Well, Cocoa Powder isn't exactly a "new" edition (we officially bought and paid for her in December) but she is now living here!!!

I don't know if I made this public here or not but after the excitement of the beautiful boy cria she gave birth to in June, a definite loss was felt when he died about 2 weeks after birth. He was fine for about 10 days and then suddenly took sick. The other farm did all they could for him but in the end it just wasn't enough.

This proposed another problem besides the loss of the cria. Pregnant girls cannot be TOO stressed or they will lose their babies. No alpaca wants to be alone (you cannot have just one- ever!) and she was going to have to travel about 8 hours to get here. :( So, Erin gave us a great deal on a pet fiber male. This is a male who didn't quite make their herdsire cut. :) He's a beautiful silver grey male that we named Silver Bullet. :) We call him bullet for short. He seems to be fine with that.

Cocoa and Bullet are adjusting well to our farm. They aren't used to living in a small herd and they aren't used to as much interaction from 2 legged things as ours are. Today though I saw definite progress. I walked about 5 feet away from Cocoa and she didn't bolt. That's progress. When I went to hose them off this afternoon she came right up next to me to let me do it. :) I think I have found a way to her heart. hehe They are also getting used to our dogs. Cygwyn is ENAMOURED with Cocoa. He just follows her around. It's hilarious. She hates it. She is so skittish. But she's getting used to him. :) Destiny is helping out too by loving on me and showing her new buddies that I am okay. She's such a doll!

I have some pictures for you to see but I have to warn you... Cocoa photographs horribly! She is really pretty up close but bay blacks are hard to photograph since their eyes get lost in the darkness of their faces. We really have a rainbow of colors out in the field now.

See for yourself...


Grazing together


"Oh look! Mommy's here!!" Bottle babies are always special. :)


"Oh it's the 2 legged thing again."


Such a looker!


Ignoring me


Goofy look. She really is pretty in person.


Such a sweet girl.


All together


The "boss" of the pasture. This was taken after I hosed down their bellies. :)

Sleep well everyone.
Blessings!-
Angela :)