Down on the Ostrich Farm!

Today Jane and I decided to make a trip up to Ikea to get new comforter sets for our beds.  Hayden wanted to come along, so we left Matt home alone to have a day of relaxation.  After we finished shopping, we headed to the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch and fed deer, goats, donkeys, larakeets (birds) and of course, ostriches.  Hayden absolitely loved the animals and was so excited that they gently took the food from him.  He even got licked on the face by a deer!  The animals are very well cared for and obviously happy because they are very sweet.  The ostriches weren't my favorite because they were grabby, but the owner of the ranch came over and showed me how to feed them properly by raising my hand up slowly and I got the hang of it.  Hayden wasn't too excited about the larakeet birds crawling on his head but I think the main reason was that there was another little boy in the enclosure screaming his head off in fear and the parents were forcing him to hold the birds.  That's enough to turn any 3 year-old off of something!  He did say after we left the area that he liked the birds so it must have just bugged him that the other little boy was so upset.  I'm sure he will be more than willing to try again next time.

When we ran out of feed, MeeMaw decided that it was time to go on the "Rooster Cogburn Monster Truck Tour".  Hayden was beyond thrilled about this and since we were the first people on the truck, he got to have a monster truck all to himself before the ride began.  The tour taught us some really interesting facts about ostriches and then came the fun part...a real ride over some hills, jumps and around some sharp corners!  I was a little nervous about the safety aspect but hundreds of children a month go on the ride and they have never had any sort of incident, so I figure I should lighten up a little.  After the first jump, I thought Hayden looked a little scared but he immediately yelled "More jumps!" so after that is was pure enjoyment.  As the last activity, they take you to a wooden platform with some fishing poles and grapefruit slices.  You dangle the grapefruit over the edge and the ostriches grab them off the pole.  It's appropriately called "Ostrich Fishing".  The ride was about 45 minutes total and it was all very exciting.  The people there are unbelieveably friendly and I can tell how much they really love these animals.

This is definitely going to be one of our regular activitites and I can't wait to take Matt soon.  Get ready to come with us the next time any of you visit (I'm talking to you Sid and Di ;)!

Tomorrow it's back to work for all of us and Hayden goes back to school, so it should be a busy day.  After work, I get to pick up our soccer team's uniforms and schedule, so I promise to have a photo of him in his uniform tomorrow night!

P.S.  This crappy camera thinks it's Halloween and I can't fix it, so the photos I take with it will have strange dates on them...oh well, at least they are photos!