Lazy 5 Ranch

For Matt's birthday, I thought we should do something special, like taking James on his first trip to the zoo! Unfortunately, it has taken us quite a while to have a chance to go, but we finally made it. :-)  We actually don't have a really good zoo anywhere close to us in Hickory; all the good zoos are over an hour away.  So, we decided to try out this ride through 'zoo' of sorts called the Lazy 5 Ranch.  We rode on a big horse drawn wagon and got to feed all the animals in the open range park.  I was happy to be the photographer and let Matt do the dirty work.  Here are some highlights from our trip.

My boy loves to get his hands dirty...

 I know what you're thinking, "Is that a buffalo??" and yes. yes it is a buffalo.

More pics to come...

Let me go back...

My boy.  I love this picture.

The view from where I sit.

This was James' first time to the playground just around the block from Grammie and Papa's house in FL, and his first time in this big boy swing!!  He did great and boy did he love watching the big kids swing.  He actually didn't even really care about swinging himself, haha.  Such a people watcher like his mom and dad.

This one is for Auntie Christina.  Reach for it James!! Yeah, yeah!

Matt and I have been discussing 'baby talk' vs. real first words lately because James repeated Matt the other day in the car.  He said say 'Momma' and James said something like 'Momum'.  Then he switched to say 'Dada' and James followed up with 'dada'.  But, he won't do it anymore. Yet I guess.  So, what was your kid's first word?  Do some of ya'll count 'Momum' and 'Dada' as a combo first word??  I'm really interested to know.  Thanks!!

My Grandpa drives an airboat.

My dad loves to 'hunt the dragon' as he likes to call his gator hunting expeditions, and what kind of boat do you need to go gator hunting?  An air boat.  This isn't like the show 'Swamp People' where they ride out in their john boat and bait catch the gators.  This is stalk them at night, in the swamp, on an giant air boat, shoot them with a bow and a line, tow them back to the boat (still alive at this point), shoot them with a bang stick (hopefully now dead), then pull them in the boat (really hope its dead).

Now me, I think of air boats as part of the movie, The Rescuers.  The air boat in that was was way more akin to the 'Swamp People' type bayou experience. haha

No, thankfully my boy just sat on the airboat with his Papa. :-)  It made for some pretty pictures, and that makes one momma happy happy.

Safety first...

I feel the power!!