Henry's Ark

Last week we took a trip out to Henry's Ark in Prospect, Kentucky.  Henry's Ark was once owned by Henry Wallace who was a friend of my Dad's.  My Dad and Henry used to canoe and kayak together in the Louisville Viking Canoe Club back in the 70's and 80's.  I heard lots of stories about him growing up.  He was a farmer, an environmentalist, and a journalist for Time Magazine and other newspapers.  I remember driving out to his farm when we were kids with some little animal we had rescued...and I remember Dad calling Henry when we found a baby rabbit and he instructed us on how to care for it.  However, although we had driven by it many times, we'd never stopped in with our kids for a visit.

It really is an amazing place to visit.  First we drove out on a Monday.  They were closed.  The kids were really disappointed because you could see the animals from the parking lot.  Vincent kept shouting "horse...neeeee!", but we had to go home.  So, we came back on Tuesday with bags full of carrots and a head of cabbage to feed the animals.  We were immediately greeted by the goats and very large geese at the fence.  Soon unfenced animals were running up to us from behind...sticking their heads under our stroller, discovering the bag of pretzels and few mints that I had in my diaper bag.

We had a lot of fun feeding and petting the animals..both barnyard and exotic.  Vincent was a little scared of the goats because they were a bit taller than him and they were after his carrots which he also enjoyed snacking on.  I got bitten by an ostrich.  How many people can say that?  But really he was just after the carrot and my hand happened to be an extension of that.  Isabella loved feeding the guinea pigs and we practically had to drag her away from the cages.  Kyle's favorite animal was the Capybara, the worldest largest rodent.  Zachary's favorite animals were the goats and the peacocks.  The kids found a couple of peacock feathers on the ground and enjoyed carrying them around.

It was a very fun morning.  Afterwards we ate at a fantastic Mediterranean Restaurant called the Burning Bush, which is only about a mile from Henry's Ark out in Prospect.  It was the first meal I had eaten in over a month that didn't make me feel sick afterwards (morning sickness)...so that made the day even better.  They also had a great kids menu which was very affordable...less than $3.  That always makes me a happy customer.  

 Feeding the Goats

 

Even the ducks and chickens ate the carrots and cabbage.

The guy who bit me.

The zebra even lets you pet him!

Isabella feeding the Guineas...her favorite animals.

Kyle and his giant rat friend.

  A deer and a dear.

birthday, road trip, kindergarten madness

This is our last official week off as a family for the summer.  I start back to school next Monday, then Kyle, and later the kids.  Zachary is starting 2nd grade and Isabella is entering Kindergarten. Oh, and she just turned 5!  So, we also have a birthday to talk about!  It is unbelievable how quickly the time has gone.  I can't believe she is starting school!  Last week we went to buy school uniforms and it was so strange to see her try on her uniform.  There she was standing in her little uniform skirt and I was in shock that it could already be here.  It just seems like it can't be.  The greatest drawback of being so busy with 3 kids is the fact that the time seems to go by even faster.  I can't believe Vincent's 1st birthday is around the corner, that he will be walking soon and is already babbling his first words.  The time is just flying by.  I wonder what excitement that this year will bring??

 Isabella is the most fun when it comes to birthday's.  Weeks, if not months before, she begins planning and making lists of things she wants.  She talks about new privileges and things she will do when she turns 5.  She really gets excited and it's a lot of fun.  Zachary shares in her excitement.  I think her birthday was more exciting for him than his own..which is coming up soon also.  For Isabella's birthday she got a special trip to the zoo and splash park.  She also got gifts from her friends and family, including pet shops, books, a new bike, a giant container of cheese balls, a dance leotard and tap shoes, and the movie toy story.  Grandma Yochum also took her out to dinner later in the week. 

Here are a few pictures of the joyous occasion:

Cheese Ball Heaven!

                                                    picnic lunch at the zoo on her birthday

   A group photo at the splash park..it's increasingly difficult to take a group photo that turns out good and due to our size we are covering up any monument (or polar bear) that is meant to be in the background!  I love the look on Zachary's face.  He's got water in the eye.

Last weekend we took a trip to Nashville for a triathlon that I signed up for.  We stayed 2 nights and attempted to squeeze in as many kid friendly activities as possible.  Due to the scorching 110 degree heat it was difficult to really enjoy ourselves like we would have wanted to.  Upon arriving Friday afternoon we took a quick trip to the science center.  It had a few really nice exhibits that topped Louisville's.  The space exhibit was really nice and they had a few interactive exhibits that the kids enjoyed..ex: lifting a car with a rope, a ball that exhibited Bernoulli's principle.  However, their preschool/baby kids zone area was terrible.  It was nothing more than a table with a stack of blocks and a train track with no train.  Overall I think Louisville's science center was much better.  Nashville's zoo was nice, although not as big as Louisvilles and lacking all of the nice water features and playgrounds that we have.  Also, thanks to the heat we didn't last long before we were all ready to leave.    Opryland was still closed due to flooding and the Nashville Broadway scene was too hot to explore.  However, we did have the best Southern cooking food that we've ever experienced at the Loveless Cafe.  It's a 30 minute drive outside of Nashville, but well worth it!

                                       That's a giant Jupiter!

                                            Hey, even Conan O'Bryan recommended this place!

This goat head butted Isabella 3 times before she finally got the picture that he didn't want to be brushed.  He gave her one more good one on the rump as she got up to leave. 

    These pictures are from the replica of the Parthenon.  It's pretty large.  Sorry for the shady picture.  It didn't turn out so great.  I could photo edit it...but here it is.

This is the Cathedral at Nashville.  It was right next to our hotel so we went to mass on Saturday.  We walked out of our hotel and a horrible car accident had just happened right at the front steps of the church doors.  A SUV had flipped and we thought for sure no one could have survived.  Kyle had to take Vincent out of church for the whole service, because he was so amused by the echo his voice made, and was able to see the couple from the overturned SUV walk away from the accident.  I guess they were lucky that everyone walking into church was probably saying a prayer for them.

The triathlon was on Sunday.  It was a great experience!  I overcame my fear of swimming in open water.  The swim was in the Cumberland River and swimming across the current was much harder than I expected, but I made it.  Overall, we had a lot of fun on the trip.  It was a good get-away. 

 I won my age group and the kids were able to come with me to the podium to get my award!

This photo makes me laugh.  Isabella is rolling down a hill outside at the triathlon.  They also entertained themselves by collecting water cups.  I'm sure Kyle was having lots of fun too. Yes, I'm being sarcastic.

 Oh..last thing..I promise!  When we got out of the car upon our return from Nashville, Vincent felt warm.  I took his temp and it was 101.  Thinking maybe it was just the sun on him in the car, I gave him a cool bath but it didn't bring down the temp.  I was certain he had picked up some nasty disease from the hotel bathroom, but it turned out he had roseola (a common childhood illness that actually takes 10 days to develop).  Drea called it before he broke out into the characteristic spottiness that is a symptom of the disease.  I'm not sure where he picked it up since he hasn't been around too many kids.  He had 4 days of 102 degree fever..but I guess we can be glad that he got it now, rather than when we'd have to take off from work.  That's about all I can think of to write about tonight.  Kyle is bugging me to get off the computer so he can watch some Always Sunny.  Good night.