Field trips, deer bones, a snoring unicorn, and a funny monkey.

In addition to her birthday, Svea had a field trip day this week.



 First stop was McDonald's.  All the kids went into the fridge. 

And saw how the fries were made.  Yes, they are actually frozen when they're deep-fried.

 The most exciting part was seeing where the Happy Meal toys were kept.

And then they played in the Play Place.  Svea loved the skateboarding game :)

 Then we got on the bus to go to the grocery store.

 I liked the grocery store much more than McDonald's, and Svea did too.

 They pulled a lobster out of the tank for the kids to touch.  Svea did not want to touch the lobster. 

 We saw where the trucks pull up to be unloaded.

 As we left, everyone got a grocery bag filled with goodies - coloring books, crayons, some little toys, treats, stickers, and a banana.  And both preschool classes got a cake with their picture on it.  And a big box of cookies.

At McDonald's they each got one cup of water.

I'm just saying.

 While Svea and I were out and about on the field trip, Viggo and Elin got to be with our friend Beth, who pretty much lives out in the woods.  They took a long walk and saw birds and squirrels and wild turkeys, and Viggo climbed a fallen tree that was hanging over the Mississippi river.  He also collected some deer bones, which Beth was more than happy to see walk off her property.  They joined the rest of Viggo's deer bone collection in the garage.

I think that Viggo and Elin's field trip to Beth's was more fun than the grocery store. 

 When we came home, it was time to play outside.  Svea is now riding her bike without training wheels and she was biking around the driveway with her Happy Napper, her prized birthday present from Aunt Meme and Uncle Bo.  It is a huge castle-shaped pillow with a closed gate that contains a zip-out unicorn.  There is a doorbell on the front of the castle, and when you push it, you hear snoring unicorn noises. 

In the past few days that this has been in her possession, it has not left her side. 

 Tracing each other with chalk is a favorite thing to do.

Elin was getting really tired but couldn't resist being traced by Svea again and again.

I love their little creations.  Please notice Svea gave Elin eyelashes in this one.

Bonus birthday outtake video from the zoo.  Because we laugh every time we watch it.

Svea is 5!

The long-awaited day that Svea has been planning for the past 11 months finally happened this week - her birthday!



 Breakfast was monkey bread -

 - and new shoes!

 No time to waste; we had to get to preschool.  First we needed to pick up funny monster cupcakes for a class treat (the orange one was for Elin).  They were chocolate.  Svea originally asked for vanilla:  "Because that's more healthy, Mom."  Nate and I told her she really could pick any flavor she wanted - it's okay to have some treats on your birthday.  She instantly switched her choice to chocolate.

 Home and lunch.  Svea wanted waffles and orange fluff.  Nate came home from work early and joined us for the rest of the day.

As you wish, big girl.

 We had to eat and run out the door.  Yes, I was feeling a little rushed.  We all were.  Svea wanted to accomplish many things on her birthday.

So we went to the zoo.

A rainbow boa.  In a  . . . cooler?

Tree frog.

Baby sister.

Sloth.  Which really could also pass as a wig.

 Penguins.  Svea loved it all.

There were at least fifteen seahorses in this tank.  They are so pretty.

Then the animals started getting bigger.

Nap time.

 This guy was still awake.

Viggo loved checking out the big cats.

The lioness was sleeping.

The lion was sleeping.

And the tiger was dead.

But, it was the only zoo animal we got to touch.
For our more sensitive readers, this was a very old tiger, and it lived a very happy life.  I'm pretty sure it was the happiest tiger in the entire world.
Elin took a lot of comfort in that knowledge.

 Svea was loving every moment.

 This guy was awake . . . and staring at us.

The baby giraffe is getting taller every time we see it!

 And so then we came to the wolf exhibit, which I first visited in probably 2005, and since we've moved back, we've been to see it many more times.  And (except for this wolf poster) I have never, ever seen a wolf in it.  Nate has been coming to the zoo for even longer and he has also testified he hasn't ever seen one either.  Viggo and Svea stood and watched hopefully for several long minutes.  No wolves. 

What a rip-off.

Elin was ecstatic to see the zebra.

And then there was this funny little guy.

A sloth in a basket!

After seeing the animals, we went over to the conservatory.

Svea enjoyed the water cycle model.  For just a moment, she was in charge of the weather and even made it rain.  Being she is the middle child, I've noticed that she desperately wants to be in charge of . . . well, pretty much everything.  So this was especially fun.

 Elin watered flowers.

We saw koi.

The cutest little flowers in the conservatory.

Really can't believe Svea is five!  When she was born, we brought her home to an apartment about the size of a shoebox.  So much has changed since then, and we are so blessed.

So we were driving out of the parking lot and guess what made an appearance.  All the kids were going crazy - the wolves really DO exist!  No kidding.

 We drove back home but no rest for the weary; Svea had requested dinner at Space Aliens.  No, I'm not making that up.  We went there with friends a couple of months ago (the first time we'd ever gone), and guess what Svea said when we left:  "I want to go there for my birthday!"  Really?  I thought.  Why?  I was hoping she would forget about it.  Fat chance. 

She played lots of funny little arcade games and redeemed her hard-earned tickets for a small heart-shaped slinky and a tiny pink plastic Transformer.

 Finally we got home and had cake and ice cream.  Whopper whipped cream cake, which was what Svea requested.  Actually Svea had spent the past several months requesting every type of birthday cake under the sun, so I really hoped that this was okay.  Her expectations were extremely high.

It passed inspection.

And she picked out ice cream.  Chocolate everything.

While eating cake Svea received several birthday phone calls.  After this we opened gifts, and everyone went to bed exhausted and happy.

We love you so much, Svea!  You are such a gift to our family!