Revisiting The Marsh

Near the end of February we were driving by the marsh when Jack said "Hey, remember?  We went in there!  Can we go in there again?"  So I checked the city calendar and found that the next Tyke Hike was scheduled for the first Thursday in March- just a week away!  He was so excited to get to go again, and this time we invited Austin and McKenna!  Thursdays also happen to be Ang's mom's day off, so all four of them were able to join us!  It had rained the day before, so Jack wore his rainboots... and also insisted that I wear mine as well.  Probably not the best choice in footwear, but it was nice not to have to clean all of the mud off of our tennis shoes!

To start off, each kid got to pick an animal to search for... Austin got a bee, and Jack got a specific-type-of-duck-whose-name-escapes-me. 

(that second photo is from Ang... thanks, Ang!)

First they found a type-of-beetle-whose-name-also-escapes-me, and Jack thought that was pretty rad

Last time Jack was very into the animals, this time, he was very into the water!  There was a lot more water this time and he was interested in every pond we came to.  It cracked me up that he'd get so excited!  And every single time he looked for a big white stick in the middle and he'd tell me "Mom!  That pole is so we know how deep the water is!" and then he'd proceed to tell me what he imagined the depth-reader would say if he were close enough to read it.  

We learned an interesting tidbit of info that we hadn't learned last time... they have chicken coops in the middle of the marsh!  Apparently the presence of chicken is helpful in detecting and/or tracking the presence of West Nile Virus.  Who knew?

Another thing that Jack was really excited about, was finding his duck-whose-name-I-can't-remember!  We spotted it and he said "I have a duck on my sign!"  The leaders said that it was indeed his duck, and he was so proud, and I was proud that he was proud!

Oh, and since I know you're curious about the babies, Sam slept through all but the first 5 minutes of our marsh experience... again... but I hadn't been able to wear him while he slept in a long while, so I was okay with that!  McKenna was having a great time chilling on her mommy's back, enjoying the scenery!

(First pic shared by Ang, again, to prove that Sam and I were there, too!)

And then... it was frog finding time!!!

Hey, there is McKenna again!  (I love this picture- it cracks me up the way she's just chilling there!)

More beauty

These two boys sure had a great time!  They both found their animals, and enjoyed frog hunting and skunk-trail-finding!

But I think their favorite part was being together... what do you think?

Oh, and by the way after our hike we went into the nature center, where Sam woke up... just in time to touch a snake!!!  Jack wanted nothing to do with it, but Sam didn't even hesitate!  He didn't even give me a chance to unwrap his arms from the Moby wrap!

(photo again shared by Ang!)