9 years and 4 grades later...

9 reasons why we love our oldest son:

1. He doesn't just think he's smarter than his parents, he usually is-
2. He read Harry Potter books 1-4 in about 2 weeks
3. He plays with his brothers like they are his best friends
4. He can beat us at board games
5. He loves Mexican food as much as his mother
6. He readily expresses his emotions
7. He is learning how to do his own laundry
8. He takes learning about the gospel seriously--sometimes too seriously
9. He can kitchen dance like nobody--and has taught his brothers to do the same

F turned 9 this past weekend and his birthday was on Saturday, which meant his party could be one his actual birthday. His excitement was uncontainable!!! We went to the Wild Animal Park in Ft. Chiswell. For our CA family, no it's not as cool as the SDWAP. For our VA family, yes, it turns out that Ft. Chiswell has more than the Flying J truck stop, & an abandoned outlet mall--there is a wild animal park there!

Our fears of it being too corny were unfounded, and for what it was, and what we paid, it was totally worth it! There had enough animals to make us feel like we'd been somewhere. And the bus tour was crazy because these mondo animals were totally in our faces as they ate out of our hands. We fed emu, an ostrich, a camel, a bison, and something that started with a E and looked like a beast from the African plains. We also saw zebras, wildabeasts, potbellied-big babies, water buffalo, monkeys, and several other animals whose names escape me. Clearly, below is NOT our F, as he was not interested in getting this close!! Not sure this child was either, sorry C!
A socological look at the day revealed something funny. The girls in our party were feeding these animals out of their hands, petting them, and letting the animals slobber all over them. The boys, however, "didn't want to get dirty or slimy." Hhmmmm...

All in all though, it was a great way to spend the day. We then went home, went to the pool for awhile, opened gifts from family, ate dinner and went to bed.

Only after he sweet talked us into running him to Hollywood video to buy a game with his accumlated b-day money. Thanks everyone!