I got to babysit on Saturday, so first I put Claire to work by making her help me wash my car. Don’t worry. She liked it. She said it was like playing in the sprinklers. Then we went to Tracy Aviary to visit some birds.
But before we could even get started, I had to tear her away from the DS.
At the aviary, we first saw some pelicans and then a black swan. The tail feathers of the swan curled so beautifully.
We got chased by some peacocks.
And found a bird with eyelashes almost as long and thick as Claire’s.
Of course we stopped by the flamingos.
And Claire showed off her own flamingo stance.
We saw some more peacocks and Claire was quite taken with them because they are so beautiful. When I explained to her that male peacocks were more beautiful than the female ones, she guffawed in disbelief. That was the most ridiculous thing she had every heard and she wouldn’t believe me. She wanted to be a peacock, too. Here she is creating the feathers on top of her head.
And she even does a pretty good imitation of their call.
We took a rest on the bench for a bit.
Then Claire named all the ducks after her friends.
She got to ride the carousel next and took great care selecting which horse.
I kept trying to get her attention so I could take a picture, but she looked serenely forward the entire time. Afterwards she told me that she was imagining that she was a princess and she was riding her flying horse. And did I notice that there weren’t any reins? That’s because the horse belonged to a princess and princesses don’t use reins.
We made wishes on dandelions while we waited for the car to cool down.
I thought for sure I would remember the wishes Claire made. They all involved someone flying. For example, I wish we lived in a garden that flew and that we were fairies. Or, I wish I was a princess that had a flying horse named Pegasus. When it was my turn to make a wish, I went for something I thought Claire would appreciate (and I guess something I really do wish for): True Love. She responded, “But you already have that because I love you.” (Insert melting heart right here.)
Then I told her to look pretty and this is what I got:
Claire was a great little companion and we had fun, but as soon as we got in the car, I lost her to the Nintendo DS again.
Oh, the pain of it all! You took her on a magical journey all day (or did she take you?) and then flipping technology ruined the whole thing. This is depressing!
you are such a good auntie. i don’t think my own mother took that many pictures of me in my whole lifetime; then again, i wasn’t nearly so adorable.
I love the aviary. This reminds me of the afternoon that we spent there a year or so ago. I love Claire’s polka-dot shirt.
wow. she is SO cute (and totally photogenic)! since you really spoil her, you should take her to the zoo, too.
I have always lived in Utah, but never visited the Tracy Aviary. I will have to take my kids. Thanks for the reminder.