Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari!

Today the Nestoss' went on another adventure in Reklaw, TX!  Andy, Laila, Lainie and I ventured out to the Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari!  We couldn't believe we didn't do this sooner!!  We received a pamphlet that described the 18 types of animals we would encounter, along with two full bags of pellets for us to feed/spoil the animals with!  Laila felt so proud of the fact she got her very own bag, it made her feel like a real big girl!!  She couldn't wait for us to start seeing animals for her to feed! 

After entering the 300 acre nature preserve, we were greeted by a couple curious noises of Zebras, Blackbuck, Barasingha also called swamp deer.  Lainie our animal lover was less than excited at first.  She was not impressed with the animals trying to get to know her through the window.  It took some time, but she finally came around to throw a couple of pellets out the window to the Red Kangaroo!  This was my favorite animal we saw!  As we watched him jump the path to follow us, I couldn't help but enjoy seeing this animal run so free!  We actually had a trail of "new" friends that followed us for a good amount of the way!  I kept kidding Andy he made one very good friend, the Sika which is the Japanese word for small deer.  This guy would not leave his car door side! 

After driving by the Miniature Donkey's, Highland Cattle, Ducks, Emu, Rocky Mountain Elk, Llama and much more, we finally saw Laila's favorite, the Canadian Woodland Bison!  Laila and I pointed out that there was a mom, dad and two little ones, just like our family.  It was so much fun seeing all the animals and getting an upclose look!  There were a couple times Andy had to close the windows to prevent our "new" friends from getting to know us even better!! :)  Laila was more than willing to let them in our vehicle!  Lainie on the other hand was glad there was the window between us and the animals!!  I have a feeling Lainie loves being able to go up and pet animals her size, not ones she has to look up to!  She did have a great time as she said bye bye and waved at the end!!  I was very impressed with Laila today!  Usually she is shy, not wanting to explore new animals, but Lainie instead.  Today it was the other way around!  In the end we saw all 17 animals except the turkeys!  They must of known that Thanksgiving was near!! :)  Til the next!  EN

Norman-dilly!

As many of you know, we have another member of our family that doesn't get much recognition on this blog.  It is no one other than our guinea pig Norman.  Andy and I have owned three other guinea pigs in the past and loved each one of them!  Ok maybe just me, but Andy did enjoy them too!  We adopted Norman from Lufkin, TX in March and has been a wonderful addition to our family!!  I asked Laila the other day what she thought Norman was thinking or saying when he squeaked.  She said Norman was happy because we gave him lettuce.  I'm sure if Norman could speak he would have a lot more to say, so it's probably good he doesn't! :) 

His best friend is Lainie who provides him with all kinds of things that a guinea pig could only imagine!  Such things as spoons, toys, Lainie's food, crayons, keys and more!  Half the time we have to check Normans cage if we lost something!  I don't know how many spoons I have thrown away cleaning his cage because they were hidden in his litter!  Andy heard me the other day saying hello to Norman and just laughed and shook his head.  Deep down inside, I'm sure when the girls and I are gone, Andy is right there carrying on a conversation with Norman!  Andy and Norman have to stick together since the girls out number the boys in this household!! :)

When my parents came to visit a month ago, they brought their two dogs.  Norman fell in love with my parents dog Buttercup!  He would squeak, purr and get all excited when she would visit his cage!  So even little guys like Norman can fall in love!!  Opposites do attract! :)  He not only is our little burglar alarm, but he has made Laila and Lainie so happy!!!    Til the next!!  EN

Happy Halloween!!

The girls have hit their candy quota for the Halloween season!  Besides trick or treating, we have been thrilled to have gone to a Halloween party and a few events in town this year!  In September, Laila decided she wanted to be Aerial from The Little Mermaid.  So we figured Aerial would need one of her side kicks, no one other than Sebastian!!  Lainie so proudly represented the crab by wearing the costume the entire time! 

A bit before Halloween, Andy, the girls and I dressed up for a friends party to kick off the Halloween season!!  With the girls costumes done, Andy and I decided to be pumpkin pie!  I am pretty sure Andy got the easy out this year for costumes!!  Don't worry though, I'll make sure he makes up for it next year!  After our Halloween party warm up, downtown Nacogdoches had its annual Scare on the Square event.  More than 40 vendors were there passing out candy in a great kid friendly environment.  Not only was there candy, but a petting zoo and the Humane Society.  Lainie would of loved to put a puppy in her Halloween bucket if she could of!  I could just imagine trying to explain that one to Andy when we got home! :) 

With Halloween finally here, Laila could not be more thrilled with the concept of ringing a doorbell, saying trick or treat and receiving a piece of candy!  So if you find your doorbell ringing in the future, you better have some candy on hand! :)  j/k!  Laila had a huge improvement from last years trick or treating.  This year she understood she couldn't eat every piece of candy that went in her bucket right away!  When told she could have one piece of candy on the way home, her response was, I'll wait til we get home to look through it!  Who is this little girl? :)  Lainie on the other hand took the place of her sister from last year!  She held up the trick or treating crew by having to examine every piece of candy received and on top of that eat M&M's during this process!  But she totally enjoyed seeing all the costumes, kids and of course the household pets that would come to the door to hand out the candy!  Andy and I had a great time going around the neighborhoods with the girls and enjoyed the weather!!  This was a first to not have to wrap the girls up in winter clothes under their costumes!! 

As we got home after trick or treating, Laila expressed to us that she needed a break!  Almost three and she needed a break!  It was a lot of work getting that candy, but now we have a huge bowl of goodies for going to the potty, eating all their food and a little treat here and there!  This year was a fun filled Halloween!!  So like the mummy said to the detective, let’s wrap this up!  Happy Halloween!!  Til the next!! EN