JACKSON AND DAISY

What a great day!!!

This is my friend Jackson, he's five years old.  He's riding Daisy, age unknown!

Today I picked up Jackson from his home and gave his mom a day off!

This was OUR day to play and that's just what we did. His weary mother got to take a walk, ALONE, take a leisurely shower, run some errands and do a little shopping! 

First stop for us was Intercontinental Jet Services where he got to climb in the cockpit of several business jets and pretend he was flying at 30,000 feet. Honeybuns gave him "flight" lessons and he was qualified for the imaginary trip in a matter of minutes.  He looked the airplanes over inside and out, his eyes jumping at each new button and switch he could flip. Twirling the propellers was his favorite thing to do.  Finding snacks the pilots squirrel away was also VERY exciting!

After lunch, we hit the ZOO!  Oh, yes, there were lions and tigers and bears! But there was also this CAMEL!  Daisy and her sister were parked just inside the gate, eager for small  bodies to climb up into the saddle. I couldn't believe Jackson wanted to ride this beast.  He didn't hesitate as I told the zookeeper that NO amount of money would get ME up there. 

Daisy rounded the corner and turned her head at just the right moment, flashing her winning smile.

I think she knows the drill!  I'm not sure which one was happier at that moment, Jackson or Daisy!

We rode the ZOO TRAIN, another hit!  The engineer had to stop once to let an 8 foot black snake slither across the track. Why, oh why, he just didn't cut that thing into two pieces is beyond me! Popular opinion was that the thing had escaped his cage, but no, it was of the native species.  (A reason to MOVE out of OKLAHOMA!)

We watched the penguins and sea lions swim, chased the geese, and tried extremely hard NOT to yell at the elephants.  We were told that they would charge if angered!

The last treat was the gift shop of course. And Jackson selected several tiny wild animals of the plastic variety to carry home.  He'll be dreaming of cheetahs, monkeys and Komo Dragons all night long.

Moral of the story:  When your own children or grandchildren are not available for an outing, go find a child with a weary momma.  Jackson is my new best friend. We have many more good ideas for beautiful days together.