Exoskeletons

 - by Brittany

Saturday morning, we got up and met a friend for breakfast. I hadn’t seen her since since before I was married. It was so fun to see her and catch up. While we talked, Jameson got a hold of my camera, and took pictures of everyone else in the restaurant. Most were of himself, but some were of other people in the restaurant. Kind of funny. After breakfast, we headed to the Springs Preserve. It is a natural spring in the middle of Vegas. It has been there my whole life, and I’ve never been to see it.  A few years ago, they remolded and created a place you actually want to visit. We met Auntie Erin and Uncle Jeff there. Jameson played on the rocks while we waited.

We decided to do the ladybug class that day. It took us forever to find the location of the class. It was all the way in the back of the preserve and none of the workers could tell us exactly where it could be found. When we finally got there, the class was about to start. The lady described ladybugs, what they eat, their characteristics, etc. Then she asked the class, made up of kids under 7, what an exoskeleton is. Seriously, lady? So after a long discussion and a book reading, the kids got to pick out a rock and paint it like a ladybug. Erin and Jeff were so excited to paint their own rocks.

(That’s Marc entering in the background. He finally found us, only after being harassed by a worker wondering why he wanted to go to the kid class. I do see the man’s point in questioning, but don’t accuse. Geeze.)

While the rocks dried, the kids got to go outside and release actual ladybugs. There were hundreds of them, and they were all over in the grass. The teacher lady got so mad, because the kids were stepping on them. Well sorry, lady. Where do you want them to step? Plus, aren’t you supposed to release ladybugs early in the morning or late at night? I’m pretty sure mid day is not the best choice for those insects, so who knows if they will survive anyway. Erin loved having them crawl all over her.

After our ladybug adventure, we headed over to see the animals and other exhibits. They had a room that showed flash floods in the desert. There was actually a sign that said, “The 2 common ways to die in the desert is of thirst or by flash flood.” Really? Nice sign for the kids. It was really cool how they had the water come rushing out. It kind of scared me a little as we were standing on the platform in front of it. Next, we headed outside. As we were out looking at the animals, they had lizards on display. I told Jameson to forget the ones behind the glass and look at the one on the ground. 🙂 Another display had some type of lizard in side and the conversation went something like this…

Erin-“Hey Jameson, look at this lizard.”

Jameson- “No that’s a (specific kind of lizard).” I don’t remember the name of the lizard.

I laughed and told Erin to look at the sign next to the display. He was 100% correct. I was laughing and Erin felt dumb. I told her “Diego” makes me feel dumb all the time. Nothing is just a whale, or lizard… they all are a specific type.

After the animals (which were kind of lame if you ask me), we went inside to view those exhibits. Jameson took a ride with Erin on the train.

Don’t ask me what Jameson was doing. We had lots of fun. We didn’t get to do the petting zoo part, because that cost extra, and we didn’t feel like paying to pet weird animals. So after we played inside, we headed over to eat.

Jameson loved telling Erin and Jeff about how “We drive in Grandpa’s race car.” We borrowed my Dad’s Lexus while we were in Vegas, and he thought it was a race car. He told everyone we were driving in a race car. We also went over to visit my Dad at his house, and after we left, Jameson told me in the car…

Jameson- “Hey Mom!”

Me- “What?”

J- “We driving in Grandpa’s race car?”

M- “Yes, I guess.”

J- “Hey Mom.”

M- “What?”

J- “Grandpa lives in the jungle!”

I was laughing. The plants out front were a little overgrown, which meant they were chest high on Jameson. He was so excited to go to the jungle.

Anyway, we had some dinner with Erin, Jeff, and Marc then headed back to Grandma’s for an early bedtime. Thanks for a great day, Friends!

Leave a comment