Confession: I have spent the majority of my spring break cleaning the apartment and trying to prevent Raven from pulling all our DVDs off the shelf about every other minute. However, before I went into full-on spring cleaning mode, I made sure we did a little adventure-ing last weekend (while I still had plenty of energy!).
The last time Matt and I went to Baby Animal Days, we were perhaps the only childless couple there, but that didn’t deter us from cooing over the baby chicks, discussing the cuteness of the baby goats, or bemoaning the hour-plus wait to see the baby bears. So it should come as no surprise that once we actually had a child of our own in the mix, we would be heading back.
She obviously bonded immediately with the whole experience, enthusiastically squealing over the delights of the smallness and fluffiness of each of the species, making sure to give extra sweet pats to each one of the little heads:
Okay, so she was perhaps a little young to appreciate the whole experience (which we knew going into it). And besides, we figured out a LONG time ago that she really despises being manipulated into doing anything, so good luck with trying to force her hand to pet the things.
On the bright side, though, there were a few shining moments of bravery where she ventured to take a single finger and poke the baby animals once or twice before deciding that that was about all the cuddles she felt like giving:
But we don’t really go on these adventures because we think she’ll “get” them or go out of her mind with excitement over them–we’re more doing these adventures because we’re trying to get into the habit of going out and trying new things as a family, especially since that’s something I want to prioritize as we have older kids who really will “get” it.
And no time like the present to begin, eh?
Besides, we got some pretty adorable family pics out of the whole thing–
Baby Animal Days @ the American West Heritage Center Info
Address: 4025 S Highway 89-91, Wellsville, Utah
Cost of Admission: $9/adult, $7/kid (ages 3-11)
What to Do: pet (and sometimes hold) various baby farm and other animals, including ducklings, chicks, goats, piglets, lambs, horses, and cows. There are some other animals there too, like the baby bears (which you only get to see, not touch, and be prepared to wait in a LONG line in order to do so), turtles, puppies, and bunnies. The Center also does various demonstrations (like milking the cows and sheepdog races), as well as a candy cannon that goes off every couple hours and plenty of concession stands.
Notes: This event has gotten HUGELY popular, so if crowds aren’t your thing, you might be better off going on one of the later weekends it’s offered–you might miss some of the animals (like the bears), but it would be much less chaotic, and you probably wouldn’t have to wait in as big of lines. We went on Saturday morning and waited in line around 10-20 minutes for each of the animals we saw, and we skipped the longer lines altogether. The Center is pretty big (and you usually have to park a good distance away), so make sure you’re wearing good walking shoes and putting on plenty of sunscreen (since most of the event is outside). If you’re trying to avoid crowds but want to go during the main event, Thursday afternoon (like around one or two) might be your best bet.
Until next time, Baby Animals!
