rainbows make everything better

i was lucky enough to be one of the five names drawn for the bean's first field trip of the year.  yaaaaaaaaaay.  and as an official classroom chaperone, i had to ride on the bus with the kids...all 40 of them.  yowza.

our destination?

i had no idea this place even existed.  and i've driven through this area a gazillion times and never even noticed it.  it's a 10-acre piece of land fenced off to protect the trees, shrubs, flowers and animals with tours available by reservation only.  the third graders are learning about california's native american tribes, and so this was a fun way to incorporate an outing with the lesson plan.  since most of the animals who live and visit this sanctuary sleep during the day, this bird was pretty much the only bit of wildlife we saw - and i'm not even sure the kids noticed him.

as the kids lined up to listen to an introduction by the tour guide, i noticed that one of the girls was wearing this brand-spankin' new pair of white tennis shoes.  on a rainy day.  for a nature walk.  i had to take a "before" shot to compare with what they looked like by the end of the trip.  also, because i'm kind of an asshole like that.

with a couple of my fellow chaperones, who also happen to be among my favorite moms in the school.

the guides gave the kids some basic instructions and an idea of what to expect, and then we began the trek.

they were tasked with finding the little signs along the route and reading them out loud to the group as they walked on by.  the bean found one of the first ones.

one of the activities involved "charging" this gizmo by spinning it and then pushing the wooden piece up and down the dowel.  i wasn't paying attention even a little bit, so i couldn't tell you what it was supposed to do, but the kids seemed to dig it.

then we crossed another bridge:

and listened to a story.

look ma, i'm in nature!

i was glad to be in boots that i was okay with getting all dirty and muddy.

we crossed more bridges.

then the group learned about some of the ways that the tribes hunted for their food.  they used boomerang-looking things to fling across to kill their "prey."

and did a little spear throwing through this hoop.

the bean was one of just two who actually hit their mark:

they learned how to make string using raffia:

we took a selfie:

got the obligatory shot with one of her favorite longtime friends:

and then i snuck in the "after" shot of those shoes.  they were pretty muddy, but not nearly as bad as i'd been expecting.  hopefully they were fairly easy to clean off.

after having some lunch, returning to school, finishing the day and then getting through cheer practice, she got to attend a rare weekday birthday party:

and we ended the day with this.

not too shabby for a monday, i'd say.