February 16

Florida, Day 6

Read about our trip from the beginning here.

Yep, Day 6. Dear Maggie was such a gracious hostess; we totally invaded her life and her space for a full week, and she managed to convince us that it was a delight, and not a major inconvenience. This was our last full day in Florida, so we decided to do something fun. Maggie had heard that Mixon Fruit Farms were worth visiting, so we hopped in the van. It was a 30-minute drive, and the kids were... not at their best. While we drove, I hopped on my phone and purchased a Groupon for a tour of the farm. When we finally arrived, a very grouchy cashier told us that the tour was all sold out, and we might as well go home. We were so annoyed, but luckily another employee overheard us and told us that the cashier was a jerk, and that there were other tours, including one in an hour. Crisis averted! We sampled some orange juice, then picnicked and played in their outdoor kids' area until it was time for our tour.

There was a giant sandbox, which made everyone happy.

This girl. All  knobby knees and sharp angles. Goodness, I love her.

I think the kids were overwhelmed by the sheer number of toys available to play in the sand with.

Picnic. Chris is eating, Eli is just chilling. It's tough work being a baby.

Happy girl! I love when Daisy is cheerful!

(I will remind you of the nursery rhyme I often quote about Daisy: 

There was a little girl

who had a little curl

right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,

she was very, very good, 

and when she was bad, she was horrid.)

Carrots. Yum.

Hi, sweet Lu! She didn't want to eat lunch, but we made her.

Finally, it was time for our tour! 

Eli was wrapped on my chest, so I only got these four in the picture.

Just like with our gator boat ride the other day, Eli started crying as soon as the tram started moving. Thank goodness for babywearing! By the time we made it through most of the citrus groves, Eli had a full belly and sound asleep on my chest.

It was perfect timing, because right after he fell asleep, the tram stopped and this happened: 

Yes, that sign says, "CAUTION live crocodiles".

A wildlife rescue operation happens to be based out of the fruit farm, and they had a whole menagerie of animals for the kids to interact with. Daisy was fascinated to watch the keeper feed the crocodiles some raw pork.

Up next: a boar. The kids were really brave and fed it apple slices through the fence.

Then, a white skunk! See Daisy's hand reaching up to pet it? The skunk had been de-scented, so the kids weren't scared.

Look at Caleb, being brave!

Even Lily got to pet the skunk!

Meanwhile... 

Eli snoozed away.

Then the keeper brought out a baby alligator. 

Look at the focus in Caleb's eyes. He was totally into that little gator. Sadly, he wasn't brave enough to touch it.

Daisy was, though! She said it felt bumpy.

Then he brought out a Burmese Python! 

Can you see Lily and me (and a little bit of Eli!) reaching out to touch it?

All three big kids really enjoyed the turtles

And then our tour was over. The kids enjoyed some ice cream before we drove back to Maggie's for naps. We spent much of the evening packing and loading up the van, and the kids all said goodbye to Maggie before we put them to bed. Then Chris and I went to sleep, knowing we had a long day ahead of us.