Field Trips

Two weeks ago we took a field trip with Emily's class to see the Cy-Ride bus barn and ride around town.  I was pretty excited she got to go and that we could tag along.  Most preschools in town arrange this field trip and I was always a little sad she had never gone to preschool when I heard others speak of their trip. 
Dallas and Emily both had a great time, I was not super mom on this trip and had to keep both Noelle and Dallas seated for safety, so I didn't get any pictures, plus it was raining!  The CyRide building is fairly new, one of my college roommates even worked on the building project as an engineer.  Some things we learned.
The buses hold 100 gal of gas, they fill them up every night even though a typical bus route day only uses 50 gal of gas.
They do all of their own servicing, have their own mechanics, several bays with lifts, and they even paint the buses there.
They have a bus wash tunnel, we got to go through it in a bus, and the brushes are Cyclone colored!
There are more than 100 people on staff, many part-timers during college stay on after graduation and move to full time.
We also learned why there is often 5-6 buses hanging out in the parking lot South of Hilton.

This Friday we joined the class exploring McFarland Park, Story County's little Conservation area.  It was a fun, cold, windy, but not quite rainy time discovering things.  My kids were good nut finders, we found several different varieties and showed our guide.  We also got to see a Green Backed Heron on our hike.  We could have picnicked following our hike.  I didn't plan on it because of the weather, they only have spots outside, plus we really didn't have any picnic type foods at home.  Scrambled eggs or leftover steak didn't seem like good options for my littles.  I had planned on running to a place to get some food on our way home since it was a special day.  I changed my mind, and we went to the Co-op and spent the $15 we would have spent on hamburgers on food the kids picked out.  Wheatsfield always has awesome samples out in every isle, so we sampled our way around an came up with a silly lunch.

3 organic peaches (Dallas picked)
2 organic pears (Em picked, she loves pears)
1/8 lb dark choc chips ( I picked these)
2 fruit leather strips for snack later this afternoon
tuna salad (my pick)
1/4 lb white cheddar (Noelle's pick)
1 dessert bar square with pecans, dark choc chips, with a shortbread crust? (we split 4 ways)
1/4 lb cashew veggie and noodles (Em picked)
We made it out spending $13 something, with a pretty yummy and random lunch + snack and it was fun (plus the free samples, the jalapeno + cheddar tortilla chips we sampled were yummy!)

We also saw a guy walking around wearing 500 grocery sacks turned into a sort of costume. He was holding a sign stating the average shopper uses 500 sacks a year.  I was glad I happened to have a reusable tote in the van that we took in with us.  I am not that much of a hippie.  I love getting sacks at the store.  We often ask our friends to give us extra, we put them to dog duty use and also use them in our little trash cans around the house.  But all that said, it was a good day not to feel guilty at the checkout when she asked if I needed a sack!

Oh, and sorry no pictures from the nature hike either.  Again I was not super mom, I was trying to keep Dallas on the path, I had Noelle up on my back in the Kelty Carrier, and helping Emily learn and hear what the Conservationist was saying.  Plus it was cold, my iPhone needs skin contact to take pictures and I was wearing mittens!