We finally got a bit of sun today, so I insisted that the children in the house (which at the time was Alex, Sarah and Sarah's friend Ellen, who had stayed the night) go OUTSIDE somewhere. I gave them the choice of everywhere I could think of that was outdoors with some indoor bits, and they decided on Horton Farm, which just goes to show that 12YO girls aren't always as grownup as they like to act, a fact which was reinforced at the farm itself, where they climbed all over the climbing stuff, along with their 7YO excuse for being there, and spent ages feeding the animals - and by ages, I really mean ages - far longer than I was interested in feeding them for!
Here's Ellen and Sarah in a cage feeding bunnies - and before anyone gets the idea that a cage for pre-teens might be a good thing, it was only waist high, so they could easily get out, even if it had been locked...
Alex wasn't too sure about feeding donkeys, alpacas and llamas, but we worked on him, and in the end, he really enjoyed it.
There were some baby animals, though not as many as there will no doubt be in a few weeks' time. Here are a couple of very cute black lambs, and some baby piglets, which were incredibly sweet.
But the rabbits were definitely the biggest attraction. One of them was particularly friendly, and kept trying to eat Sarah's boots.
There were other animals, too - chipmunks, peacocks and a duck with a funny haircut, which we all liked.
And lots more, which I didn't take photos of.
There was also a fair amount of playing in the wooden climbing areas, though it was a little muddy, so perhaps not as much as there might have been otherwise.
And in the end, Alex came home with two new friends, by way of being a birthday present from Grandma Kathy. They are called Bramble (the darker one) and Caramel, after actual bunnies at the farm, which is rather a nice change from most of Alex's toys, who are called things like Doggie, Catty, Bunny, Sheepy, Snakey and so on.
