Day 19

I went in early today because I needed to leave early to head home for my cousin's wedding rehersal. I decided to go in and get a few things done for next week, so Monday wouldn't be so crazy. Made some copies, organized a few things, and then I put together the folders to send home with our campers today. I put in a group photo, an individual photo of them, and a personal note from Averee and I saying "Hope you had a great week cause we sure did!" I always think personal touches like that can make all the difference sometimes.

We changed our normal schedule up today since I was sneaking out before 11:00. We still started with our big circle and went around saying what our favorite part of the week was. A lot of them liked the train. A few even said everything. Then we went to visit the penguins. Quinn kept asking me yesterday when we were going to see the penguins. The kids kept asking us why they weren't swimming, and I just answered that they must not feel like it yet.

 
Next, the kids all had a chance to feed the parakeets. We went in with three different groups rather than all at once. As the kids came out, I decided we needed to have something to do rather than just stand there. So, first I had about 6 of them, so we did some "London bridge is falling down", then we went up to maybe 12, so we did the hokey pokey. I saw the parakeet lady look over and chuckle, then when almost everyone was out we were doing the macarena and the chicken dance. Now, for those of you who don't know the Blank Park Zoo, the parakeet feeding area is right off the sidewalk as you walk in the main gates, so the visitors that walked in within those first 10 minutes that the zoo was open saw me shaking around with my line of Kindergartners joining in. One of my fellow interns Magen, who is working with the 3rd and 4th graders walked up the hill, looked, and laughed as she went. Later she caught me and said she enjoyed seeing us do the hokey pokey haha Well, it kept them occupied and in line for the time that we needed it. Hey, and one of our zoo crew volunteer helpers from the day Marissa joined in and did the dances with us too.

Then, I lined up my soldiers (yesterday afternoon I started the military bit for fun, which they responded well too - "attention", "yes, sir", "at ease", "forward march"). We quickly marched to the gibbons, which are apes, and big cat exhibits - tiger and lions. Then, back to the classroom for quick freezie pops for snack, and then the animal presenters came. They started with a leopard gecko, at which time I snuck out for the day.

I drove home for about 5 hours, and then headed to Raeville, NE for my cousin Elizabeth's wedding rehearsal. I am actually the maid of honor. Tomorrow's going to be a fun day. This is the first time I've been back in these neck of the woods in about a month. I am pretty tired, considering I've been up since 5:30. Good day though. Here's a photo of my brother Sheldon, Mark - the groom, Elizabeth - the bride, and me at the rehearsal dinner tonight.