Vanessa's preschool field trip to the Youth Pavilion

Vanessa's preschool field trip snuck up on me as far as schedule goes.  I knew she was going on one, but I didn't realize it was happening the day after I read the paper from her teacher about it.  Parents are always invited to come along.  I debated going and really, I should always want to go along on these cute little adventures, but I have to be pushed into going.  Maybe its hanging out with a whole crowd of three year olds that makes me think twice about going.  But that should really be my place of most familiarity, right?  Anyway, I digress.  Turns out when I go along with a child of mine on a field trip, it is one of the more special times I have with them and are enjoyable and memorable.

I found a friend who was willing to watch Eli for a couple of hours (thanks Kim!!).  I brought Vanessa to preK at 9 am like usual, dropped Eli off with Kim, then made it back to the preK building in time to meet up with Vanessa and her class at 9:35 am to board the bus at 9:40.  I was waiting in the entrance of the preschool wing when he class was lined up walking towards the door.  She had a fun day being the leader and bringing the snack, so was first in line.  When she saw me she lit up like a ray of sunshine and ran to me saying, "that's my mommy!!!" and gave my leg a big hug.  I held her hand and we boarded the bus together.  She chose a seat and say by the window, and the ride to the youth pavilion was pretty exciting.  She found it funny she didn't have to wear a seatbelt, and stared at the ground as the bus drove noting how fast we were going.  She recognized Bethany Bible Chapel and said "that's our church!" and we drove by the building.  She was excited to go under a bridge.  And the bumps on the bus are always exciting.

When the bus arrived, she noticed the big blue X on the building which is part of the logo.  Each class hung up their coats in the building and a lady directed our classes where to go.  We first looked at a moving piece of art behind a glass wall that was activated by a button.  The kids were directed to another room where the feature was recycling things - a big circle of tires roped in a trike/bike riding area.  Vanessa listened to music made from recycled materials, drew on paper, and did other things.  Her attention span is very short.

The kids got to wander around the other play areas where they could put on dress up clothes, play on a stage, play with puppets, stack blocks, and explore little rooms that were informational about other countries.  The lower level of the play area had the painting screen, milking a cow, riding a bus, and fishing with magnetic poles.  She jumped from thing to thing.

The hour there went by very quickly.  Vanessa wanted to do everything with me, drag me everywhere to every little thing that captured her attention, and insisted on holding my hand.  She told me I was the best mommy ever.

On the bus ride home she wanted to sit by her friend Baylor, so I squeezed in a seat next to those two girls who giggled and switched spots a few times.

What a fun time.  I'm so glad I decided to go.  Vanessa is such a sweet little thing and so loving and really seemed to love having me there.

our selfie on the bus

Vanessa with her "bestie" Baylor