Kayla finishes up her trip in style

I am sad to say that Kayla's visit is almost over. We've had so much fun doing things with her we haven't had a chance to do since we had little kids of our own. Kayla was an excellent house guest, and I think our cats will miss her as much as we will. Kibbie, especially, got a bunch of extra attention--which she really needed after her brush with death a couple of weeks ago.

Kayla spent the morning taking Waylon on one last walk, and then we went to Tracy Aviary.  I don't know what you remember about going there when you were a kid, but I can guarantee that the place is 150% better now.  The exhibits were clean, beautifully cultivated, and the birds looked totally healthy and happy.  Somebody (probably a lot of somebodies) must have contributed a lot of money to the Aviary.

The best thing, though, was the bird show, which was even better than I remember it being.  Hawks and vultures flew out of boxes mounted on tall poles, McCaws swooped down over the audience, and an emu came running out to get fed by a small child.  The handlers were smart and funny, and Kayla and I both loved it!

That's Kayla in the pink shirt; she "fed" a trained crow two one-dollar bills!

 

We saw a bunch of beautiful ibises with loooong beaks for catching bugs 

...and a family of swans!

Do you remember the song Kookabarra sits in the old gum tree?  We saw an ACTUAL kookabarra, and he was shaking the smithereens out of a dead mouse.  Most of the people who passed the exhibit said something like "Gross!" or "Enough already!  It's already dead!" but that didn't stop the little dude from making certain that thing was absolutely a goner.

The most impressive bird I saw was the Andean Condor--a huge bird named Andy (clever) who was 51 years old!  He was new to the Aviary and they were training him!  (There's hope for me yet, if a 51 year old bird can be trained.)  Condors live to be 70.

When we got back from the Aviary (after stopping by Nielsen's Frozen Custard one last time), Kayla offered to help us clean the house, and she did!  With her help we finished in record time, and now when we return from Texas we will come home to a sparkling clean house, rather than a messed up one!

After spending a week with Kayla, I can accurately say she is an AMAZING girl--curious, fun, energetic, helpful, grateful, smart, an excellent conversationalist, terrific with animals, and a great sport.

Thanks for spending a week with us, Kayla!  It was the most fun I've had in years!