Cows, pigs and lace doilies!

As a novice home school mom, I tend to get caught up in my lesson plans, in following our curriculum to a tee, and in checking off my "to do" list for the kids each day. I want to seize the opportunity to do really cool field trips but that does not always happen...or at least it didn't...until yesterday!



A dear friend of ours is at the University of Arizona studying Animal Science. Andrew invited us to spend a morning with him and I thought this might be an ideal field trip opportunity!!



We drove onto the farm on the UofA campus and immediately upon getting out of the car were introduced to one of Andrew's friends and FOUR potentially pregnant cows. The only way to know for sure was by exam....and Claire was handed a glove!



I should interject here that Claire is seriously considering becoming a Veterinarian. This child of mine has loved all animals -- and by that I mean, ALL -- since she was a tiny tiny thing. Because Andrew knows this, he KNEW she was the one to hand the glove to.



This girl of mine did not even blink. She did not even look at me to see if she should do this. She took that glove, put it on and said, "What do I do now?!"



This is what she did...









She stuck her arm into the cow's bottom to palpate the uterus to see if the cow was pregnant.






Can you tell that this cow WAS expecting....and Claire has just found the calf?!





I thought she might cry she was so amazed...she did not even mind that she was covered in cow poo. Not even a bit!

My boys and sweet Cate were so patient and enjoyed watching that part from a distance...but they enjoyed getting up close to the cows in the pasture and the pigs....

This little piggy was getting a drink of water...I loved watching!

Cate thought we might need to bring a piglet home with us...I was a bit less certain!

And then Andrew took us into the classroom. He had an entire lesson prepared for the kids...OK, I think I learned as much or more than they did! It was an amazing lesson....I am so grateful for this wonder guy! What a blessing he is...