Daxton's First Driving Lesson...Through a Safari Park...

March was a bit harder than we had anticipated with Daddy traveling and working insane hours.  It's been an adjustment for him with new coworkers and trying to get the feel of how things work down here in South Florida.  I wish there was more I could do to help, since the exhaustion is really taking a toll.

It would have been very easy for me to become a reclusive "single mom" while Dallas was gone so much, but instead I made a choice to keep busy.  Daxton and I spent the month going on play dates, adventures, and trying hard to keep our minds off of how much we both missed daddy.  One of these adventures included making a trip up to the Lion Country Safari for the day.  

We love the Lion Country Safari.  It is built on over 300 acres of land where several african animals roam freely.  Since the speed limit is 5-10 miles an hour, seat belts are not required, which is a very special treat for this active toddler!  Daxton immediately jumped up to the front, sat in the passenger seat or on my lap, and began to press all the buttons he could get his fingers on.  He loved looking at all the different animals, especially the ones that approached our windows closely.

Daxton is both scared and mesmerized by Ostriches.  There was one in particular that kept pecking off all the little bugs on our car.  After the initial shock of having such a large animal right next to his head, he got a kick out of watching it eating.  He started to call them "osheshes" which was pretty cute!

It was such a gorgeous day.  I couldn't wrap my brain around the fact that it was in the low 80s while the rest of the country was in snow at the beginning of March.  Daxton and I took forever making our way through the safari park...mostly because I let Daxton steer the car, which meant a lot of directional changes from momma as well.  It was such a fun adventure with my little man!

Here are some of the pictures I took while Daxton was driving...

After our drive, we explored the walk-through portion of the park.  It was great since there were hardly any people there.  Daxton literally just ran from place to place, touching everything he could get his hands on.  I love the thick vegetation here.  The trees are so different and everything is incredibly green.

Daxton also had a lot of fun at the petting zoo area.  He was much more brave at approaching the different goats this time.  I had to intervene a few times, since he mostly just wanted to pull on all their tails.

We ended our adventure by exploring the nature walk right next to all the fish and monkey islands.  Once again, Daxton ran in circles on the empty walkways.  This kid was in heaven!

It was such a fun day.
I'm so grateful we live in an area with so many fun things to explore and do.  I also love that I am constantly amazed at the beauty and diversity surrounding us.