Fossil Rim with Aunt Onnie and the Darby boys

Andrea (my sis-in-law) and her three sons Caden (8), Dru (6) & Eston (4) drove all the way from Bentonville, Arkansas to stay with us a few weeks ago. We had sooo much fun together. Every single minute of their stay was action packed. Alex and her cousins adore one another. It is always a bitter sweet time for me when we are all together, because it makes me realize that we should live closer. The boys love and protect Alex like a sister. They always take care of her and team up to make sure someone is on Alex duty at all times. It's so special to watch three big boys love on her. I will post their visit in a few sections b/c of the number of photos.
This first round is from our trip to Fossil Rim. I have always wanted to take the boys there, so when Andrea said they were coming, this was the first place that came to mind. Fossil Rim is a 9 1/2 mile drive-thru animal refuge located in Glen Rose, Texas. It only takes an hour and a half to get there, but the rolling hills and cactus make you feel like you are much further from the city. Most of the animals you see at FR are animals you would see in the African safari: zebra, giraffe, cheetah, rhino, sable and aoudad. You can imagine the reaction when the boys saw wild animals running toward our car wanting to eat :) It was an absolutely perfect day. We were so blessed with gorgeous weather and really, we had the place to ourselves. We took Andrea's van and opened the doors so the kids were able to interact with the animals and feed any "takers." They were all so brave! Here are a few pics from our wildlife adventure:

Packed up, strapped in and stoked for a day of fun!

Kiddos played together while Aunt Missy (that's my nickname) fed Carson

Alex smiling with a zebra

Carson and Aunt Onnie fell in love...again

Carson had a wardrobe malfunction :)

Dru shares a moment with the moose

So does Aunt Missy :)

The crew at lunch

Carson had a blast. What a trooper. We drug him around all day and never even a fuss.

Ok, I lied...he did freak out at the 1,000th photo op. NO MAS pictures mom!!!

Andrea gets to feed the papa giraffe "the stud"

Giraffe just chillin' on the street

Alex and Eston get to feed and pet the giraffe

Alex was a brave girl...never intimidated by the animals

Don't get to see this everyday

Caden is the most amazing cousin and brother. He was precious with Carson and Alex.

What a cute bunch of kiddos! We are so blessed!!
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We were so so so done by the end of the day. The drive home was one big meltdown extravaganza, but it was completly worth it. If you haven't been to Fossil Rim, you need to make a day of it!