Jefferson's field trip

My morning started a bit crazy today. Jefferson's field trip started early in the morning, so I had to get all the children ready at the same time and a bit earlier than usual. I dropped the older children at school first, then dropped James at one of my friends' house. Her daughter and James attend the same preschool and my friend was going to give James a ride. Then, I dropped Charlton at my neighbor's house. I wasted my minutes figuring out how to set up the portable crib. I had to leave without resolving the situation, hoping they would figure out a way to have Charlton take a nap. Later, when I got back to pick him up, I found him sleeping on the floor on top of a few blankets, very comfortably.

Being the field trip coordinator has been so far very stressful. Because Jefferson's school is a charter school, we need parents to provide transportation for field trips. I am good in many things, but asking people to do things isn't one of them. The transportation for this field trip was finally secured yesterday, far too stressful for me. I wish people were more punctual with their responses. Nevertheless, I was grateful to the parents who stepped up and helped out.

We went and visited the Crab Cove Visitor Center, in Alameda. A marine biologist student was our tour guide and the children really enjoyed him. He taught them about the sea creatures found in our bay, as well as the fowl that hang around in the bay area. After the lecture, he took the class near the water to see if they could find any animals frequenting the water. The tide was very high, and we were unable to see any crabs, rays or any other fishes. We were, however, able to see a lot of various birds, as well as a beautiful and peaceful view of the bay.
Toward the end of our visit, the tour guide took the children to a nearby pond to see various kinds of fowl living in it. We were able to see many different kinds of birds, nesting, flying, catching fish, etc. The pond was full of mallard ducks as well. I love when I learn new things. Today, I learned something that made total sense, but that I had never thought before. There were several colorful male and plain female ducks. Our tour guide said that mallard ducks mate for life, for most cases. Female ducks try to seek out mates that are not as colorful as most mallard males are. The less colorful the males are the fewer problems the family has from predators. When the males don't attract as much attention from the predators with their colors, they have a more shared responsibility for the young ones. When the males are very colorful, the responsibility falls utterly on the mother's shoulders, since she has colors that camouflage her. I thought that was very interesting, and so true.
I know you are thinking what do mushrooms have to do with birds and fish. Well, nothing, I just liked the picture.

I enjoyed being with Jefferson, and talking to him about what he learned. Being the class photographer as well, I was spending a lot of time taking pictures, but when Jefferson expressed his concern that I wasn't spending enough time with him, I totally felt guilty and took pictures only when he was playing with his friends or listening to the tour guide. I love doing a lot of things as part of my life, but being a mother is my favorite.

Later on tonight, I went to the temple. On the way there, the sky greeted us with a view that looked more like a painting than the real thing. I couldn't help but click my camera. I took another picture when we got there. I'm sure you can tell by the same trees in the background. Gorgeous hues!