Alpaca Lunch

[Get it? Alpaca/"I'll pack a" lunch?]

We got to go visit the alpaca farm again this year, and I again packed lunch - only this time we each got our own!

I'm sure many of the ones we saw last year were still here, a year older, but I couldn't possibly tell. The rancher lady would know for sure though! She knows all their names and can tell you who is who, and whether they are friendly or shy. Amazing.

The guide/rancher let the kids pet some of the baby alpacas. Super cute.

This year Z wasn't afraid to touch an alpaca. I think this one is named 'Spirit.'
Z liked that, since Auntie Kayneen's dog is also named Spirit.

There's a willow tree growing in one of the pens, and the leaves are a real treat for the alpacas. Z remembered getting to feed leaves to the animals last year, and was eager to do it again. We had the best luck with the pen of pregnant and to-be-bred females (males are separated, as are moms with new babies.)

Bad picture, since she wanted me to hold her up
so she could feed them over the fence.

 We also got to feed them grain pellets. Last year she was too afraid of them getting that close to her hand, but this time she was delighted when they'd lick the pellets off. Alpacas only have teeth on their bottom jaw. The top is just gums. So a low chance of getting bitten!

After the tour and a fun purchase at the gift shop, we sat in the grass with the only other mom who had packed a lunch.

Her lunch: Mac 'n cheese, green and white wax beans, Ranch,
string cheese nibblets, raspberries

Guess who cleverly forgot to pack a fork? Doh!

Mine: PBJ, Ranch, broccoli and carrot, PB, apples

The little white thing on her right knee is an alpaca finger puppet,
knit from alpaca wool yarn! She loved it!

She went for the beans first, and polished most of them off. She refused to eat the macaroni with her fingers, and I couldn't find a disposable fork anywhere in the car. She may have eaten a few cheese nibblets. Not sure. No berries though, which was a shock.

On the way home, we stopped at one of the local parks. Our city's Parks Department has a Summer program where they bring toys, games, crafts and activities to a few of our parks, plus a free lunch program ( for all kids aged 1-18) through the School District, M-Th. We made it in time to get a free lunch too, and since she had only eaten her beans, she wanted one. It had an Uncrustables sandwich (she ate roughly 1/3rd,) a small apple (ate most of it,) carrot sticks (I ate them,) and a cheese stick (also me.) Plus milk. She did some coloring in the coloring books they had, and played with some sidewalk chalk, and ran around using their balls and pool noodles and some kind of sports scooper thing (like Lacrosse? Only with a short handle.) I haven't been posting as many food posts, since mostly I fancy up our lunches, and we've been either getting McD's or the free lunch at the park the last few weeks.

I'll be linking this up with bentolunch.net's WFLW. It's good to be back!