Mules, Mujadara, Music, and Mmmmm

At the Nature Center, we petted a chinchilla, avoided all the pea hens, cowered at the clucking chickens, lavished love on the giant rabbits (even introducing the white one to Amy the bunny and the beige one to Tango the penguin), laughed at the otters, chased the huge farmyard cats, eyed the boas and pythons warily, and smiled at the llamas, donkeys (okay, they weren't mules), sheep, goats, and various cows. We also skipped rocks on the ice of the pond, marveling at the distances of sticks, bark, and acorns.

Then we had lunch at a local Middle Eastern place, one of the best we've encountered here (in Chicago, we lived around the corner from four great ones (Cousin's, Reza's, Andie's, and the Olive Tree!) and so go into withdrawl frequently for various Mediterranean dishes). We ordered a little bit of everything, not sure what the kid would like, even though we billed it all as "Silk Road food": lentil soup, mujadara (lentils and rice with fried onions), "plain" rice (with noodles, a lot like rice a roni), chicken kebab, chicken shwarma, kefte kebab, and a platter with hummus, baba ganoush, dolmades, tabbouleh, pita, tahini, and garlic dip--most of it sprinkled with sumac. YUM! Bud liked the shredded chicken shwarma mixed in with the plain rice, while Sis liked either chicken as long as it was still in the wrap, sans all sauce. Their favorite part? The mango nectar drink. It was a wonderful change from our usual fare, which is mostly Italian or Chinese. And each time we go, we swear we'll go more often.

Then we went to the concert, which focused on percussion instruments. I knew it was perfect for Bud and Sis as we entered the hall and saw the djembe and doumbek drums, marimba, and gongs. Then the percussionist came in waving one of those plastic ribbed tubes that whistle when spun. That got everyone's attention! He and the trumpet player then spent the next 45 minutes talking about beat/pulse, rhythm, vibrations, melody, rounds, fanfares, and the like, in a very entertaining and age-appropriate way. Bud and Sis sat on the floor with Mama and were mesmerized, clapping and singing along, even getting to place their hands inside the drums to "feel" the sounds. But their favorite part, after the marching along to the snare drums, was playing the instruments themselves: drumming on the two drums, using the mallets on the marimba, even fingering the valves of the trumpet while he blew. It's the second time we've been to the children's symphony concerts and we can't wait to go see the whole orchestra when they turn 6 (and can go for free with an adult!).

We made a last stop at the cupcake shop on the way home for gigantic cupcakes. Bud, of course, wanted strawberry, which they fortunately had, in a normal size. But Sis got a chocolate one that was huge! It was disappointing, though, because the cake turned out to be vanilla and her little face fell. So, of course, we fetched a full on chocolate one, which she devoured, getting so much chocolate on her face that the table across the room thought she was so cute. Mama's tiramisu cupcake was a great idea but disappointing, probably because they didn't/couldn't include the alcohol! I got a peanut butter/chocolate combo that was outstanding, perhaps for the nostalgia factor, as the pb frosting reminded me of the pb cake I would get in elementary school.

All in all a great day, except it's Sunday and we usually do these outings on Saturday, so I keep thinking that tomorrow is a family day, too.