No census was taken, but as far as I could tell the pre-party estimate of twenty adults and twenty children was about right. We gathered at Suzanne's house today to celebrate D.J.'s fifth birthday and to enjoy each other's company, because that's what we do. Any excuse is good enough, and this was the best one we've had in a while.

D.J. had a good day, and he enjoyed opening his presents and eating cake, but the best thing of all was the visit from the people and animals of Classroom Safari. They had a wonderful presentation that had the children (and adults) mesmerized for an hour. And D.J. was as engaged and interested as anyone. He's a boy who loves to learn about science and nature, so this was the perfect way to give him a day to remember.

The show is highly weighted toward reptiles, which is an area that small children especially seem to appreciate. I found that out about D.J. when he was at my house yesterday. All he wanted to do was look for lizards in the yard. Well, he saw something a little more jaw-droppingly awe-inspiring than a garden lizard today. The very first animal we were introduced to was a red tegu lizard.

After that, we had a crocodile, a boa constrictor, a fennec fox, a genet, a cute little prickly hedgehog, and an adorable white ferret. The closing act was a serval cat that wanted nothing more than to see everything there was to see in the neighborhood, give a little perfunctory hiss, and then retreat back into its cage.

All of these animals were fascinating, and all of us were captivated by the way we were allowed to make their acquaintance. The ones we could touch, we touched. Some we just looked at from a distance. But the stories behind all of them were compelling and fun. It was a great birthday present, and a treat for all of us.