Our Classical Conversations group had the day off today, and when I saw that the forecasted temperature was somewhere in the sixties, I knew we had to do something fun. I asked the kids at dinner last night what they wanted to do, and Eli immediately shouted, "GO HIKING!"
The other three picked it up, and soon all four children were shouting, "HIKING! HIKING! HIKING!"
A decision was made.
But the day dawned rainy and gray, so I suggested the possibility of a zoo visit instead. Eli was thrilled, and when I asked him what animal he wanted to see, he immediately replied, "Giraffey!"
Well then.
So off we went to the zoo! Apparently it has been a while since I last took the kids, because road work ruined our typical parking spot, and they changed the free hours around on us. But it all worked out in the end, and within fifteen minutes of being at the zoo I had already run into two different friends there.
These kids are so funny - they cannot pass up a face-cutout-thing. (Is there a technical term for this? I don't know.) They were very disappointed that the fourth hole was too high for any of them - especially Eli - to reach, but we made do.
Eli was adamant that we ride the "Carou-self", and he was thrilled when we were able to ride it two times in a row.
Daisy loved her choice of a zebra.
Lily (who chose her complete outfit all by herself, down to the bow in her hair and the boots on her feet) felt like such a big girl riding an up-and-down animal without any help from me!
And Eli? The boy who insisted on riding the "carou-self" panicked as soon as I stepped foot on it. Though he has cheerfully ridden animals on it in the past, this time he flipped out and clung to me for dear life. He was terrified that I might try to put him on an animal without his consent, and thus I had to have both hands on him and be nowhere near a vacant animal at all times. Then, he was perfectly pleased.
Hi, Caleb!
The second go-round, I wised up and made the big kids choose animals near the bench, and Eli and I sat there for the ride. (Funny: at dinner tonight, the kids were telling Chris about our visit to the zoo. I asked Eli to tell Daddy about the carousel, and he thought for a minute, then said, "I ride on couch with Mommy!" He called the bench a couch, and it was too cute.)
He insisted on wearing his doggy hat all morning, and even let me wrap him a little bit! (Pardon that sloppy candy cane chest belt; I'm clearly out of practice.)
We got up close in personal with Kali, the polar bear, as he swam in his habitat, and Caleb had in-depth conversations with several different docents about the diet of polar bears, the habitats of guinea pigs, and who knows what else.
The giraffes were inside, but we got to see them anyway. We saw a baby orangutan (Ginger, who was born the same day as our friend Lydia, a fact I find hilarious), many snakes and turtles in the reptile house, and a baby zebra. On our way out, we walked through the sea lion tunnel, and the kids were delighted to find that the seals and sea lions were especially active.
Daisy borrowed my phone and snapped this picture of the baby zebra. She was quite proud of her work.
On our way out, we stopped by the elephant fountain for our now-traditional photo there.
I can't believe Eli is big enough to sit on the ledge without me worrying now! Caleb looks grouchy in this picture, but it's only because Lily is hugging Daisy, instead of him.
Even though I packed a lunch, the kids were starving. We drove through McDonalds and bought cheeseburgers for everyone before I dropped Caleb and Daisy off for Special Time with Grandmother. I took the little ones home, put them down for naps, and enjoyed a quiet afternoon with the windows open.
When Lily woke up from her nap, her hair was damp with sweat - the sign of a good nap. She sat down to play with puzzles, and I couldn't help but grab my camera.
This is a fairly accurate representation of life with Lily Clare.
messy hair
toys everywhere
wild clothes
sweet, sweet, sweet
No comments:
Post a Comment