today we had the bright or not-so-bright-idea to enjoy our eighty degree weather by heading to the zoo. well, as it turns out, the rest of denver had the same thought. we went and it was PACKED. as in no parking packed. as in we had to park a mile away and walk to the zoo. as in worse than free day at the zoo packed (and i vowed after going on free day to never go again on free day...and i didn't....today i payed for the chaos).
but since we had just driven half an hour to get there, we headed in. as i walked in, i observed the looks on the faces of mothers going forward with their planned day at the zoo. i don't think anyone was planning on the numbers that showed up and their faces were pure determination....like they were headed into battle. but they had paid their money and made the trip and everyone was going to enjoy it....come hell or high water!!! i'm sure my face looked fairly similar as were my feelings.
it was hectic but we got around okay. my mom and maiya and our neighbor, bethany, came along and mom brought a delicious picnic we all enjoyed. the highlight of the day was while we were sitting on the grass enjoying lunch and maiya yelled, "janine, josh is peeing on the tree!" i turned around and indeed, there stood my three year old with his shorts around his ankles doing his business against a nearby tree. i lept to my feet and hurried over only to realize i didn't really know how to handle the situation because i couldn't just pull up his shorts because then he would just pee all over them and i didn't have any back-up shorts. so i had to wait for him to finish while feeling rather mortified. as he was finishing he said, "but mom, there aren't any bathrooms here." i assured him that there were but i have to be honest, that momentary horror probably saved us 20 minutes in a bathroom waiting for our turn and getting all cleaned up so maybe i'm slightly grateful it happened that way.
the day went well but by the end, we were all exhausted. josh and adam slept in the stroller for the last portion while all the others whined except for caleb who was the rockstar of the day and not only managed the whole zoo without a single complaint, but also ran back to the car with grandma and helped her find the way. she said he knew just where to go when she couldn't remember. i also found out that my kids are american as the animals they just HAD to see were the wolf pack and the bald eagles. (???) they really enjoyed the aquarium and the bird sanctuary.
i did not venture lugging my camera through the crowds so no pictures. pictures at the zoo always make me laugh. i mean, i think pictures of people at the zoo are great but i really get a kick out of people photographing each animal exhibit like they are on a national geographic expedition. the zoo is one of my favorite places to people watch and eves drop on conversations. i don't know why but it is all quite funny to me.
we headed home after we were all exhausted and had our fill. i have been exhausted the rest of the day with a headache but i did manage to pull out some delicious hamburgers for dinner and fresh strawberry cupcakes that were a knock-off of my friend's that turned out to be delish! now, i plan on vegging in front of a good movie after a hot shower and leaving all the work and clean-up for tomorrow.
pictures to follow are from feeding the horses with eric on monday morning. the kids always enjoy a trip to "work" with dad. he actually wasn't officially working that day but horses have to eat even on your day off:) ....and yes, i am aware that josh's pants are clearly way too short...but that's what happens when your kids grow like weeds and you're just trying to make it through to summer and you happen to let them dress themselves...okay, that's all i've got...judge me...i don't care.
