We bought a Zoo

Just kidding. Although after the $50 entry fee and the $30 we had to spend at the cleverly-located gift shop, we could've bought a zoo. 

I don't go on many big solo trips with two babes. We go to the grocery store, of course, and occasionally I will take them both to Target, but venturing out with the two of them requires me to be medicated in an extremely patient mood. I usually run my big errands while Bobby is at nursery school. It's no big deal running errands and going nice places with Viv, because she is subdued and well-mannered. But bringing Bobby is literally like walking in a store with an attractive bamboon.

The resemblance is uncanny.

And it's not just Bobby. Bobby by himself would be challenging enough, but the logistics of dealing with a toddler in public + a baby--even an easy baby--can be problematic. It's not the easiest thing to take two little kids on a big outing by yourself with all the sippy cups, diapers, diaper bag, snacks, the stroller, the kleenex because these damn runny noses just will not quit...I digress. Anyhow, it's just difficult to do, so when Alex is gone, we tend to stick around the home base. 

But after a while, it starts to get old staying at home. There are only so many times you can back over your neighbor's mailbox, and there are only so many living rooms to redecorate. And there are only so many ways to torture your only sister.

So my good friend and I decided to take all of our tots on an outing to the zoo. 4 kids, 2 moms. That sounds much better. 

We loaded all 4 kids + 2 big strollers into her large SUV and hit the road. The kids were surprisingly well behaved during the hour long drive, but I suspect that's because we had Frozen on repeat.

Bobby's never been to a zoo, and I imagined he would have a positive reaction. I was correct. He had a great time, although most of his reactions weren't necessarily animal-centric. For instance, he didn't try to feed the goat the goat food; he tried to feed the goat his '69 Dodge Charger.

And the goat almost ate it.

 He enjoyed feeding the llama for a half-second, until he decided that if llamas can eat it, Bobbys can eat it, too.  And then we had a long talk about not eating anything in pellet form.

 We looked at giraffes but decided their tongues are way too intimidating. 

 And then we decided that if we are ever to get a random animal, it's going to be a llama because they're just too funny.

He played joey to an absent mother kangaroo.

 And then we took a little break to discuss why it's not nice to run away and hide from your mama in public.

Bobby found another bird to stalk. The pelican's off the hook now. 

I could write another "Shit I've Said to My Toddler" post just based on the three minutes that he stalked this peacock.

Our favorite part of the zoo day was probably the aviary, where there were a zillion tiny birds that may or may not peck your eyes out. This is not for the claustrophobic or the ornithophobic. If you walked into the area with a feed stick, the birds would land all over you. It was pretty cool.

{nail color is Essie Butler Please}

I must admit I did feel a bit like the bird lady from Home Alone 2.

We had a snack and then kept moving

The animal pellets weren't half bad.

 Bobby's favorite part of the zoo was the safari ride. And not because he liked looking at the animals, but because we were on a train. 

The first time in the history of the world that both my kids have looked at a camera at the same time.

 After the train ride, we let the bigger kids play on the zoo's playground while Vivi basked in the sunlight and worked on her modeling portfolio. 

And then we, of course, could not exit without having to walk through the zoo's gift shop. Why must they do that to parents? It's cruel. But we decided that since every kid was surprisingly well behaved during the zoo excursion, they could each pick out one prize. Bobby got a zoo truck, shocking. And Vivi got a stuffed llama. I could see she wanted it with her eyes ;)

Afterward, we loaded the crew back up and drove home with a car full of sleeping kiddos. We may have bought a zoo, but 4 kids napping at the same time? You can't put a price on that.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Stay warm!

Keep on keepin' on!

-Annette