We have been going stir crazy in the house and needed some time outside. We have had a few days recently where the temperatures have creeped up into the 30s and even the 40s at times. The other day, it was 43 degrees out, so I got the kids bundled up a bit and headed outside to play. Unfortunately, I realized very quickly why everybody wasn't outside on a day in the 40s - the wind was terrible! We only play for a few minutes, but Sarah had a blast in the Cozy Coupe, sporting her cool new shades.
We all (except Sarah) got the GI bug going around last week, 1 by 1. We were all feeling a bit better by the weekend, when Daddy got the crud. So while Daddy rested, I took the kiddos to the Minnesota Zoo. I haven't been to the Zoo since I was really little and my kids have never been there. We got a family membership to the Zoo from our realtor when we moved here (how sweet!), so we decided to go check it out. Unfortunately, the Zoo was totally packed because they were holding a special event - a Tropical Beach Party. I wasn't aware of that when planning to go, but we survived the crowds. We're looking forward to going again when there aren't so many people there! The kids had lots of fun!
Austin perched atop a turtle statue.
Sarah checking out the animals in the pond behind the glass.
There was a little tunnel the kids could crawl through that got them close to the animals. He climbed in and you could see him peek out the window right under where a monkey was sitting. The white fluffy thing on the left side of this photo is the monkey's tail.
Here he is on the outside of the glass looking at those same monkeys. He's pointing out to me how close he is to the monkeys who were resting on the log right behind the glass.
There was another little rock tunnel further down the trail. The kids go in, look through the little windows in there to get close to the animals, then come out the other end of the tunnel (about 10-15 feet down the trail). Austin went in. I went to the end of the tunnel to wait for him to come out. I waited. And waited. And waited some more. Then I got worried. I started calling his name into the tunnel. No answer. I looked in the end of the tunnel. Not there. I went back to the entrance of the tunnel and looked down the first half of the tunnel. Not there. Then I started to worry that maybe while I was waiting for him at the end of the tunnel, he went back out the beginning and went back to the last thing we saw to try to find me. I could see both ends of the tunnel, but couldn't see him anywhere. Moment of Mommy panic! Where is my child? This place is totally mobbed with people and I can't find my child! I called his name again and then I hear this little voice, "Mommy, here I am!" He was ON TOP of the rock enclosure. He somehow found a little hole in the tunnel and climbed out onto the top. I was quite relieved, but couldn't believe he was up there. I actually shot a quick picture while I was getting him to come down. Check out the other kid's face in the tunnel opening in the photo - maybe that's where he climbed out...I don't know!
After my momentary heart attack...we continued on.
I actually saw a colleague from Mayo who now also lives in the Twin Cities. We had a few minutes to catch up while the kids watched the diver feed the fish in the coral reef display. Sarah was having a lot of fun walking around and looking through the glass.
Then we went down to see the dive show from underneath. They had a diver feeding the fish and answering kids' questions.
Sarah and Austin enjoyed watching the fish.
Sarah was especially excited and watched everything very intently.
We explored a few other places - the shark tank, the dolphins, etc. before heading home. The huge sandbox for the Tropical Beach Party was extremely crowded, so despite the fact that Austin was really interested in playing in the sandbox, we had to skip it. There wasn't a single inch of free space for him to join in. Oh well! Anyway, we plan to go back another day when the Zoo isn't so crowded and we are looking forward to seeing the rest of the Zoo when spring and summer arrive! On the way out, we also saw a friend from ND and her 3 boys heading into the Zoo. Seems like a fun place to gather.
All in all, the trip to the Zoo accomplished it's goal - totally wore out the kids!
In other fun...
I found an outfit in the closet that I had never dressed Sarah in. We got it when she was little, but it is a 12 month size, so I forgot we had it now that she fits it! I forgot who got it for her, but it is really cute on her!
Sarah kept trying to help Daddy feel better by bringing him her blankie and pacifier. What a sweetie!
And some sweet treats...we got some heart shaped gumdrops on clearance after Valentine's Day and Austin was very excited about them.
We also had some buttercream frosting left in the freezer/fridge from when we made Sarah's birthday cake. Austin got to have some Teddy Grahams with frosting and he was pretty serious about making sure he got down to the bottom of the container to scoop up the frosting. He had his sleeves rolled up and his knuckles full of frosting - that's my boy!
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