fox thursday at the zoo

i think i have a concussion.  last night getting quickly  into my car after closing the front gate i banged my forehead hard on the door frame.  oh man that smarted.  today climbing onto the giant slide at the zoo in pursuit of a fox i konked the top of my head on the roof thingy.  ouch, double smart!!  i have been having a dull headache ever since.

last night fox slept over cause his mom is at a work convention and dad had to leave early for work today.  this morning we made a spur of the moment trip to the zoo.  after the monsoon of yesterday the whole yard is muck and i knew we would not be able to play outside like we'd like.  he seemed to like the idea when i mentioned it :) so off we went, umbrella stroller and sea creature book in tow.  it was the perfect zoo day.  the weather had cleared and swept the humidity away for the day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and there was only 2 cars in the parking lot when we pulled up. yess! 

loaded him into the stroller, tacked his little backpack on the back with my wallet and chap stick (forgot my camera, dang, and left my phone in the car, prompting a mad dash back to it to pick it up.  glad i noticed that before we got too far along!)  we skirted the big black granite "bubble" that floats on the jet of water, saving it's visitation til on the way out, and headed for the interior.  of course he had his newly checked out library book on his lap....sea creatures....in order to share it with every animal in the zoo.  at every stop the litany went like this:  "i got your (my) sea creature book (to see...not said but understood)".  to which mimi must give the requisite reply without fail:  "hello...present animal....fox has your sea creature book".  can't count the number of times we did that spiel.  the things a mimi'l do....

most of the animals were out and about with the nice weather.  the tigers and giant sea turtles were especially active and just finishing up their breakfast and settling in for a long nap.  we never did see any lions.  the otters' were diving and cavorting around.  the ducks, geese and pelicans were preening their feathers and some were cleaning up each other (so cute:)  the baby monkey was doing gymnastics on his vine.  the alligators were fast asleep...they're starting to look rather old and crusty.  the pink flamingos(!) were all mostly standing around on one foot with their beaks tucked into their sides.  the home-a-da fishies building was dark and cool as we made our way around the tanks.  the cute little stingray kept trying to climb up out of her pool....so funny.  i guess she thought we were going to feed her.  she was QUITE active, and it was hard keeping little fingers to himself.  the giraffes were out in full force but dang if they didn't change the configuration of their domain and put up a rope that keeps them from being able to stretch their necks out for you to feed them.  that sucks.  the petting area was nice and clean and we got to go in by ourselves and pet the baby goats (after showing them their sea creature book).

he especially enjoyed the playground today, as we were the only ones there.  we've been working on climbing up to the slide on the swingset at home and he took right to it at the playground.  we advanced from the kiddie slide to the giant one (where i bumped my head), and had a blast.  that boy loves a slide:)

it was nice to have the umbrella stroller.  he could get in and out of it easily, which allowed him some running time.....right through the puddles of course, as we had a monsoon yesterday that left water everywhere and made everything seem eerily swamp-like (especially the boardwalk to the otters).  of course we had to pay a visit to the gift shop and pick up yet another dolphin book and set of miniature sea creatures....what's a mimi to do?  especially after playing with the giant black bubble and tromping through yet another puddle, he was soaking wet by the time we left and i had to strip him down to his diaper and shirt for the ride home.

all in all a perfect day at the zoo....my all-time favorite kid hangout place in the whole wide world.  it's good to make its acquaintance once again.  i've only taken him once before, and i sure hope there are many more visits to come.

he took a real good nap during the afternoon, after which we were able to play outside for quite a while.  his dad came over after work and they left after bathtime.  our bathtime game was the remember game:  "remember the tigers?  remember the otters?  remember the flamingos?  remindah the sea toinnels?  remindah the stingray wanted to come out?  remindah when i showed your book to the giraffe?  remindah when i showed your book to the alligator?..................that boy ;)