We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

Yesterday was the first time I've seen my mom in a week. I don't know how I used to go months without seeing her, because just seven days now seems like an eternity! Now she's finally home from Denver, so we made a trip to the zoo with the boys. Last August, my grandma bought me a zoo pass that admits me, a guest and any children under 3 years old for free! It was such a thoughtful gift- daily passes to the Minnesota Zoo are not cheap, and with small children it is a relief to not have to worry about "getting your money's worth" on any particular visit. If we go and someone is having a bad day, we can just leave! No harm done.

On our drive to pick up Grandma, we sang what has become our zoo "theme song"... it goes like this:

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too
We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

As we drove, Max started adding his own verses to the song:

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo
Wiiiith Grandma, Grandma, Grandma
Aaaaand Lucian, Lucian, Lucian
Aaaaand Mommy, Mommy, Mommy
Aaaaand Macky, Macky, Macky
Aaaaand Ben, Ben, Ben
(and here I interrupt to tell him that sorry, Uncle Ben can't come with us)
Aaaaand Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa
(sorry honey, Grandpa can't come either!)
Aaaaand Cody, Cody, Cody
(Cody's not coming, we can't bring a puppy to the zoo)
Aaaaand Grandma, Grandma, Grandma...

I love the zoo, but usually I go with other friends who also have children. That means I'm in charge of my own kids full time. It is still a ton of fun, but it also gets to be pretty stressful if Max gets it in his mind to run away or Lucian gets sick of the stroller. Yesterday with my mom was the most stress-free zoo visit I've ever had! She took Max's hand and walked him to the exhibits while I strolled with Lucian. It was a weekday and not too busy, so we got up-close and personal with all of the awesome animals. I decided earlier this year that my favorite zoo animal is the otter, and to my delight Max seems to have the same opinion. We spent long minutes watching them float and dive before we made our way to the bears.


Max's other favorite spot is the tropical fish tank. Following the trail through the tropical animals leads to a cool, dark room with soft music and a huge wall of water. He pressed his nose to the glass to follow the constantly moving sharks and neon colored angelfish. When we thought he was finally ready to leave the aquarium, we walked up the path a few feet until Max suddenly realized he couldn't hear the music anymore! He bolted back into the room and found an open space to dance for a few more minutes. Our boy really loves his tunes!

Lucian was perfect for the whole three hours we were there, only fussing right before lunch. That sure made for an enjoyable trip! I didn't bring my camera this time, and it was kind of nice to not think about getting a good shot of Max- instead I could just watch him enjoy himself and soak up new information. So the pictures I've included are from previous zoo trips, to give you an idea of how we spent our day. I'm sure we'll be back soon! Gotta make the most of my pass before August!