Sunday, January 29, 2006

Sunday at the zoo

I knew that Lynda was going to be at work this afternoon, so I was trying to decide what to do with the kids. When we got up this morning and prepared for church, it didn't look there was much hope of doing anything outside. The sky was cloudy and there was pretty steady rain.

But once church was over (the Bishop visited, seven people were confirmed, I read a very confusing letter from Paul to the Corinthians and managed not to drop the chalice) the sun was peaking through the clouds and there seemed to be hope that it might be possible to get the girls outside for a while.

First, however, it was resting time. Sarah and Grace went into their rooms for an hour of individual play time/rest time/nap. I hit the bed and napped myself. Normally, I don't nap during these weekend rest periods. I either catch up on some reading or do laundry while watching some TV. But once I got home from church and put on some jeans, I just fell back on the bed and slept for as long as I could get away with it. Lynda changed, got the kids in their rooms and headed off to the office.

At 3 pm, I woke up and got the kids going. We decided we would try to go to the zoo, even though it wasn't a picture perfect day.

When we got there it was clear that this was going to be a very different zoo experience than we were used to. The parking lot was absolutely empty. We could have parked in the first lot by the entrance, which is unheard of in my several years of zoo-going. But, I haven't visited before on a late January day.

I felt for the employees that had to work on this day, when it was clear that not much had been going on. Of course not all the staff was there--the food and souvenir vendors that are always around in the summer weren't there, and it seemed that all the restaurants were closed as well. Of course many of the animals weren't out and about in January either, but I didn't mind and I don't think the girls cared TOO much.

The main area where the giraffes and zebras are usually out (beside the lions, who also were not outside) is being renovated. Apparently they are converting that area into a new Asia-themed area, with more tigers and other cool stuff. It will probably feel similar to the Australia and SE Asia exhibits they have opened in recent years. If they actually have tigers out and about, I'll be happy. The white one the zoo has displayed before is big, but he is enclosed and hard to really watch.

Sarah and Grace did have some fun posing on some of the statues for me. And we did make sure to go to some of the inside exhibits. I really liked the deserted feel of the place. There were no crowds, just isolated families wandering from one place to the next. Maybe it was busier earlier in the day, but we were there during the last two hours of operation. We decided to see if the outdoor playground was open (alas, no). But on the way there we passed by the merry-go-round, which is just about the best invention in the world in Grace's eyes.You can see how much she enjoys it. I have only once convinced her to sit on a horse (while I hold onto her standing beside it). To this point, she prefers to sit in one of the two benches.

I got a video of our ride today, but I have been unable to upload it right now. (When finally do, I'll place a comment.)

We also wandered through the reptile building and enjoyed the turtles and snakes.

Once home we got the kids to bed and I spent some time balancing the checkbook and "savings" account. It's a depressing, but necessary, action that I put off far too often.

Now I'm catching up on the latest LOST podcast and wondering if I should get myself involved in a movie (Lost Highway) before going to bed.

2 comments:

David said...

Even if I've got nothing interesting to report, it's always worthwhile to post pictures of my great girls.

I'll try to be more interesting someday!

David said...

As promised, here is the link to the merry-go-round video.

Of course, no one will find it buried in a comment like this.