Wild Animals

I'm on my own with the boys this weekend. Don't worry I'm returning the favor for Glayde in October! I knew that we wouldn't survive the weekend if we didn't get out of the house today. Last night I talked with Grant about what things he might like to do today. He told me that he wanted to go to the "big zoo... you know the Oakland Zoo". A couple of weeks ago Glayde and I took the boys to an animal refuge and Glayde made the mistake of telling Grant that it was like the zoo. So Grant was rather disappointed when there were no elephants at the wildlife rescue. It's hard to explain that wild elephants aren't exactly roaming our foothills in need of shelter like the badgers, raccoons, bobcats and more.

This morning we headed out to the zoo with our lunches packed and everything. We got there right as the zoo opened which was fabulous on so many levels. There was hardly anyone there. The boys could run around a bit without too much worry of being mowed down by other families. The big bonus was getting to see the animals come out of their night enclosures. We actually saw the tigers coming out of their enclosures and then checking out their territory to see what was new. That's totally cool since we often can't even spot the tigers in their exhibit. And once again we got to see the giraffes come out of their barn. It's so funny to watch them parade out and duck their long necks so they can fit under the gateway. Later we even saw a bit of giraffe love when one of the males came over and started smooching on one the little females. Grant announced happily "Look, Mom! They love each other!" Yep, giraffe kisses are grand even when the recipient starts making a B line for the feeding trough instead of hanging out with her would be suitor.

Even though Heath was in major escape mode, I managed well with two boys on my own. We often do these big outings but usually with another family or at least Glayde along to manage our herd. I have to say that we went to the zoo because Grant really wanted to and I thought it would help my sanity for the weekend and I ended up quite enjoying myself.

**overlay by Lyndsay Riches**