Savy Mommy Moments: A Day at the Zoo! Fun, Sun and a Few Bumps in the Road! #ParentingPerspective


It started with a fun day planned at the zoo....


Kids packed up and ready to go by 930am.  It is about an hour drive.

Happy kids, happy parents, driving along in beautiful sunny 70 degree weather.

And then the toddler pukes a mile from the zoo with no where to pull off.

Arrive at the zoo, swap out dirty shirt for a clean one. Wipe down face and hands and pack kids and supplies into stroller/wagon.


Off we go, into the zoo on a beautiful, sunny, and warm day! Grandma and grandpa are here too!


We explore tons of animals including zebra, giraffes, bears, horses, birds, and much more! 


We find an animal we have never seen or heard of before, an Okapi, but apparently it's very rare and nearly extinct! Our zoo leads the species survival plan for them. Very cool!


Eat lunch, kids devour their food and behave amazingly.  Off to see the monkeys.

Mommy finds a quiet shaded bench off the beaten path to nurse the baby.  

And then a peacock appears in the tree directly behind nursing baby and a crowd of 40+ people snapping photos appear directly in front of mommy. Pretty sure mommy earns her nursing in public badge on this one.

Baby is full and happy. Catch up with kids/daddy/grandparents and off to see the big cats.


Potty break for all.

And then the potty training toddler has a panic attack over the ridiculously loud hand dryers and automatic flushing toilets and pees all over herself and mommy.

Remove wet socks, shoes and shorts. Sprint from the bathroom to the wagon and wipe down and put clean short on the todder.

Grandma buys new penguin socks from gift shop. Yay, grandma!

Mommy gets to walk around with pee on her. Yay, mommy!


Look at the lions and tigers who are out and active.

Then, it's time to head home.


One last bathroom break and stop at the gift shop for a clean shirt for the toddler in case of another car sickness episode. 

End up purchasing two identical stuffed snakes and a barrel of monkeys along with said shirt. 

Everyone packed up and ready to head home.  Kids asleep one mile outside the zoo. 

Nice quiet trip home with no car sickness episodes. Mommy and daddy make a plan to zip through Starbucks drive-thru for a quiet peaceful cup of coffee in the car.



And then .10 miles from home just before getting the coffee, we get rear-ended. Police and fire truck arrive.  Kids checked out perfectly fine, minor damage to the car only.

Make it home a hour later with 3 worn out kiddos and even more worn out mommy and daddy.

Mommy sneaks out to pick up dinner and well-earned coffee for her and daddy.

That's what I call a fun day at the zoo!


This is definitely the difference between how I would have perceived this type of day before having kids and how I perceive it now.  If having children has taught me anything, it's to let the little things go and focus on the big picture.  Everyone had a good day and no one was worse off at the end than the beginning.  It was a fun, memorable, and exciting experience.  Next time we will just bring a few extra sets of clothes and shoes.

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2 comments

  1. What a fun day!!! Your kiddos are so cute :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those damn hand dryers... I actually just bring hand santizer and let Noah skip washing his hands when we go cause they freak him out so much. Hell, they freak me out they're so loud!

    Glad you all had a great time despite the bumps :)

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