Ft. Worth Zoo

Friday, February 18, 2011

Yesterday was a work day.  The boys went to school.  I went to work.  Julie worked from our house (she teaches some online classs for a university).  Malachi caught up on his school work (he'll be gone from school for 3 weeks!)  Mike was at work and Ben was driving back to our house from his second trip to Amarillo.  After dinner, the boys went over to Daddy Steve and Namaw's and played with all the kids in their cul-de-sac.  Everyone was worn out by bedtime!

This morning I got up early and went to the gym with Daddy Steve.  As soon as I got home Julie found me and said, "I'm so sorry...but Malachi gave Brody a black eye!"  The story goes that Malachi was playing golf with a baseball bat (in Brody's room at 6:30 am) and when he swung he hit Brody just below his right eye!  The screaming crying brought Julie running from the other room to find out what they were up to. (You'll see the shiner get progressively darker during this week of pictures!)

Today Mike took off work and Ben offered to help him work on the bathroom.  (I've been forbidden to post pictures until it's done...but the work they did to the bathroom this week has transformed that space!!!)  While Mike was making breakfast for everyone, Julie and I escaped to Starbucks for some coffee time!  It was great to get away from the noise for a few minutes of one-on-one time with one of my best friends!  We knew we were gonna need it since we had big plans for today.

When we got back to the house we announced to the kids that we were taking them to the zoo!  They were all super excited!  It took us a little while to get the Durango loaded up (2 adults, 5 kids, 4 carseats, a double jogging stroller, a backpack kid carrier, 2 purses, a big diaper bag, and lunches/snacks for everyone)...but we finally did it!  We made it to the Ft. Worth Zoo around 10:30.

 

Malachi and Brody were eager to be our guides.  Malachi taught Brody how to read the zoo map and they let us know which direction we should head.

Mikayla and Barrett started out riding in the stroller while Sylvia rode on Julie's back in her Ergo Baby carrier (which I put Barrett in later in the day and absolutely LOVED).  This significanly slowed us down as they got in and out...and in and out of the stroller.  After lunch, Julie put Mikayla in the carrier and Sylvia in the stroller.  That meant Barrett was now the only one slowing us down.
Brody's favorite exhibit at the zoo was the zebras.  There's a movie called "Stripes" that he's been watching over and over on Netflix instant download.  It's about a zebra that thinks he's a thoroughbread race horse.  I think Brody truly believed that the zebra at the zoo is Stripes!  He made sure I got a picture of him with Stripes (to hang on his bed, of course).

Malachi loved the penguins.  There was one that came over to the glass and talked with Malachi for quite a while! 

 

Sylvia was content no matter what we were doing!  I think the only time she fussed was when it was time to eat.  She's such a sweet and happy baby!

As it was getting later in the afternoon, we headed to the petting zoo and play area. 

This is Mikayla showing me her excited face when we entered the play area!

I could tell Barrett was getting tired...but he just ran faster when we entered the play area.  I'm thinking that he had to run so that he didn't just collapse in fatigue!

 

After a quick visit to the gift shop, we loaded everything back in the Durango and headed for home.  Julie and I tried really hard to keep everyone awake so they'd nap at home....but we failed.  It's a good thing we left when we did...