Saturday, July 18, 2009

It's fun to have fun





These pictures are from the Miami Metro Zoo. Today the Wife decided she had to drive 250 miles back to Tampa to get her hair done. Being a wise husband of 17 years I decided to not say a thing! There are some times when I realize that no matter how many years I live with a female I will just never truly understand them.

A, RP and I ended up spending almost 4 hours at the zoo. I took a double stroller this time which really helped. I have a Maclaren double stroller. As an aside I was never willing to buy a Maclaren because I thought they were overpriced. Then I finally broke down and bought a double for A and RP. I have to admit that the Maclaren is one of those rare expensive products that is actually worth what you pay for it. I have owned about 10 strollers over the years and this is by far the best one I have ever owned.

We had a blast at the zoo. We got these cat masks that RP had a blast with. Then we rode a train around the zoo. We stopped first at the kid area since I had promised A that he could ride a camel. We rode it and then rode the train up to the new Amazon exhibit at the Miami Metrozoo. It was really cool. They have done an excellent job on it. We looked at lots of snakes and birds and turtles and stuff!

Finally we walked over to the Australia exhibit and looked at the Kangeroos. They are fun to watch but man is that an ugly animal up close!

I am always struck by how different my children's exposure to animals has been versus what I had growing up. I went to the San Antonio zoo a couple of times and saw a bunch of sad, caged animals. My children have been to Lowrey Park Zoo, Busch Gardens and now the MetroZoo probabably 100 times. They have seen tons of animals living either in large open spaces (Busch gardens) or large enclosures. And they have seen every major animal out there. At least I can say that my chidlren were exposed to lots of animals!

Anyway, a good memory at the zoo. Then we left the zoo and decided to hunt down a Chick-Fil-A. That sounds easy but there is no Chick-Fil-A within 10 miles of my house. I went to two locations using my GPS that turned out to be malls that had a Chick-Fil-A inside before we finally found a free standing store. We went in and the kids played on the playground. RP has really exploded in her growth. She used to be scared of the slide. Now she climbs up the playset like it is no big deal and slides down the slide! I was shocked. She must have gone down the slide 50 times.


3 comments:

Tina in CT said...

I came to your blog from The Beet Goes On. My daughter also blogs about living in Moscow as an American family.

I have never heard of Chick-Fil-A before.

I'm a female but I would not drive 250 miles to get my hair done but I have very short hair and color it myself so that's probably why.

Sounds like you and the kids had a good day.

My granddaughter's have a Maclaren doll stroller and it's the Cadilac of doll strollers. They used the others so much that they gave out so she bit the bullet and bought the Maclaren (but didn't tell her husband how much it cost).

Mom said...

Great site. Finally I can catch up with what my grandchildren are doing. It is tough living a long way from them. I live in Austin Texas and had LOT of children, most of them living away from Texas now. I am English and have never settled down in the heat here and this summer has been brutal. Some of my other kids send photos frequently over my Blackberry. That is also a great way to keep in touch.
Going to Miami in September so I will get to see the kids in person. It has been 9 months since I saw them.

Tina in CT said...

Dear Mom,

I have just one child (a daughter) and she and her family have been living in Moscow, Russia, 5 years this month. Luckily she and the girls visit twice a year and in the summer, they are here with me for a month. I have been over twice and go for two weeks this Christmas. I know how you feel about having your children far away.

I live in CT and it's where I'm from and I HATE the heat and humidity so I can sympathize with your living in TX with their hot weather. I'd never leave my house.