Hello, Zoo!

Sure seems like it has been a long hiatus from our beloved zoo, so you can just imagine how excited we were to be back there for the first time this spring. We were fortunate enough to make a few trips during the winter months, Christmastime of course, and a few other times while I was working in Indy. But it was cold, limiting what we could see and do. Cold no more, it was an unusually warm April day and PERFECT for our visit.

Our friends, The Semmler's invited us to kick out Cary's vacay with a trip and we were thrilled to be invited. We had to keep our plans on the down low, as usual, not telling McKinley until the evening before. If we tell him any earlier...well, it's crazy!!!

We met up with the Semmler's at Rick's parents' home in Avon, headed out for a quick lunch (the zoo fare is not so good...and not so cheap either!) then off to the park! The seals and sea lions greeted us as usual (which the kids adored), then we visited the sea creatures. Rick and Cary 'petted' the sharks and nearly convinced Savannah and McKinley to pet them too. Little did our husbands know the sheer terror they were evoking in us mothers. Oooh, not a good feeling to watch a shark swim by your husband and child while they frolic and play like we're dealing with a puppy or something! HELLO! SHARK!

Moving on, the rest of the ocean life had our attention for quite a while -we even attended the dolphin show, which was a special show honoring the NCAA Final Four. It was so fun to watch one of the dolphins 'dribble' a basket ball under water!

The famed splash park was open already, so we had to distract, distract, distract to get to the rest of the zoo. CAROUSEL! We all rode the carousel together, which was fun. McKinley and Savannah sat side-by-side (with me standing between them...just in case). It was adorable. Soon we were off to the train where we rode TWICE. Bet you will never guess who enjoyed himself beyond words...McKinley! Actually, we all enjoyed the rides on the brand spanking new engine. Again, McKinley and Savannah wanted to sit together, so Robin, Rick & Austin, Cary and I got our own seats and literally got to just enjoy the ride. It seems so hard to believe that the kids are old enough to ride by themselves already.

Before long, the zoo was CLOSING! Funny thing is not THAT long ago we were closing bars on a Saturday night...now we close the zoo. Truth be told, I really think the zoo is WAY more fun. Seriously. Who knew?!

As we all headed home the rain came. And as Cary, McKinley and I were about 10 minutes outside of Indy, the storms hit as well. My Mom was literally a few blocks behind us, having come to Indy for an appointment, so I called her and met up as the emergency sirens began going off in the city of Plainfield. We sought refuge in a mall there - the storms were REALLY bad. Thankfully they blew over without much damage to our immediate area (though we could have done without the hail, thanks), so Cary and I decided to do a little shopping and Mom headed on home.

It was a really fun day with Robin, Rick and their children. We had a wonderful time and love sharing in fun little day trips with such good friends! Zoo, I know we'll all be back soon!

Lynn