Going to the zoo

Well what a morning we had! We went to Mass yesterday evening so didn't have a whole lot up around here come this morning. Aaron was planning on heading off to the gym, and I was a bit bummed about just hanging around here all morning. I mean, I like our home and I love Gemma and everything, but still... Well, Aaron surprised me by saying, "let's go to the zoo". We had gotten some money for Christmas that we decided to designate towards a family zoo membership. And it was nice this morning (cool, but no wind) and it just sounded like a great idea. I absolutely jumped at the chance. Well, we headed over and got there right as they were opening. We got one of the memberships that is for our family plus we can take a guest with us. This will be great for times that just one or the other of us takes Gemma, and would like to invite a guest to come along. And then, they proceeded to tell us to hang onto our receipt, because since the zoo is not-for-profit, we can turn this in as a charitable contribution. How about that?! Never would have thought that. Woot! Anyways, so Gemma had been to the zoo once before but she was like three-months old, so she was quite a bit more interactive this time. We were a little tight on time, as she typically eats lunch and goes down for her nap fairly early in the afternoon. But we made the most of the time we had, visiting the Asian and American petting farms, the jungle and the herpetarium. We all had such an awesome time, what a great family outing! And I am so super exciting about being able to head off with Gemma whenever I feel like it, however often I want, for however long I want, and I can bring a guest! BONUS! What a fun activity for this coming spring. And summer. And fall. YAY!!

Well, of course no event for me is complete unless I bring my camera. So here are the pics we took.

Daddy and Gemma at the Zoo entrance. She's getting a bit big for the front carrier, but she just loves it. And it's so much fun for her to be at eye-level walking around. I think it makes her feel much more a part of things than the stroller does, and Aaron just loves carrying her around.
The flamingoes were being really noisy, she was quite captivated by the racket.
Beautiful baby girl, albeit a cold little nose.
Woof! ...maybe...... hmmmmm Max, you are having one bad hair day!
With mommy in the jungle.
The whole family. It was a pretty quiet morning around there, which was great, but meant we couldn't find anyone to take our picture. Oh well, Aaron took this and it turned out pretty good I think! Well, good enough anyways.
As we were getting Gemma strapped up in the car seat to head home, I made the mistake of mentioning the "D" word. Let me back up...as we left home to head to the zoo, I told Aaron that it would probably be best for D. O. L. L. Y. to stay at home. You see, she goes everywhere with us. She goes to the store, to church, to grandma's, EV-ry-where. Well, with thoughts of the petting farm and creepy-crawly snakes, I just didn't think the zoo would be the best place for the beloved ragdoll. And Gemma, amazingly, didn't seem to miss her until goofy mommy dropped her name as we were getting in the car. I don't even remember in what context I said it, but as soon as that little word hit missy-magoo's ears I heard, "doll, DOLL, where's doll, WHERE'S DOLL?!!!", getting ever more concerned as she progressed through this thought-process. There were even a few tears, bless her heart. But then I offered her some goldfish and she was distracted enough until we got home. Such a happy reunion they had, alas.
Well, I hope everyone else's weekend has been as enjoyable as ours. What a blessing this life is. God is good.