19 September 2007

Free Day

The kids and I had an unexpected free afternoon today.  Our co-op usually meets on Tuesday afternoon, but due to a situation out of their control, the leadership had to cancel our meeting today.  It was completely understandable to me and my kids, but the kids are always a little disappointed when co-op is cancelled.  They love going to hang out with their friends, and they enjoy the classes that they get to take while they are there.
Since we had a free afternoon, and the weather was gorgeous, we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the zoo.  We couldn't have picked a more perfect day.  We wrapped up school early since I always plan a lighter day on Tuesday because of co-op, and we were inside the zoo by noon.  There was hardly anyone there, which made for a great day for us.  We were able to see anything we wanted up close without getting in anyone's way or having to wait for a turn.  We took our time and had a relaxing afternoon.  We were there for just under 4 hours, and we got to see probably one-third of the zoo.  It's a big zoo, so I didn't plan to see the whole thing today.  I talked to the kids ahead of time explaining that we weren't going to be there for the entire day, so we had to choose which half of the zoo we were going to see.  They picked the back half, of course, because that is where the manatees are, which is a favorite for both of them.  This is one thing they have never argued over.  I expected to hear whining when we had to skip the reptile building and a couple of smaller exhibits, but I heard happy voices instead.
Ava asked if she could walk at the zoo, which is something we have tried several times this summer at different places.  Lukas walked a lot more often at her age, but Lukas and Ava prove to us day after day that they are very different in almost every way.  Today, however, Ava surprised me by behaving well, staying near-by, and managing to walk 90% of the time we were at the zoo.  She would have walked longer, but I made her ride in the stroller on the way to the car because she was walking like a snail by that point.
Lukas was also exceptionally well behaved all day.  Both kids were a joy.  I love having days like this.  They were also good when I dragged them into Whole Foods after the zoo trip.  That blew me away because they were tired and hungry at that point, but they handled themselves so well.  I am so proud of them.  I love being their Mama.

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