Zoo Fail.

Welcome to our week-in-review! Between Mom's surgery, the wonderful holiday we spent with a big chunk of our family, and the Christmas season coming at us in full swing, I guess I took a bit of an impromptu blogging break. Coming this week- details from our awesome l-o-n-g Thanksgiving weekend, as well as some very exciting giveaway news... stay tuned!

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Last week, my sweet friend hosted family for baby girl's birthday and the Thanksgiving holiday. We decided to get together and spend some time, all of us, while her family was in town. Monday was forecasted to be sunny and near 70, so we decided that the zoo sounded like the perfect location! The fact that we came in tow with kiddoes 4, 3, 2, 1, 6 months, and 6 months may or may not have had something to do with that decision...

Monday morning rolled around, and the girls and I headed out to the zoo. We left before 9:00 AM, and while it was a bit nippy at the time, the day seemed promising as far as weather was concerned. By the time we reached the zoo in northwest Wichita, it was windy and much colder than when we had left our house. Instantly regretting the clothing choices I had made for Miss Sassy, we packed up our things and trekked inside.

We had a while to wait before our friends arrived, so I thought the best idea was to head to the gift shop, allowing us to get our fill of "warm" before spending too much time outside. Anyway, Nana had given Sassy and Tink a little money, so they wanted to choose a treasure. Sassy found hers quickly:



After we grew bored of the gift shop, we meandered over to the flamingos, where the girls had a wonderful time gazing at them, asking 1,672 questions about all things flamingo, and waiting patiently for their friends singing at the top of their lungs and dancing around like crazy people...



I love, love, LOVE seeing the wonder in their faces whenever we visit the zoo. Worth the price of admission any day...



Tink spotted the peacock up ahead, and I spent a good deal of time chasing after her, trying to plead with her not to pet the peacock. He was thrilled, let me tell you...



The girls had no problem entertaining themselves during our wait. While the amount of time that lapsed was in reality not very long, it felt like forever. Bottom line- it was COLD! I felt so guilty for Sassy's lack of long pants and socks! Poor thing stood shivering in her little coat...



Tink even started to get chilly, which I scarcely thought was possible, considering the amount of jumping around she was doing...




Finally, our friends arrived. We met them at the front gate before they paid admission. After a little meeting of the elders, we decided that it was probably not in our best interest to spend the morning at the zoo. It was much colder than we had anticipated, and no one was truly properly dressed to make a very lengthy go of it. Plus, those sweet baby boys looked cold already.

It was my brilliant idea to hit up Exploration Place, a nice indoor alternative. Only when we {read: caravan of three vehicles} were downtown and a block away from our destination did it dawn on me that Exploration Place was closed on Mondays. We drove there, and I hopped out to check, just in case. No bones.

By this time, the crowds grew weary. And hungry. After brief consideration to the mall play place, we decided to resort to good ole' Burger King for lunch and play. The kids had a ball, and I squeezed in some delightful adult conversation with three very special ladies. I will admit, however, that the wind had left my sails enough to not bring my camera into BK. Sorry, peeps... you'll just have to take my word for it...