Making the best of a bummer of a start...

Wednesday.

Yeah, Wednesday kinda sucked.

Not going to lie.

Kelli & I had big plans for an exciting day filled with taking the kids to Brookfield Zoo.

Things were going swimmingly...

...until all of a sudden, they weren't.

Kelli got a phone call from Randy that he had been given activation papers.

I'll spare all the details. We all knew, once he enlisted with the reserves (after a 10+ year Navy career), that there was a chance he'd get called up. I think we all assessed that risk as pretty low, but low and behold, he'll be headed back to Cuba in October. For 270 days.

It's tough pill to swallow.

I think the hardest part is the thought of him being away from Tucker for 9 months. It was a bit different when Kelli was back by herself before Tucker. It kind of puts a hold on a lot of things. But, hey... to anyone who has been in a similar situation, I am preaching to the choir.

Make no mistake, there was no "pouting" going on.

Just that pit in all of our stomachs.

It's going to take a bit to get used to all this.

We decided to go to the zoo anyway.



It was going to do us all a world of good have a glance in a more positive direction.



It was a HOT day. We came well-equipped with water and snacks and sunscreen and...



Kelli & I were able to reminisce about our days as little ones at Brookfield.

We made fountain wishes, saw lots of cute animals, and perused the gift shop... the girls chose a stuffed camo penguin (Uncle Randy's favorite) for him to bring to Cuba.



Tink was thrilled to see everything!



What a HAM!

We checked out the children's farm...



Be still my heart, they are like little dominoes.



We explored, rehydrated, and weighed our options on where to go to next...



...but, ultimately followed the man...



...to the snack hut! HA!

We checked out The Swamp for a bit before...



...making good on a promise to Uncle Randy and taking the kids to see the dolphin show!



Heat & humidity aside, it was a nice experience. It was really the first time the girls were able to see large marine animals, that I recall...



Then, it was back to Kelli's for naps and waiting for Uncle Randy to get home. We made a nice dinner and spent our last night together before the girls and I headed to the next leg of our trip the following day.

Uncle Randy, we'll miss you while you're gone...



...and, as hard as it will be to be away from this little guy, here's to hoping that 270 days will be over before we know it and everyone will be happily reunited again!



P.S. Holy identical profile, Batman!!