My best friend from childhood (Jana) is a 4th grade teacher, and this week is her spring break. So, she and her cutie-patootie son Dominik came down for a trip to the zoo this morning!
Although it is a tad bit crazy with five kids and only two mommies, we had a fun time walking around and looking at the animals. Since it’s still March, some of the exhibits didn’t have all the animals in them. Some of the monkeys were missing, and the camels weren’t there, and a bunch of animals were missing from the African exhibit. What, African animals aren’t used to snow? 
After touring the zoo, we had a picnic together. And then it was clear that nap time was near (do you like that rhyme?), so we parted ways.
It was a good day, even though we didn’t have much time to chat without being interrupted. And I succumbed to my own silly desires and bought a zoo membership. (Instead of paying $9.50 for today, which is a reduced rate for the springtime, I paid $58 for a whole year.) I have a little case of buyer’s remorse, but I’m hoping we’ll get good use out of it this spring/summer/fall.
I realize that this post is a little scattered. I’m really in need of a nap, but instead I’m going to go wrap Caleb’s presents. We are celebrating his birthday tonight, a day early, so that we can participate in Maundy Thursday services at our church tomorrow. More on that later.
Here are some more pictures from our day…
Ava near the otters.
Caleb near the bears.
A funny chimpanzee.
Rumley kids in the aquarium.
Caleb with the yummy cupcakes we ate in honor of his birthday.
Jaden – ready for naptime!
LOVE the pictures! Today it was 70 here – great day for a trip to the zoo. We would love to go to the zoo with your gang! Name the day! We’ll be there!
Elyse says: “They are so cute! Those cupcakes look really good! Loveyoubye!”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CALEB!!!!!
Our zoo membership has been wonderful when money was tight. We can go any time we want, and wander all we want without paying another dime. We have a Gardens membership as well, and it has served us the same way. There’s a great kids area at the gardens.
you have to go a minimum of 6 times with the lower cost so i think in 6 months you can get your money out of it … a good deal for my family
I bought a year membership when my children were small. Check it out, cuz when I bought mine, it was good for free or discount to other zoos around the country… Shedd Aquarium, Columbus Zoo, lots of perks!
I don’t think you’ll regret the membership at all! We love having a zoo membership — that way you can go and spend as long as you feel like (i.e. if a child melts down, you can leave!:) and not feel like “We have to stay all day to get our money’s worth!” Just last Friday, I drove to ours with my daughter and then realized it was going to close in 30 minutes…oops!:) Oh well — it’s not like we were paying for parking or entrance fee, so we went in for a little while, and it was fun:)
My parents were looking for a b-day idea for her first birthday, and I mentioned a membership to the children’s museums we have here — it’s a reciprocal membership (check to see if your zoo one is for other zoos and aquariums!), so we can get into museums all across the country for free, but more importantly we can get into the 4 we have here in our area for free.
It’s wonderful!!! Best birthday present ever, by far — I would never pay the $16 (!!!) to get into this little children’s museum by my husband’s work. But for free on a rainy day, it’s awesome.
And before the membership, we only went to our awesome children’s museum on the free days — now we can go whenever we want, and I can get friends in with me too…so, so great.
So that was really long and rambling, but I really don’t think you’ll regret it:) You’ll enjoy knowing you can take a spontaneous trip to the zoo alone or with friends whenever you want and stay however long you want:)
Happy birthday, Caleb!
We have a zoo membership this year (my parents got it for the kids for Christmas.) Our families should meet up there sometime this summer – although I’ll need Tim with me for help at this point in life. I’m not sure I’m ready for my 3 with just me at the zoo! =)