Zoo Flu

All summer I've wanted to take the kids to St. Louis for a little day trip. Things finally lined up for us to go last week and have a chance to visit the zoo, a couple of good friends and a new baby! Taking three small kids on a day trip is actually fun as long as you're prepared and have realistic expectations. I got up extra early to get in a shower and pack up all our things. I put everything in the van including the kids' breakfasts before I even got the twins up from bed. As soon as I was ready I got the kids up, got them changed and into the van they went. They always seem a little bewildered when the go from crib to van instead of crib to highchair, but they did fine. Jack mentioned when he first woke up to get ready with Paul that his tummy hurt. I honestly thought nothing of it. I should have. He wasn't feeling too good in the van but I am stubborn and didn't want my day of fun to be cancelled or even postponed. Plus, he has a tendency for car sickness so I hoped that perhaps that was the issue rather than him being sick. But really I had a good feeling he was just sick. As soon as we pulled into my friend's driveway in St. Louis, he puked all over himself. He assured me he was fine and he still wanted to go to the zoo. Even if he puked again he would be fine, he said. So we went inside, changed his clothes and took a little bit to see how sick he was. He ate a saltine and that stayed down for a while. To the zoo we went with Natalie Bell in tow. Jack insisted on eating an apple in the van. I let him. He puked it up right as we were parking at the zoo. He still insisted he would be fine and wanted to see the lions. Thank goodness Natalie came with us. With Jack out of commission, one of my stroller seats had a permanent non-two year old resident. One of the twins had to walk or be carried the whole time. It was so stinkin hot that day. Before we even made it through the gates we were dripping with sweat just from walking from the van. And pushing the heavy stroller or having a 2 year old clinging to you made it even hotter. But we got to see plenty of animals and the kids seemed to enjoy it. I couldn't actually tell if Jack was paying attention. He looked absolutely miserable. And the twins seemed very interested and at the same time very nervous about the animals. At one point a large elephant decided she was too hot and needed a swim. So she stepped into the water which was much deeper than it appeared. Her giant splash nearly soaked us. Natalie and I thought it was really cool. Schaeffer and Logan panicked. I found out the next day that Jack really enjoyed that part as well. We eventually made it to the lions where Jack puked up the grapes he insisted he eat at lunch. But the next day he told Paul all about the lions and never mentioned how sick he felt. We ended up having a really good time and Jack could tell Paul almost every detail of our trip to the zoo.

Natalie & Schaeffer pointing at a sea lion.

Logan and me prior to the big elephant splash.

Jack at lunch. His second nap of the day.

Strolling through the zoo collecting oohs and ahhs and compliments along the way for their extreme cuteness.

I just love it when they hold hands.

Schaeffer & Natalie checking out the gorilla.

Schaeffer and Mommy.

Your guess is as good as mine as to who this is. I'm thinking Schaeffer, but I'm really not sure.

Later in the afternoon I left Jack lounging on the couch with my friend Ami (Natalie's mom) while Schaeffer, Logan and I went to visit an old college roommate. Angela just had her sweet baby girl a few weeks ago and I was so excited to get a chance to meet her already. Adelaide was a sweetie and I got to have lots of snuggle time with her. As always I wish we would have had more time to talk and hang out but that gets difficult with two two year olds romping around. 

Angela, Adelaide, Schaeffer, Me & Logan