Ann and I took the kids (all six of them) to the zoo in Portland. The drive alone was quite an adventure since it takes 3 plus hours to get to Portland from where we live. Thankfully, Ann has a van so at least we got to drive together.
The kids had a great time. We saw bears, monkeys, zebras, elephants, tigers, turtles, bats, penguins, alligators, frogs, fish, giraffes, hippos and more. Collin said his favorite was all of them. Luke said his favorite was turtles...and the train track. He's obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine right now. Can you tell?
We enjoyed beautiful sunny weather with temperatures in the 80's. The kids took the liberty of dipping their feet in a shallow pool near the penguin exhibit. And those juice boxes Dad packed really came in handy. They were a surprise from Dad.
Merritt had gone to the store the night before after we all were in bed. He bought things Mom would never usually buy, like cookies and licorice and juice boxes, as well as made some peanut butter sandwiches. He had it all in a backpack for us ready to go that morning. What a nice Dad. We hope next time we go to the zoo, he gets to come too.
