So I promise to get back to writing more here soon. Today's been my first "down" day in a long time. Just so many activities happening. So until I get back to my long list of "things to blog about", you get to enjoy some pictures from one of my many recent activities.

Yesterday, a small group of us from church went to Brookfield Zoo. I love that Chicago has two great zoos. We usually go to Lincoln Park Zoo (which is free!) and always a fun way to hear dozens of different languages (its like a trip top IKEA). So it had been over 7 years since I'd been to Brookfield (Mike and I went there on a date). I like how it has the animals in vaguely authentic habitats. And all over the park one encounters encouragement to take care of the earth and its animals. It's a good in your face reminder of how our day to day choices affect the whole planet.

Emma of course had a great time at the "animal house." We saw all of her favorites and she entertained us by making all the sounds of the animals. We did actually get to hear the lion roar which was a fun experience. Favorites included the lion, the bears, and the penguins. But what Emma hasn't stopped talking about are the dolphins and seals who were swimming "in their house".

There were a lot of new experiences that Emma was a tad unsure of. She didn't like going into the "natural environments" which were dark tunnels. She also didn't like all the animals statues scattered around the zoo. We of course kept trying to take the kids' pictures on all of those statues and Emma really really didn't want that to happen. Even when I sat on them with her, she still didn't like it (as you can tell from her expression in the picture!).

As expected though after a day like that, Emma (and mommy) was exhausted. She was asleep before we left the parking lot. I fell asleep on the couch at 8:30 last night. So needless to say, I got nothing done yesterday! I'm glad we went. But now Emma has another thing she begs to go to everyday. When she gets up in the morning or when we go to the car she asks if we are going to the Castle (from the Emerging Women gathering), the "museum house" (the children's museum), or the "animal house" (zoo). She will even put her backpack on, get on her push car and pretend to go there. It's great.

Labels: Personal