Boo At The Zoo

Time for the annual trip to the Toledo Zoo for the Pumpkin Path. The kids get decked out in their Halloween finery and we head out and brave the crowds to enjoy ourselves for an afternoon. Or as the kids say, score some candy.

But first, the preparations. We have to get Sleeping Beauty ready. Makeup (not too much, we're not going for the baby beauty pageant look here), dress and tiara.

Second we get Captain Jack Sparrow ready for his debut. I have the Non-Biological Son again this weekend and he's one heck of a pirate but lacking the copious amounts of alcohol, monkey, and eyeliner that Captain Jack had in his movies. We're okay with that as eyeliner is for sissies, Monkey's poop everywhere, and I figure I'll save the liquor for after the kids go to bed. I'll need it more than he will anyway.

Following Captain Jack is FC starring as Anakin Skywalker. It doesn't matter that he's never seen any of the movies... All he knows is that lightsaber's are very cool. And yes, for those Michigan fans out there, he's wearing a Toledo Rocket's hat. *Grumbles under her breath*

With everyone suitably dressed, we head out to the Toledo Zoo. We arrive approximately half an hour after the gates open and we're already at the midway point of the parking lot. About 15 miles from the the entrance.

"Mom, where do we go in?" Anakin is squinting.

Captain Jack pulls out his telescope and sweeps his field of view across the parking lot. He points due west.

West it is. We head in. The Princess, the Pirate and the Jedi Padawan who will eventually become a Sith Lord.

It's always the quiet ones. I'm going to need to keep an eye on him.

It was chilly, so those who could wear their coats under their costumes did, and those who couldn't, The Jedi and the Princess, resorted to being a Jedi and a Princess wearing a heavy fall jacket.

I wore a wool winter pea coat, gloves and a scarf. Hey, I get cold easily :)

The Princess decided she couldn't walk any more and lept into Papa's arms. She spent most of the day there, and Papa, for his part, didn't complain. Not once.

The Motley Crew, posing. This was before the whining, the tears and the sugar buzz hit.

There were spiders. Everywhere. I'm not a fan. Even if they are ridiculously large and clearly fake. This one resembled one that I found in the garage last year. I think he winked at me.

Then this lovely specimen started eyeing me suspiciously. I herded the kids towards the next candy station. Maybe they have jello shots.

The animals might have made me a little nervous, but the colors were stunning. They were at their peak.

With numb fingers and wind burned faces we retreated into the aquarium building. Everyone was pretty impressed with "Nemo". They found him and his twin sister pretty easily.

These jellyfish type things (?) were mesmerizing. I spent two minutes watching them before I had three voices yelling for me. The monsters want more candy. Happy place denied.

My stomach started growling. Hey, I didn't have a candy bag to snack on, (and if I did I would have quickly ended up in a sugar coma. I saw this guy and instantly thought of lunch.

The little princess was starting to wear out anyway. I had to drag her away from this display. I'm not even sure what she was looking at, to be honest. The group was pushing forward towards the exit doors and we were quickly in danger of being left behind.

We were nearing the end of our trip. The kids candy bags were chock full of sugary goodness, we were all freezing. We just had one more stop to make. The new Africa exhibit. Polar Bears, seals, etc. I realized that I didn't have any pictures of me with the kids (hey, mom has to jump in a picture every now and then!). The boys had already run off with Papa, so it was just myself and the little princess.

And the princess was not all that excited at having to stop for a picture. Not in the least bit. No amount of coaxing would entice her to look up at the camera. That's what I get for letting her skip a nap.

She wanted to see the Polar Bears. Or Polar Bear in our case. I'm not sure where the babies and the other adults were. We did manage to get up close and personal with this one. He just stood there. Every two minutes or so he'd raise his head above the water and take a breath, then go right back to staring us down.

It was time to head home. But not before my moment of zen. This is a shot from under water looking up.