Here comes the sun

It’s been a long, harsh, cold winter and the kids have cabin fever from being inside so much. Between hospitalization, doctor’s appointments, work schedules, family/social commitments, and plain old cold weather we haven’t been able to be outside nearly as much as we usually are. Both of my kids love being outside and are constantly trying to convince me that -40 isn’t too cold if we just put on our mitts and hats. I have never been an outdoorsy person and would be perfectly happy to never actually go outside. I love looking through the window at the fresh layer of snow while the fireplace roars beside me, or watching the rainstorm while I sit under a blanket reading a book, my absolute favourite is napping in that perfect patch of afternoon sunshine (yes I might be a cat). Anyway this is completely unacceptable to the two feral children that have taken up residence in my house and they demand outdoorsy type activities as much as physically possible, so in attempt to be a good motherly figure I have adapted and found ways to enjoy the outdoors. We spent some time making snowmen this winter, in the summer we blow up the backyard pool and have beach parties, we love to collect rock and leaves for crafts to be done later, and splashing in muddy puddles is a favourite! We spend plenty of time around the neighbourhood going for walks and finding new playgrounds to explore but we also enjoy exploring a little further (confederation park and the zoo are two places we visit frequently).

So this week in an attempt to get some of this itch for the outdoors scratched I took the beasts to the zoo with the help of my cousin. We made it just in time for the penguin walk (completely by accident, it would never have happened if we planned it). This was followed by Isaac insisting on seeing the tigers; halfway there he changed his mind and wanted the hippos. We changed direction in attempt to avoid a toddler meltdown but it caused the tiny creature to have baby rage and so a meltdown was inevitable. We eventually got to the hippos and in the way saw the meetkats, these are Zoey’s favourite animal at the zoo so we spent a good half hour running lengths across the exhibit finding every single meerkat. Eventually the giraffes were found and the baby tortoises were admired. Finally the boy got his wish and we made it down to the hippos, he stared lovingly at them through the tiny window for an eternity. The hippos didn’t even move or blink the entire time but he was hypnotized by their exotic beauty and stayed there, completely transfixed for what felt relief a lifetime. Finally after a battle of wills we were allowed to move on to another animal. There were meltdowns from both tiny demons that were strapped into the wagon I pulled behind me. They settled with promises to go see the monkeys, of course we had to stop at the fish first. After a final meltdown in the monkey house we decided to call it a day and leave the zoo. We stopped for a nutritious lunch of cheeseburgers and fries before heading home and attempting nap time.

It was a pretty great day! We were all exhausted but getting outside was worth the battles we had to fight.