chaos at the zoo...

Today was a zoo day! The weather was gorgeous, the sun was shining brightly (for a change) and the humidity was non-existent (also for a change). Perfect for spending the day outside with a ton of kiddos! I talked to Andrea and Julie last night and they decided to join us. So, between the three of us adults, we had 9 kids -- Julie's two, Andrea's three, and my three plus one friend Katherine wanted to bring with us. They were so excited!!

When we arrived, there were several buses and "child care" type vans. There was a line to get in the front door. It was BUSY! Evidently several people had the same idea that we did!

When we all got through the front door and organized to start on our trip, Andrea looks and Collin (who is 4), and says in her most serious voice, "COLLIN, you see Caleb? Stay right beside him all day. If you see him go somewhere, you follow him"!!

To say that I was dumbfounded by her comment would be quite the understatement. I immediately whipped my head around and shot her a look - all with my mouth hanging wiiiide open. I then said something like, "Are you KIDDING me? You want my 4 year old to watch yours"? They are a couple of little boys and if there is trouble to be found, they usually run right into it!

She then told me that Collin has a tendency to run off (no kidding! LOL) and that if he was allowed to follow Caleb around, he wouldn't wander off on his own.

OK, right.... I can't wait to see how successful this tactic is!

It was a great day. The kids had so much fun riding the train, playing on the playground, feeding the goats and fish and having lunch. On our trip to the African exhibit the kids got to get "up close and personal" with a giraffe and then found a nest of baby birds. I have to tell you... The baby birds was probably the highlight of the day!!

All of a sudden, Collin is missing. As in no where.... Andrea looks at me and says "do you see Caleb? Of course you do, because he's with all the other kids. He doesn't take off like Collin!" We spent the next several minutes looking for her little guy only to find him about 3 blocks away looking at some "skin and skull" exhibit. UUUUUGH! I then had to endure the "I told you so" baloney for the next hour!

Andrea had to leave the zoo a little early, so I took Katherine, Caleb, Andrew and Emma (her little friend) over for ice cream and a little more play time.

Oh, I almost forgot! At lunch, Emma had a loose tooth. I'm not sure what it is about loose teeth, but they just give me the willeys. UUUUGH. They creep me out! Katherine was telling Emma to just pull it out. So she did. Blood everywhere. I wrapped up the tooth, put it in my purse, and told her I'd give it to her when we got home.

We got home, I gave it to her and wouldn't you know... she lost it on the way home. The poor girl was in hysterics. Her eyes were swollen, she was sobbing, unable to breathe. She was SURE where she lost it, but couldn't find it. I sent Katherine to her house to get her dad and we all looked and looked and looked. Finally, her dad found it, slipped it in his pocket and didn't tell the girls. The tooth fairy has a BIG surprise coming!!