Boo at the Zoo

And yet, another fun Halloween tradition for the books...

Boo at the Zoo!

Let's rewind.  The first year we went it was chilly and a little bit drizzly.  We were there with Charlie's family.  The girls both wore monkey costumes and were pretty darn cute.  It was dead at the zoo because of the weather and so the workers were handing out handfuls of candy.  We didn't mind the little bit of raindrops so it really worked out well.  Last year we went (just us four) and it was sunny and warm.  We all had layers on that had to be removed.  I was pregnant with Quinton and had my super cute skeleton shirt.  The girls were Minnie and Tiana.  The Zoo was packed!  There was no moving around so we didn't last long.  This year, Charlie had already committed to going to a magic tournament the same day.  I knew that I didn't want to attempt taking the three kiddos by myself on such a busy day.  Sure I'd survived a Zoo trip by ourselves that one time, but even on the Zoo's busiest normal day, it doesn't match the busy that Boo at the Zoo brings.  Thankfully Steph said we could go with them and that she and John would help me out with kiddos.  They were seriously my life saver that day.  ( I have the BEST in laws)  You know when they say it takes a village to raise a kid, well that saying couldn't be more true.  We had so much fun with them and Cypress and I didn't feel frazzled or stressed at all.  We decided to get there right at opening because it was supposed to be cool in the morning but hot in the afternoon.  It was still busy but not too bad.  It actually started to really pick up right when we were finishing so it worked out well.  Quinton's Ewok costume isn't finished yet, so I just had him wear that cute monkey costume Lydia wore her first time going.  He was so cute in it and actually fell asleep in the stroller when it was time for his morning nap (score!).  It was a little chilly and we weren't prepared for cold hands, but the girls had so much fun.  Alison, Jocelyn, and Adam arrived about an hour later and got to sneak in some fun before we all called it quits and went off to lunch.  

Ready to go in!  Yes I wore my Princess Leia jacket.  The buns covered my ears and muffled my hearing too much so it didn't last ha ha

The adorable monkey, his costume kept him nice and warm

Getting her face painted

Of course she got a Mickey

Natalia seemed a little skeptical at first of getting her face painted (I think she pictured it would cover her whole face) so I suggested a Ladybug and she went with it and loved it

The darn hood kept covering his face

Sound asleep monkey

Lydia was shivering, and her teeth were chattering.  Despite the warm layers under her Minnie costume.  So Steph added Cypress's puffy vest and I covered her with my jacket.  She warmed up after that

Trying to get a tiger picture with the cousins.  Lydia was refusing to go stand with her cousins.  No one wanted to smile and look at the camera ha ha ha.

After lunch at Big Juds.  This is what we got when we asked them to look at the camera and say cheese ha ha ha.  

 It was an exhausting but oh so fun day!!  So glad we went and so very thankful for my village!!