grumpy morning at woodland park zoo

with no plans for the day, i greeted my smiling boy in his crib with a question: what do you want to do today? his first response was "go to gramma grampa's house!" then "ride the carousel at the zoo!" we picked the second. being a cloudy weekday, i thought we'd have run of the place - not so much.

it was chilly, and i wanted coffee. i had bypassed starbucks, really the only option on mercer island, in favor of trying out my favorite bean, cafe vita, at the zoo. bad choice! big lines and a burned, over chocolate-ed mocha. lots of camps were getting their zoo field trips in today, and kids were running or crying everywhere. our boy was a champ through the chaos, gripping his first big lollipop with determination and patience, knowing he had to wait until after lunch to taste it.

we got turned around feeling torn between the gorillas and the carousel, then just went with it seeing whatever animals happened along our zigging and zagging. the jaguar laid right by the glass in all it's magnificence. the orangutan gazed at us with soulful eyes. three elephants were out, including the one i suspect has tragically gone mad, always "dancing" alone in the corner. (please tell me if i'm wrong!)

we shared an "impressive for zoo food" lunch of salmon salad with strawberries and feta ($9) and a grilled salmon sandwich ($9) at the new pacific blue. there are lots of tables, but watch the booster seats/patio chair combo on the gravel, mr. two-year-old who kept pushing his feet against the table fell over backwards. keep vigilant waiting for your food, one woman had her lunch swiped from the pick-up counter before she could get to it. if you're the nefarious type, you could use this to your advantage and score a free meal ;)

despite the grumbly start, the morning ended in a happy place. the sun came out. we ran into a good friend and her sweet kids, whom our boy loves. the big lollipop was a hit, although my boy kept asking "how does it work?" maybe he wanted it to not be so hard to bite? and the biggest bonus for me, he stayed awake the whole drive home then took a big nap before gramma and grampa arrived to babysit!

if you frequent the zoo with young kids, you must get a membership. the cost of admission isn't piddly, and with the $$ ringing in your head, you will be disappointed to find there is no way to see all of the spectacularly large zoo in one trip. if you get in for "free" you don't feel so bad if your kid (or you) just wants to see the giraffes and go.

woodland park zoo
Woodland Park Zoo, located just minutes north of downtown Seattle, Washington, in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood, is a beautiful 92-acre zoo featuring more than 300 different animal species.

: note :
my pics today were disappointing, so these are from previous visits.


...where is your favorite zoo? we are heading to point defiance zoo next week, i'll let you know how it compares.

4th of july at the horse races

our long standing family tradition is to spend a typically drizzly 4th of july in high style at emerald downs (longacres reincarnated). this year was the first that our family's matriarch, nana, was not feeling well enough to attend. still, we rallied on, pigging out on all-day breakfast, picking horses based solely on their name (winnie the stew!), and checking out all the stallions up close.

i had a hard time relaxing today. i continued to ask what time it was though no one ever knew. this is unlike me, but we arrived right at our boy's usual nap time. with a party at my brother's house tonight featuring the biggest low-pro home firework display you can imagine, and a flight to catch tomorrow morning that we hadn't packed for, i just didn't know how it would all come together without one of us having a meltdown. of course, after little man's valiant attempt at the bouncy house, an ice cream cone, and singing lady gaga all the way home, it is working out beautifully. my beautiful boy and auntie lala are napping upstairs, i've got all the clothes packed, a clean kitchen, and here i am, entering my first post ever.


happy independence day everyone - enjoy!
paulette

EMERALD DOWNS
2300 emerald downs dr. auburn, wa 98001

... how do you spend the 4th?