What a Zoo!

Nope, no baby yet, so we'll update the blog with something a little more pedestrian. So, last weekend we headed up to This is the Place State Park for the Step Out! Diabetes Walkathon. My parents, brothers, and daughter all accompanied me and were part of our team from my place of work. We thought it would be nice to raise some money for diabetes research, since several members of my immediate and extended family have suffered from the disease.

Jenny didn't make it with us, since she's nine months pregnant. We walked three miles from the park down and around to Hogle Zoo. Part of your entrance fee went to lunch and free admission to the zoo. We thought it would be a fun time to introduce Madeleine to the zoo and spend the afternoon there.

Well, we thought wrong. The weather decided that it would be a good day to turn rainy and cold. In fact, by the midafternoon, it got so cold that a minor blizzard erupted! Luckily, Jenny joined us at the zoo with warm coats and blankets, so we were able to survive. Most of us had walked three miles, so we were pretty warm from the physical exertion. But poor Madeleine was shivering in her little jacket. It's a good thing Jenny is on the ball and remembered Madeleine's coat and mittens.

We decided that since we didn't have to pay more to get in the zoo, and because it was so cold that it was completely uncrowded, we would stick out the inclement weather and see the animals. Most of the time we spent finding indoor exhibits, as seen on the right, where Madeleine pounds the glass in front of a creepy looking monkey. Hey, it's only Hogle Zoo, you don't expect world-class animals.

Fortunately, a lot of animals were fairly easy to see, so Madeleine enjoyed herself. She particularly liked making elephant noises at the pachyderms. Here we are at the elephant exhibit. It was a fun day, but not as much fun as it could have been if the weather would have cooperated. We'll have to go back another day when temperatures rise above 36 degrees.