Last weekend as Britton was getting ready for the day, and the girls were playing in the living room, I looked outside at the beautiful spring weather, and decided that I didn't want to spend the day as I had originally planned. Most weekends I catch up on leftover tasks from the week, folding laundry, cleaning bathrooms, and such while Britton tinkers in the garage or the yard. I intercepted Britton in the bathroom as he was finishing getting ready and suggested that we pack lunch and head to the Topeka Zoo, fully expecting him to protest and spell out everything he had planned to accomplish that day. So I was surprised when he agreed and seemed excited about my idea! We decided to keep our plans a surprise and just told Kaylen that we were going somewhere fun. She spent the next half hour trying to guess where we might be taking her, as we gathered up snacks and packed the car.
As we were driving out of our neighborhood we saw a co-worker of Britton's riding his bike, and stopped to say hello. When he asked where we were headed for the day I spelled out "z.o.o." Without missing a beat Kaylen pipes up from the backseat "Z.o.o. spells zoo!The zoo?! We're going to the zoo!" So much for spelling our secrets!
When we got to the park we saw the old fashioned train pulling into the station across the street from the zoo, and Kaylen decided that Avery would definitely be disappointed if we didn't take a ride. (Avery is obsessed with trains! Whoo! Whoo!) This was Avery's first ride on the Gage Park train and you can tell by the smile on her face that she loved every minute of it!
While we were on the train we passed the carousel and the tulip garden, and decided that after checking out the animals at the zoo we would stop by both on our way out. The highlight of the zoo trip was visiting the monkeys. There were two of them in their outside exhibit, and they both had sheets or blankets wrapped around their shoulders like capes as Kaylen sometimes does when she's pretending to be a super hero. When they saw us standing by the glass window in their little "observation" room one of them came right up to the window where Kaylen and Britton were standing and put both its hands up to the window exactly as Kaylen was doing. He put his hands up to Kaylen's hands exactly! She was a little freaked out at first, but got over it when the monkey reached out and tried to hand her the stick that he was holding. Unfortunately all of my pictures are just of my own camera flash, so you can't even see the monkey. In the meantime I took Avery outside to get a closer look and the same monkey came outside and THREW the stick at me that he tried to hand to Kaylen! So, so funny. I think Avery was very confused by the whole thing!! Every time I said, "Look Avery! Look at the monkey (or the giraffe, or the hippo) she did this. . .
In case you can't tell she is turning her back on whatever it is that I'm pointing out. So not impressed. (Yes. She still drinks a bottle. See that little line on the top of her head that looks like a part? It's a scar. From brain surgery. When (and if) you ever have brain surgery than you can drink out of a bottle too! For as long as you want. Really.)
We had a fun time riding the carousel, but by that time everyone was getting a little cranky. . .
Despite my best efforts and attempts at bribery, I couldn't get my girls (or Daddy for that matter) to pose in the beautiful flower beds! Avery was having none of it!
So my dreams of a fabulous photo shoot in the breathtaking tulip garden, didn't really pan out. I rarely take pictures of "nature" or things other than my girls, but these flowers just took my breath away. There was every color imaginable and they were absolutely gorgeous!!
I have dreams of having a garden of brilliant blossoms like these in my own yard someday. Sadly I definitely don't have a 'green thumb,' mine is more of the dried up dead brown thumb variety. 
I am so glad that we decided to be spontaneous and take off on a little adventure! It was well worth stepping over the piles of laundry to spend the day having fun with my favorite people instead!
