At the beginning of the summer, I had Chase make a list of the top 5 things he wanted to do this summer. Going to the zoo was one of them. After discovering that it was only $4 per person on the second Tuesday of the month, we decided today was our day. I packed up the kids and drove to Portland. I knew it would be crowded, but I was still shocked by the amount of people at the zoo that morning. Once inside, we checked the map to find the nearest bathroom and started off. I consider this first picture a small miracle because I managed to get all four of my children and no one else. Trust me, it wasn't easy.
As we were moving along, a massive wave of people was pushing all around us. I didn't have Mia in my grasp, but I had her in my sights as I was turning the corner. When I turned back around she was gone. I figured she was just back a little ways, I mean how far could she have gotten in those few seconds? Turns out, pretty far. I became more and more frantic as I searched in one direction and then another. I was quickly approaching panic mode. I mean here was my worst nightmare, unfolding right before me. And it was worse than anything I had ever imagined. After searching in both directions for what felt like hours, I was finally able to locate a zoo worker. I explained that I'd lost my daughter and before I could even finish my sentence she was telling me to head back up to the office. We ran the whole way and when I got there, I was barely holding it together. My only comfort was that when we found her, she'd be so scared that she'd never run off again. Mia, however, didn't get the memo stating that she was supposed to be terrified out of her wits and, instead, was perfectly fine. She was sitting in the office with two very nice ladies, coloring in a book. She looked up, said something like "Hi Mom" and went right back to coloring. One of the ladies told me that she'd walked right up to a zoo worker and said, "My mom's not here." Just like that. Not a care in the world. So much for her learning her lesson-she was treated like a princess. I didn't cry until I had her out of the office and then I did as I was hugging her tight, but just a little. I didn't have time for a real breakdown. I had to get Karli out of the stroller so that I could strap the runaway in, and then hightail it to a bathroom before there was an accident. Fortunately, that was the worst part of the day and we had a lot fun for the rest of the visit.
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| Corbin going down a slide. Mia didn't get to go because I wouldn't let her out of the stroller. |
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| Fish. |
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| Lunchbreak. The first time I let Mia out of the stroller after she was lost. |
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| I let Chase take a picture-he was so nervous it took him 4 tries before he got both me and Karli in the shot. |
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| After lunch it was penguins... |
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| ...a polar bear... |
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| ...and Daddy's twin! |
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| Inside the elephant museum. |
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| Mia jumping off the curb on our way to the elephants. |
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| Have I ever mentioned how much I love elephants? |
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| Corbin the drummer. |
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| This music hut may have been the little kids' favorite part of the zoo. |
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| Chase herding the little creatures. |
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| While I was trying to get a picture of this... |
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| "Mom, my arm is stuck!" |
I got plenty of fun pictures of the animals that I'm planning on putting into a little photo album for the kids. I just didn't feel like uploading them all, but we did see giraffes, lions, monkeys, otters, bears, hippos, and many other animals before we left. We also stopped to cool off by the exit while Chase went into the gift shop.
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| Running through the water near the exit. |
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She LOVES water!
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When we got home that night, I had my Mia meltdown. And I called my mom, to make sure that she lost at least one of her kids at some point in her life. She did. And she had to call the police because she'd really lost Luke-he'd followed us older kids to school one day. It made me feel a lot better. My mom is the greatest mom in the whole wide world and if she lost a kid, then I haven't missed out on my chance of being a great mom also. Plus, I didn't have to get the police involved. So thanks, Mom, for losing Luke and helping me keep my sanity.
