So I had this great idea. My aunts, my cousin, and I all live around Northern UT but not really close to each other and never seem to hang out. So I thought why don't we all meet in the middle and go to the Hogle Zoo! We got it all planned and worked out, I was going to be amazing!
The day arrived. David really wanted me to try the new umbrella stroller we had just purchased so I decided to pack super light. Just what I could fit in a diaper bag. All seemed well.
On the drive up things were going okay. DJ was refusing to sleep but wasn't fussing so that was okay. I was making great time! Until I took the wrong exit. Long story short 1 hour and directions from a crazy guitar guy later I finally got to the zoo super late as everyone else is finishing lunch. By this point DJ was super hungry so I mixed up a bottle for him. He wouldn't take it. I looked at it to make sure it was mixed up well and got a whiff... it smelled sour, no sour is the wrong word, it smelled like the milk in those commercials that turn the guy into a zombie would. GROSS! But I was prepared, I dumped the bottle out, rinsed it thoroughly and mixed a new one. Same thing. Not good. I nursed him a little bit while every one was on the train but he was so hot under the cover that he didn't really want to eat. So we snagged some cheese puffs from aunt Kim and yogurt bits from the diaper bag and pressed on.
The first animal DJ had a really interaction with was the Monkeys. There were some really cool ones right at his eye level and I pushed the stroller up so he could see them. I didn't think he was paying attention till I tried to walk away and he reached his arms out and fussed. So we stayed for a while and until it was time to wave and move on.
Things were going really well until the Elephants. Now I have a confession to make. I put my kid in front of the TV. Not often, only about once every 2-3 weeks when I get totally fried and behind and am trying to get dinner done and cant handle the crying. Our go to is the musical extras on the Jungle Book. He LOVES the Elephant song. You know "Oh the aim of our patrol, is a question rather dull. For to march and drill over field and hill. *trumpet* is a military goal". Every time it comes on he bobs back and forth back and forth and giggles. So I thought that the Elephants would be really fun. BOY WAS I WRONG! The trainers were starting a show right as we got there and I elbowed my way to the front so I could get DJ up close. They had the elephant eat and wave his trunk and everything was good. DJ even smiled a little. Then they had the elephant stand on his back legs and trumpet. THE END! DJ was done, cooked, and finished. He turned and grabbed me so fast I got whip lash and began to scream in terror. Poor kid. I had to go to the back where he couldn't see the elephant any more just to calm him down. I tried to take him back but every time he saw the elephant he would freak out again. (Luckily that doesn't apply to the movie, he still loves the song).
Well it was all down hill from there. He got hot and tired and hot and hungry and hot. He began to wail unless I held him, which was hard while pushing a stroller. By the time we got the the giraffes (my faves by the way) he was a disaster. So I said good bye to the family and raced to the front of the zoo, all the way up hill, pushing a stroller containing a screaming baby. Yeah you can imagine the looks I got. To get out we had to go through the gift shop and as soon as we entered the air conditioned store DJ stopped crying and started smiling. (He must have seen daddy give mommy money for a stuffy that morning). We took a minute and I let him pick between a monkey, giraffe, and a elephant. He picked the monkey/gorilla/lemur thing (that we have dubbed Lemurilla). Off to the car we went. I stopped at a store and got a new bottle and apple juice so that my little man would hydrate on the ride home.
Not a perfect zoo experience but not the worst I guess. Hopefully we can go back sometime with Daddy and things will go a little better.
