Mc's Birthday

     Yesterday was Mc's birthday, and it was a good one.  :)

     Friday I spent the day cleaning the house so it would be clean for his birthday; I got most of it done except the kids' rooms--they're disaster areas and I ran out of time and energy.

     Saturday morning I sent Mc to get a full-body massage.  I had originally scheduled it for myself, but I didn't feel like I needed it and it's been a while since Mc's had one, so I switched it to him instead.  He had some problem areas that felt a lot better afterward, so I'm glad he went.

     Then, since it wasn't raining, we went to the zoo.

     The last time we took the kids to a zoo was in Arizona, probably two or two-and-a-half years ago.  Little One was walking by then but not very well yet, and rather than looking at the animals, he was more interested in the rocks and ants on the ground.  It was slow-going and it felt like a waste of time and money.  But now that they're older, all of us enjoyed it more.  Baby Girl is five years old and Little One is four, and I think this is the perfect age to start taking them to the zoo regularly.

While looking for a place to sit and eat a snack, we saw a peacock that had gotten out of its enclosure and was just wandering around.  That is how close Mc and Little One were able to get to it.

 There was a zoo worker nearby and so the zoo knew about it and the bird was fine.  Look at that color blue on his head and neck!  It's gorgeous!

The giraffes.  Okay, a little story with this one:

When I first moved up here I went to this zoo by myself so I could enjoy it without worrying about the kids, and the three giraffes were in a much larger area along with the zebras, but for some reason this time they were in this small enclosure.  I really hope it's a temporary holding area, maybe for medical checkups or something.

 Well, this area is much closer to the walking path, and let me tell you, seeing giraffes up close is such a different experience from seeing them from afar.  I'd never been this close to a giraffe before, and I was amazed!  They are so tall, their limbs are so long, and they are so graceful when they move and walk.  They were checking me out for a bit because I wasn't walking around, I was just standing still watching them.  They vaguely remind me of a brontosaurus.  Of course they're not close relatives, but in watching the giraffes I think they could easily have evolved from them.  This was the most incredible experience for me on this zoo visit.

Three lions, all young males.  We saw one playfully pounce on another one; it was fun to watch.

The komodo dragon.
This is a statue, obviously, but this is how big an adult komodo dragon is compared to our kids.

And here is the live adult.  It's huge!  And actually they can grow to be bigger than this.  My kids were good and did what the sign outside said to do: they stayed quiet, moved slowly, and didn't tap on the glass.  Can't say the same for everyone else; lots of kids and many of the adults weren't quiet at all, and it probably stressed out the komodo dragon.  I know it stressed me out.

 Close-up picture of the komodo dragon.  Look at those claws!  I didn't get a shot of his tongue, but it sticks out about 8 or 9 inches as well.  The whole animal is very impressive.

Beautiful snow leopard.  That tail is so long and fluffy.  :)

The kangaroos.  Another little story with this one:

We had just gotten done seeing the tiger area, and it made me really sad because there were three adult tigers in this area and the area was not even close to being big enough for them.  This zoo has done a very good job of giving the animals the space they think they'll need, and so to see three tigers in that too-small enclosure made me really sad.  I hope it, too, is a temporary holding area and not their permanent home.  So then when we saw the kangaroos in this small room with nothing like a natural environment (like the gorillas at the Washington D.C. Zoo two-and-a-half years ago, linked: here), I almost started to cry.  But then as we were leaving I noticed what looked like a door on the left wall, and as I turned the corner I saw that indeed it was a door and it leads out to a large grassy area.  So I felt a little better.  I was still sad about the tigers and the giraffes, but at least the kangaroos can roam and this room is just where they were taking a nap.  :)

Mc's favorite area: the wolves.  There were probably four or five of them, and it was nap time for them, too.  They were still really cool to see, and they have a nice big area to roam (this is what the tigers need!).

And the carousel.  There was a space on the wall telling the history of this one.  This is one of the few carousels left in the country whose horses are wood-carved.  They stopped making wood-carved horses around the time of the Great Depression because of the cost, and after that they were mass-produced with aluminum and plastic.  But hand-carving wood horses takes a lot of skill and it's rare to find one that's survived the decades.  The kids had fun, and I like seeing a bit of history.  :)

And I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the kids at their favorite area: the penguins.  We even got to see them twice since their area is right by our entrance/exit gate!  I was too busy watching the penguins, too, I guess.  ;)  Oh well; next time.

     I was going to make one of Mc's favorite dishes for his birthday dinner that I haven't made in a few years, but about halfway through the zoo I got a headache and by the time we got home it was a full-out migraine.  Once home, I had to take two Excedrin pills and then lay down in the dark bedroom with a pillow over my head for about 45 minutes.  Mc had a game night with some friends that evening and I misjudged how long it would take for the dinner to cook and be ready.  So he left while it was still in the oven, and he has to settle for leftovers today.  But they had pizza over there and I sent him with a Costco cheesecake for his birthday, so he didn't go hungry or anything.  But still, I felt like I failed with that dinner.  :(  At least the thought counts for something, right?  And at least the kids ate some of it.

     And he had a great time at his game night.  :)

     So overall I think Mc had a pretty good birthday, and we all had a good time at the zoo (and now we can add the zoo to our list of things we can do with the kids).  :)  Happy Birthday, mi amor!