Because it's way more fun...

As I stood in my bathroom this morning brushing my hair, baby wrapped around my legs trying to pull himself up, I listened to the kids race up and down the hallway just outside my bedroom door. As I was thinking about all the items I needed to cross off my "to do" list a text came through on my cell phone that was sitting on the bathroom counter.

The text from my friend read, "Do u wanna go to the zoo today?"

It did not say, "Should you go to the zoo today?" - it said- do you want to go to the zoo today.

Let me see... "to do list" or fun? "too do list" or fun? 

What to do, what to do??

Well, one look out the windows at the blue skies and sunshine and the answer was obvious- GO TO THE ZOO!

So, off to the zoo we went.

Sigh.

I never tire of watching the joy on these kids faces when they first meet up. And the funny thing is, we live 1.2 miles away (and probably only 500 meters, as the crow flies). These kids see each other All.The.Time

As typical, the "friends" pair off. Each one has their mate...

But they love each other.

And they are, after all, kids.

And kids who love each other don't worry about bills and work and "to do" lists.

They just hold hands and giggle and allow themselves to bask in their delight at seeing their best friend... for the 3rd time in a week. It's just as exciting as when they saw them last time.

And as if seeing the "olders" meet up with their best friends doesn't melt my heart enough, one look at this lil guy will do the trick...

No, he's not mine. At least not in the "I carried you in my womb for 9 months and delivered you" way. But he's mine in other ways- like I just love that little guy with all my heart. I think he might be easiest baby I have ever known. Including the 4 I did, actually, "carry in my womb for 9 months and deliver."

And that little cutie up above, belongs with my little cutie down below. See? I told you. They each have their mates. These guys don't hold hands yet- but they do stare at each other and smile and I'm pretty sure that in their eyes they're exchanging knowing plans for all they have in store for their future adventures together.

But the trip was not just about my kids holding hands with their best friends skipping along. We did have some educational experiences thrown in there.

Like, for example, when we went to the bird show. It's really a neat show. I'm surprised that out of the 387 times I've visited the zoo in the last 3 years I've been to the bird show just once. And that was today.

Bird shows are cool. Especially when you get up close and personal with an owl and learn some interesting owl facts. I'm not sure the kids actually learned any owl facts, because they were too distracted just watching him, but I'll pretend they learned a lot about owls today so I can check off my "educational experience" box for the afternoon.

And speaking of learning- I, myself, was super surprised to learn that while my kids will brush a goats hair till the cows come home, curiously, they're terrified to feed a goat some goat food pellets for which their mother shelled out .50 for 5 nuggets. And if my math is correct (which it darn well better be considering the easy equation and that I am, after all, a teacher)- I'd say that's some pretty expensive goat chow. But I digress.

Goat grooming does, after all, appear to be reasonably more enjoyable than letting a goat slobber all over while they inhale a .10 cent pellets from your hand.

Even baby Christian had fun watching the goats for about 6 seconds - in which I was lucky to snap this picture.

And then he cried.

The kids were even lucky to enjoy something they don't get to have very often. Pop! Yes, we all shared it. And yes, I drank most of it. But for them to get unlimited swigs off of moms coke was seriously big time for them.

I'm glad I got that text this morning. And I'm proud of myself for throwing my "to do" list to the wind. Spending a beautiful afternoon at the zoo with awesome friends is way more fun than paying bills and organizing junk that will just get messed up soon enough, anyway.

... my "to do" list can wait.

It will be still be there tomorrow.