On Sunday, Nikki, my boyfriend, and I took our family to Lincoln Park Zoo. All in all I think things went as smoothly as can be. There was a brief hitch in our plans at the beginning because the baby refused to put on shoes for a while, but then she quieted down and we were ready to take a ride on the Red Line. We had a few 1-day passes provided to us by Dr. Amick and showed them how to get on the train. After one bus transfer we were there!

The first animal we saw was a lone seal swimming in circles, which the mom got a huge kick out of! We met my parents there for a picnic lunch – my parents provided sandwiches, fruit salad, chips, and drinks. The sandwiches weren’t an easy concept and I don’t think our family liked them very much, but then again I don’t think they were very hungry to begin with. My parents tried to reach out to our family as much as they could, even learning how to say “good afternoon” in Karen beforehand, which I think was appreciated. Still, they were very shy, especially the father.

The boys especially had a great time – their favorites were the monkey house and the reptile/small mammal house. They kept wanting to hold our hands as we walked around the zoo – so cute! We took some great pictures which we are going to print out and frame for them. I think the zoo was a success!