MEMPHIS TRIP: DAY TWO AT THE ZOO

I already wrote about our first day in Memphis, and this post will wrap up our very quick trip.  We've gotten to do stuff with friends the last two spring breaks (last year we went to Branson) - friends make life better!

We did breakfast at one of the oldest (maybe the oldest?) restaurants in Memphis - the Arcade.  It's a throw back diner with lots of tasty goodness.  They seated us in a room with a TV that we changed to cartoons, so our children were quite happy during our wait.  The french toast did not disappoint, and I was thankful that we would be heading someplace to do a lot of walking after eating most of this plate.




Next stop for us was the Memphis Zoo.  Two more families met up with us there which made us into a party 32 people strong - 12 adults and 20 children.  Amazingly, it did not feel super crazy.  I think as our children get older, things get easier.  We can trust them a bit more, and they are slightly more compliant as a group.  (though you might notice one of mine is face down in this pic, ha!)




We LOVED our day at the zoo- it really is a great attraction and well maintained.  We took in the sea lion show before checking out more animals.




(Pandas are always one of my personal favorites!)

The grizzly bear feeding time gave us an up close view of these massive creatures - this was a real crowd-pleaser.  The day turned beautiful as it wore on.

One of our last stops was petting and feeding the sting-rays, which is probably the thing the kids have talked about the most since we left.




(Everybody 9 and under pretty much ended up soaked.)

(the little cups of cut up dead fish made me want to gag, but the stingrays gobbled them up)

It was an unforgettable day with friends and sunshine and fun.  My heart overflows with gratitude for moments like this in life.




Let us all pause to marvel at the group picture featured above.  This was taken with a self-timer.  A SELF-TIMER sitting on a stroller!  And still everyone is more or less looking with so many smiling.  It must be said that we have likely worn down our children's anti-picture taking wills overtime - but still - we were all amazed at how easy it was to get this picture.  Almost eerie.  Most definitely awesome.

As John and I left Memphis, we really were thankful for the fun that we were able to have as a family.  We've had some less than stellar moments in the last several years, but trips like this give us hope that our future family time will not always be quite so intense.  Our car travel was really good considering the participants, and though there were certainly a few harried moments - on the whole, everyone really enjoyed themselves.  There is hope on the horizon, and we are certainly glad for the incremental improvement!

And in a story of undeserved grace, I left my phone on top of the toilet paper holder in the restroom.  I didn't realize it until we were out in the parking lot, and I ran back in to find it right where I had left it.  Thank you, God, for giving me far more than I ever deserve and letting me keep my phone.

Now I'm getting back into the swing of non-Spring Break life, and it is an adjustment - but routine certainly has its place!

(to see Court's take on it, click here!)