Memorial weekend arrived and we hadn’t planned anything. So I suggested to Emily that Jasmine have a playdate at the zoo with our friend’s son Andrew. Jasmine and Andrew were very excited and had lots to chat about in the back seat. Particularly how well each could count to 100 in various increments.

We visited the tigers, parquets, insects, and penguins. The insect demonstrator gave us special attention taking us around all the little displays and letting the kids pet the creatures (when they were brave enough). Then we were off on the zoo train ride.  Emily and I were underwhelmed by the ride, but the kids seemed to enjoy it.

After lunch we watched the birds of prey show. The birds were especially uncooperative, never quite going where the trainers wanted them, which we think made the show more entertaining. We walked through the African section viewing hippos, zebras, gazelles and giraffes.  Before leaving the zoo, we visited the bats, which was the kids favorite animal of the day.

We drove to the nearby monster playground, where the kids had a ball while we supervised from a shady bench. When the kids actually looked to be tiring out, Emily suggested we meet with Andrew’s parents at the Dairy Queen. And so the playdate with Jasmine and Andrew had a frosty and delicious ending.