Soggy witches

My Mom and I capped off Fall Break 2009 by taking the kids to trick-or-treat at the Louisville Zoo on Friday. This is an annual tradition. The Louisville Zoo puts on quite a show for the children. The zoo is transformed into The Kingdom of Far Far Away, Oz, Hogwarts Castle, Jurassic Park, Candyland, The Jungle Book, Wonderland, the Carribean and a Fairytale Village. It's very magical and my kids love it! Every September they start asking when we are going to go trick-or-treating at the zoo. I normally try to take them when my Mom is visiting and this year was no exception. I wish I could say we had a marvelous time but then I wouldn't be telling the entire truth. You see, it began to drizzle on our way to the zoo. By the time we arrived it was drizzling a bit harder. I had checked the weather and a steady drizzle was nowhere in the forecast. Sure, they mentioned an occasional shower but that wasn't supposed to occur until later in the evening. So, I made the choice to go ahead with our zoo adventure. I made the wrong choice.

The kids were upset that they had to wear coats over their costumes. As if wearing a coat wasn't bad enough, they had to have their hoods up to keep their heads dry as well. So, basically you could see their legs and that was about it. Certainly makes the money and time spent on their costumes well worth it, huh? Noah didn't even get to wear a costume. He spent the evening riding around in the stroller in a snowsuit with an umbrella held over him or being carried around by me. Yes, it was chilly enough for Noah to need to wear a little fleece snowsuit! In October!

So, we rambled through the zoo gathering candy and trying to stay semi-dry. Lily wasn't so sure about the people in costume but she was digging the candy. I have never seen her walk so fast. She is normally a dawdler but, with the promise of candy at the next stop, she became an Olympic speed walker! We were through all the magical lands and back in the car in forty five minutes flat. I believe that is a new personal record.

We scrambled into the van and took off our soggy outer layers. I blasted the heat and we all patted ourselves on the back for surviving the zoo in the rain. I assumed all would be well. I was, once again, wrong. Megan managed to spill Fun Dip all over her hands, her pants and the backseat about five minutes after leaving the zoo. If you don't already know, Meg has a flair for the dramatic. The way she was carrying on, I assumed she had spilled something horrific all over the place. Candy powder? Seriously? Did that really necessitate ear splitting screams? Apparently it did. I managed to get her calmed down while driving down the interstate but she started up once again when she realized she had to pee. I am a mean Mom. I made her wait until we got home. I was cold. I was wet. I was hungry and I was not stopping to drag my five year old daughter into a gas station bathroom. She could hold it and she did.

All in all it was a memorable experience. I will certainly remember to never go trick-or-treating at the zoo in the rain ever again.

By the way, check out these photos! My Mom is the most awesome Grammy in the world. Each year she dresses up and this year was no exception. She really outdid herself. Lily was a bit freaked out by her costume and kept asking "Gigi (what she calls my Mom)?" over and over again. I guess she was just making sure.