Yesterday my mom and I took the kids to the Como Zoo.  The weather was great, the kids were well behaved, and we made it out without anyone falling into an animal cage or throwing a tantrum that lasted for more than a few moments.  The kids seemed to enjoy the animals, but maybe not as much as my mom and I did.  We would have probably stayed there much longer had we gone alone.  Then again, if we'd had the day to ourselves we probably would have chosen a different venue. 

As we were leaving the house, I asked my mom if she thought we needed a map.  We both felt pretty comfortable since she spent a lot of time in that area as a kid and I lived not all that far from there a few years ago, so we decided that we should be able to find the place.  It turns out that we both visualized it to be at the State Fairgrounds, which of course, it is not.  We drove past the house my grandma grew up in, and using it as a landmark, found our way to the zoo.

The Como Zoo is perfect for little kids.  There aren't a ton of animals, the ones that are there are easily recognizable, and you don't have to walk very far to get from one place to the next.  Also, they have a lot of rides that little kids can go on.  Here are Martin and Sophie riding the cars (they are the ones in the back in the yellow car... I was using my mom's camera and wasn't very adept).


It was a great day to spend together, and it was so nice to have my mom join us.  It gave us plenty of time to hang out, we got to catch up in the car while the kids napped and watched a movie, and my mom taught the kids some new animal songs on the way there.  Like this traditional song, passed down from generations:

I went to the Animal Fair
The birds and the beasts were there
The big baboon by the light of the moon
Was combing his auburn hair

The monkey he got drunk
And sat on the elephant's trunk
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees
And that was the end of the monk
The monk, the monk, the monk.

Another excellent lesson from Grandma Jane.