Every Zoo is a Petting Zoo if You’re Brave Enough

Our staycation was coming to its last weekend, which meant Ben could finally have some fun with us. I really admire him for this weekend, because he was not feeling well and he did everything we wanted to do without complaining. . 💕

When you become a parent, you automatically turn into a GPS loaded with all of the local zoos within a 50 mile radius. 🤣 I don’t know what it is about zoos, but it’s nice to take kids to a zoo. Our last two wedding anniversaries have been spent at zoos! 🤷‍♀️ This weekend we went to the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Illinois.

As someone who grew up in the Midwest public school system, we went on a lot of field trips to the zoo. It was educational, and heck, there’s not a lot to do around here! I remember going to Miller Park Zoo in third grade and a bad storm cell rolled through the area. The tornado sirens went off, so the zoo escorted all of us into the basement of a building in the zoo. It happened to be the reptile building…which meant * gulp * …snakes. For at least an hour, I stood near a cage with a giant albino snakes with orange stripes. Trust me, it didn’t like me standing so close to its cage. 😱 I didn’t either, buddy! 🐍 But, I lived to tell the tale! :)

Way wanted to try out the merry-go round. It was a lottttt slower than that death trap that she rode on the 4th of July (see the video here.) Ben let her pick the animal she wanted to ride since it was just them riding. The video below is so adorable that I actually have it saved in my favorites and watch it every once in awhile when I need to smile! ❤

You see why?

That little cute voice saying “Hi” at the end is what makes me burst inside.

So you thought that was amazing? Let’s move on to the petting zoo area. This is a place where Ben and I tend to disagree. He’s much more the type to walk through a petting zoo and maaaaybe pat one animal on the head. Me? I’m free fallin’ into a pile of baby goats and letting them gnaw on my shirt in happiness. This was Waylin’s first real time walking through a petting zoo on her own without being held. And she’s totally “a me.”

There were goats and chickens. 🐐 They put out a bucket of brushes for kids (and adults lol) to groom the goats with. She was absolutely in love with brushing them. I know there a lot of milestones parents like to write down, but I bet they haven’t tracked the first time their kid brushed a goat! 😂 Maybe one day Way will tell her grandkids about this epic day!

The only way to get her away from the goats was to tell her that we were also going to go swimming! 👙 Yes, you read that right. We went on a road trip to a zoo AND went swimming at one of the local pools. HECK YES!

I haaaated the locker rooms at this pool. I had no where to change Waylin into her swimsuit/swim diaper. I did a lot of it by hoisting her into the air, leaning her on my body and trying to put everything on her in a corner so no one could see. I even held her while I put my own swimsuit on. Now THAT is talent. I was literally sweating when it was all said and done. So, pool time was much needed.

They had a big area for smaller kids, but it was a lawless land ran by obnoxious big kids. So you can imagine my “joy” when I had to get undressed 30 minutes later. 🤣 Waylin had fun while it lasted though. She is so brave in the water! She kept walking into the deeper end where all the crazy kids were!

I know we’re in our thirties, and that means…we start to get tired a lot earlier than when we were in our twenties. But this day was too good to end at the pool. We stopped by a BBQ joint to have a quick bite to eat. As I sat across from Waylin and Ben in this little booth, I just felt so thankful for both of them. I watched as they colored together and interacted. It’s really special. I sometimes think Ben doesn’t even really realize how special it really is. He is her first hero!

I wish we spent time like this every day. It is so valuable. We could have done nothing and I would have felt the same. I will always favor spending time with my family over anything. That IS my hobby!

And that was the end of our staycation! I can’t wait for the next one!

P.S. After I took this picture of them coloring, Ben said, “why does my ‘W’ look like boobs?” 🤣