Holiday Event 2 of 4 - Zoo Lights

When your husband is a pilot, there are very few days when he is home and there is nothing to do.  Every month after Steve gets his work schedule, we go through the month and plan our personal calendar.  December is one of the toughest months to fit everything in since there are so many parties, celebrations, family get-togethers, shopping trips, and general holiday craziness.  This December, because Owen is now old enough to participate in more holiday activities - I have planned a total of FOUR FAMILY HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES.  I felt like four was a reasonable/reachable goal.  See list below:

1. Visit Santa and get a picture.  DONE, CHECK, CROSSOUT, FINISHED.  Picture coming soon.
2. Zoo Lights at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.  DONE, CHECK, CROSSOUT, FINISHED.
3. Tiny Tots Special: Holiday Hooray at Benaroya Hall.  Friday, 12/18
4. Celebration Lane at Bellevue Square.  Monday, 12/28

Two of my four activities are outdoor events. Seattle is a rainy city. I didn’t consider that when I created my list – there would be a possibility of any of them being cancelled due to weather. We came awfully close to skipping Zoo Lights today for that reason.

The plan was to meet my mom in Gig Harbor for an early dinner and a modeling session of some new, cool gloves she got for Owen (see pic below) before we headed up to the zoo. On the way to dinner, our windshield wipers were on full blast. Rain had been pouring down all day. I was determined to give the zoo our best shot, so I thought we’d wait until the very last minute to make the go/no go decision. On the way into dinner, it was a downpour. On the way out, a drizzle. We decided to go for it and I’m so glad we did!

Owen had a blast running down the pathways covered in lights. He has been so cooped up lately because of the rain that you could see it in his face how happy he was to be outside and free to roam. In fact, we heard his complaints quite clearly each time we tried to carry him anywhere. He only fell down a few times which resulted in some pretty soggy clothes but he couldn’t care less.

We ended the night in his favorite place – the carousel. The next time we go on a carousel, I need to bring our video camera and video tape his facial expression when the ride starts. He is All Business. It’s his favorite thing in the world, but he takes it very, very seriously. We always ride 2 or 3 times and he will break a smile after a few times around (for clarification, the picture below was taken before the ride started.) But in general, it’s not a laughing matter, especially when we have to get off and leave the park. Meltdown City. Tonight he was extra sad since he was having so much fun in general being outside and out of the house. As soon as he realized we were going home, he got saaaaaddddddd.

But now he’s sound asleep and hopefully dreaming of his fun night with Dad, Mom and Grandma at the Zoo.

Holiday Activity #2 – Complete.