ah yes, family vacation to the zoo

Well we decided to take a last minute vacation this last thursday night / friday. Ryan Companies US Inc, being a catholic family company, observes good friday as a holiday. Good for them, even better for me. So Jen and I decided to take the kids to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha.

We pricelined the Hilton in downtown Omaha, and got there around 6pm Thursday. We went down to the old market district for dinner, and seeing how it was 75F we ate outside at the "Upstream Brewery Co." The kids loved eating the sugar packs and watching people being strange. Caden especially had a fond interest in a loud motorcycle which parked by us. The bike came with a lone male, left with an accompanying female. Hm, wonder where she came from? The Old market reminded me a bit of brick town in Oklahoma City, but not as nice.

And of course as dutiful parents we took the kids swimming when we got back to the hotel (making sure we waited an hour). What is it about kids that they hate the water at first and want to be done? But since we went to all the trouble to suit everybody up we have to stay at least long enough to make it worth it. And then, of course, after 15 minutes when mom and dad have had plenty and feel the trouble of suiting everybody up has been satisfied, they are in the "zone" and could play for another couple of days. What a great time though.

The kids slept great in the room, which is always a concern when we travel, although they do make strange noises in the night. The Hilton, which we pricelined for $60, was a fantastic find. Here is my criteria for ranking hotels: bed comfort, pillow comfort, shower head and pressure, quietness, and general ambiance/design/architecture. This Hilton hit a homerun on all five. The two negatives were that you have to walk through the lobby to get to the pool and you have to pay for the wireless connection. Oh well, still a great stay. We closed up every nook and cranny that light could get through so we all slept long and hard.

Picture of the kids eating breakfast at the hotel:















Now for the zoo. What turned out to be a fantastic day had two dramatic low points. The hour long (no exageration) line to get in the gate that was no more that 75' or so (just very slow) and the 20' line at the concession stand that took 45 minutes. Now understand here that it is my genetic disposition to hate waiting in lines. Waiting in line accomplishes nothing. Its impossible to meditate, or to pray for anything other than wisdom to find the fastest line, and conversation has a way of being unfortunately negative. If we had watched Pollyanna at the beginning of our trip instead of the end maybe we would have tried the glad game.

Complaining aside we had a blast. The kids loved it, and we found a lot of enjoyment seeing them have a good time. Caden would yell "Moo! Moo!" at every animal he saw, and of course visiting our supposed primal ancestors is always a hit. Do you know why apes have such big nostrils? Because they have big fingers! Yes, that is correct. Insert finger in nose, lick with tongue. Now I know where kids get that. Leyla wanted to see the penguins all day, and when we did there was no dissapointment. We got there right at feeding time, so it was fun to watch them swallow fish whole and dive for them in the pool. Kind of makes you wish you were a penguin.

Here are some pics:











Well, after the 2hr trip back home we topped it off with raisin bran for dinner and had a family movie night and watched Pollyanna. The twins ended up going to bed about 3/4 through the movie, but not until they had most of the popcorn well ground into the carpet. What a great movie.

I tell ya, this family stuff is addicting.