Nice Weather - Finally!

The weather in Birmingham was beautiful today. It's been cold and/or rainy every weekend that I can recall. Today was sunny and in the mid-60s.

The nice weather came just in time. Heather took a spa trip this weekend, so I was flying solo with the kids. A nice weekend outside with the kids on my own can be a little tricky, bit it's a treat. Not that a weekend cooped up inside with bored angry kids isn't a treat, mind you; it's just better out there.

We took the opportunity to go to the (drum roll please) . . . zoo! We've been to the zoo so many times, I'm certain the kids have seen more giraffes and lions in their life than they have dogs and cats. It's just hard to beat the zoo for a place that accommodates a side-by-side triple stroller and has things for kids and adults to see outside.

We did the usual tour of the world's animals and took a cruise through the "kids zoo," which is a hands-on barn / petting zoo. I think this is a barn llama.


Whatever it is, it needs a toothbrush and some Crest White Strips. That grill is brutal. I saw it try to bite a little girl after her parents picked her up to pet it. The little girl freaked out. I didn't need that ugly Austin Powers looking bastard to lunge at us to know it wasn't our friend. Some people just have to test it.

We got up close with a peacock who was wandering around the sidewalks.


I didn't know this before, but peacocks have large talons. I noticed them right after I took the picture. I think a peacock could so some damage if it wanted to - - say, if you snuck up behind it with a four foot wide, bright red stroller carrying three handsy kids. After we made our way by, it went after a another kid. He looked OK physically. Mentally, not so much.

We had two up-close and personal "When Animals Attack" moments today. I've never really thought about the assumption of the risk you take by being at a zoo around animals. I get the part about assuming the risk of being hit by a foul ball when I go to a baseball game, but I sort of expect the more dangerous animals at a zoo to be somewhere where they won't maul me or the kids. Then again, maybe peacock and llama attacks aren't as dangerous as they look.

Surprisingly, the zoo wasn't as crowded as it usually is on a sweltering summer day. The big bonus of the zoo not being hot or crowded is that the kids got to play in the fountain / play area without any 140 pound 8 year olds giving them a flying forearm shiver while charging through the water.



I had always thought the floor of the fountain area was concrete, but it's actually little bits of rubber.



If I was MC Hammer, I would put one of these in our back yard.



Now that I know it's rubber, I might let the kids play in the fountain when it's 100 degrees - depending on the size and speed of the kids competing for the water, of course.


Henry was the only one who found the play area behind the non-functional fountain. I was thinking it looked more interesting than a thing that might be a fountain if it was turned on, but I still know very little about the decision making process of a toddler.


It was a good day. Hopefully we'll get some more nice weather next weekend and we can do it all over again with Heather - sans llama and peacock attacks.