Much Ado About Monday...

Today we were in luck, everyone was home on a Monday. Brandon had the day off and Zach was out of school, so we chose to do something fun and new. We hadn't been to the zoo since we moved here and really thought this might be a great day. After several weeks of cold weather and rainy days, it was a nicer day to be outside. The zoo is in a great part of town that seems to have a lot of other things to do...shopping, parks, restaurants, etc. We waiting until the morning fog burned off and headed out on our adventure. I had heard mixed reviews about this zoo, so we weren't sure what we might find...we liked it!

It is a nice, clean zoo...easy to get to and the parking isn't bad. It is right next to a big local park, so you can even wander around before or after if you choose, cute train ride also available that we didn't do today, but will try to do next time.

The kids loved the zoo and had a blast looking at all the animals. We went so rarely in CA since we didn't have one close. I did take Zach often to the Phoenix Zoo when my parents lived there, but Erin hasn't been much. Both kids were very engaged in the animals and talked a bunch about what they saw. It was a good trip for sure with no meltdowns...always a plus. I really liked the zoo and plan to head back more with Erin and hopefully Zach too.

I added some photos to share of our day there.

When we got home Erin was tired so she took a nice long nap and I sent Brandon out with Zachary for some guy time. It was time for Zach to try to ride his bike without the training wheels. This has been on our to do list for some time. Zachary hasn't been keen on trying and honestly with him it isn't worth the battles when he isn't read to try. He often just needs to do it when he is good and ready. Today I told him it was time to try...that other kids his age were all saying goodbye to training wheels...he is almost 6, etc. I felt a bit bad doing that, but again, sometimes with him you need to and when it works, it works. He went to a parking lot down the way with Brandon and within 4 minutes was riding on his own. He didn't do it for long and wasn't a pro, but he did and tried and asked later if he could do it again. I have a video of it on Brandon's phone, but have no idea how to download on here...so I will see if Brandon can do that for me. Hopefully this is another thing he can be proud to have accomplished. We had a rough morning with him...lack of listening, paying attention, etc. It is almost like he just completely checks out and isn't there. I was actually in tears before we went to the zoo with frustration. It is hard some days to feel like we still aren't getting the help he needs because when he is evaluated they only see a fraction of him. Zachary in small doses does appear very normal. He is able do so many things and is so smart that often the things he struggles with go unnoticed to people that don't know him well or have a lot of time with him. But there are there and a constant factor in our lives. Some days it is easier to overlook than others. Some days it doesn't hurt as much to see the differences in him and other children, even his own sister.

Thankfully the day got better and he was able to "snap out" of his mood and enjoy the zoo. I am glad we got to do this together and so glad that something as simple as going to the zoo for the day is now an option for us whenever we want. Very good day indeed!!