go to the zoo.

Here are some things I learned while completing this activity from our live list.

1. If you take three, tiny kids to the zoo with no stroller, every person you make eye contact with will say, "looks like you've got your hands full."

2. Without a doubt, swimming creatures are the most fun for my boys. They had trouble seeing over walls and fences, and they couldn't spot the animals that were hiding in trees, but the tanks were perfectly magical.

3. While the norm lately has been head-butting, scratching, hitting and pushing, these boys loved each other when it was them against the crowds. Breaking the routine and requiring them to work together toward a common goal (like making it to the next exhibit) buoyed their friendship.

4. All the reflective glass was fun for pictures.

5. Without a doubt, the people are the most interesting animals in the zoo. We sat on a bench for nearly a half-an-hour watching families and school field-trip groups. There were a good many people who seemed to be on outings from care-facilities; people with extreme disabilities who were drawn to us because of baby Fitz, and I was able to speak to the boys somewhat concerning the love and compassion we can show these brothers and sisters of ours.

6. There was the most adorable oriental family, with the most adorable children, who were adorably dressed, and I couldn't help myself from (discretely) snapping a couple of pictures. I learned I am creepy like that.

7. My children like to fly. They like to throw and catch balls and climb things. And an hour of driving through heavy traffic to get to the zoo so that they could fly there, and climb things there, and whine about how they wanted to play with the ball in the poler-bear cage, may not have been worth the trouble. Well, I mean, we won't be doing this very often.

8. Everybody loves a baby facing outward in a front-pack.

9. When Iggy gets tired of walking, he stops to rest on every place he notices that is the right size for his bum.

10. Getting back to the car after three hours of zoo was everybody's favorite part of the outing.

PS- It pays to be brave. Although they don't always enjoy things the way that we thought they would, they are learning. And no matter the difficulty involved, introducing them to new things does them good.