Zoo Lights

"Zoo: An excellent place to study the habits of human beings. " -Evan Esar

Some good friends of ours invited us to the Zoo Lights here in Denver over the weekend, and I had never been before.  We bundled up the toddler as best we could, and headed out for an adventure.

It was a wonderland, there's no other way to put it.  Something about LED lights in the trees at night makes for a magic feeling, and a whole park full of lit trees and animal-shaped lights made for a festive and beautiful walk.  

 

Did I mention it was cold?  It was cold.  The zoo very wisely sold hot cocoa for $5 a cup, so we opted for the cheaper, but still plenty hot, coffee.  Maeve kept warm by running madly around the small area we let her roam while our friends did Santa pictures.  She would dart off to a pile of snow, stick her hand in it, then dart back to Daddy or me - all the while yanking the other parent along, hand in hand.  We made quite the spectacle, I imagine.

She was reasonably happy when we called it a night, but on the walk back to the car, without the lovely lights and friends to distract her, she realized she was cold, and wailed all the way back to the car.  It hearkened back to all my inglorious exits from the library, since every other week she pitches a fit that causes us to leave.  

 

We applied a blue Dum-Dum to the situation once we got in the car, as well as blasting the heat, and she calmed down within a matter of minutes.  All's well that ends well, and now we know the Santa at the Zoo Lights is free, so we may do that when Maeve gets old enough to want to personally mention to Himself one or two items she'd like to receive. 

Maeve was not pleased to be back in the stroller.