The animals at the Zoo

My Dad and Granny went back to Nashville yesterday, and I have to say...those two exhausted me! They got in around supper time on Saturday, so we just sat and chatted. The last time I had seen my Granny was at my Grandpa's funeral in December 2010. We had a lot of catching up to do! I was so happy that my Granny had decided to come with my Dad since she had two back surgeries very recently (she cleared it with her doctor before she sat in the car for the 10 - 12 hour drive), and she's still a little hesitant about doing things.

Sunday, my Dad and I had our indoor triathlon in the morning and then we had some delicious Papa Murphy's Veggie DeLite pizza (love, love, love that pizza!) before heading into downtown Dallas. On the way down there, we had to stop at a gas station because Danny had to go to the bathroom. If you've ever stopped half-way between Rockwall and downtown Dallas (along I-30), you probably know that it's not the best area to stop in. Let's just put it this way: there was a guy "working" the corner of the gas station and I'm pretty sure we saw multiple drug deals going down. Great place to take your kid to pee, but there wasn't anywhere else and Danny was getting desperate!

We stopped at the Convention Center and hung out with some cows and cowboys. And then made our way to Highland Park area. Beautiful homes through there! We found a cute little park with running trails and took the kids to play for a bit. The kids loved their little adventure. I was pretty tired from the triathlon still, but had a great time. We stopped for Chinese food on the way home (it was about 8pm by the time we started eating). Danny had fallen asleep in the car at about 5:30 pm and he stayed asleep for the rest of the night. Until about 3:30 am. When he woke up.  I tried everything to get him to sleep, but it was a no-go. So he and spent the (early, early) morning on the couch watching Wall-E.

We decided that we would spend our Monday at the Dallas Zoo. In Spokane, we didn't have a zoo, and here in Dallas, there are TWO! There is the Dallas Zoo and the Fort Worth Zoo. Everyone keeps telling me that the Fort Worth Zoo is a million times better, but we haven't checked that one out yet (my mom is taking the kids there in May; which is why we didn't go there this time). I wasn't even sure if the kids would like the zoo, but man, they LOVED it. We were able to rent a wheelchair for my Granny so she didn't have to walk so much, and Piper hopped right on and toured the zoo from her lap.

Danny was stuck in the double stroller, but I let him out at pretty much every exhibit.

They had lots of cool animals and a fantastic kids area where Piper went down the slide about 30 times and Danny splashed in the little mock-river they have set up. It was great! We stayed until about 1pm, when the kids started to meltdown (especially Danny - being extra tired and hungry was not a great combo!). We went to the McDonald's by the zoo - which was decorated like a zoo and was incredibly cute!

After that, we sat out in the sunshine at my house and just talked, drank a few beers, let the kids play, and grilled some ribs. It was a great day and great trip for my Dad and Granny. I wish it could've been longer, but my Dad has this crazy thing called work that he had to get back to. My Dad and Granny left early the next morning and made it back to Nashville in a pretty good time. I spent yesterday getting my car fixed (oil change, new timing belt, and some other things that I'm not really sure what it is but it keeps my car running!) and being incredibly lazy. I was so sore and tired from the triathlon and pushing the stroller all around the zoo.

Today I'm going back to the gym and doing a weight lifting class. Can't wait to try it out - if I can make it to the class on time! But before I do that, I need to do about three hours of work. I better quit procrastinating and do it!