Technically we already went, but my children insisted on listening to this on our trip and of course we complied and now I can't get it out of my head.
We traveled down to Oakland on Wednesday afternoon. Just in time for dinner and a late bedtime for the kiddos. We live in the sticks- well not quite, but it certainly isn't a big city. And as much as I love the draw of a smaller town, removed from the thick of things, a city certainly has it's pull.
Our tiny two hours spent at the pizza place- Zachary's- oh, so yummy!- was filled with all sorts of folks, a dad with his two teen age kids, a few older (not 25, no offense to anyone) parents with their young children, Asian families, Black families, a couple of gay men, lesbians with their one child, an adoptive family, three older (I assumed they all qualified for AARP- which makes them older than me...) lesbians at the table next to us... ahhh, the city. Sometimes I crave the people, the food, the hustle, the aliveness, the constant motion, and distractions.
There was also the homeless gentleman who mumbled "F-you all", as his pants were falling down, passing our rowdy group after dinner. I'm not sure I handled that well when Mia asked what that was all about...
We were at the zoo shortly after opening and were guided out by the security guy on his four wheeler about 30 minutes after closing. The weather was perfect and other than the aforementioned incidents and another in which Abe decided to jump into the zoo railroad tracks, hands in the air in 'ta-da' fashion, as we were waiting our turn to ride the train (yeah, he didn't get to ride the train), all was fabulous.
Did I mention we went with our friends, my mother and sister??? We were a force to be reckoned with! Some of my favorite photos below.
Thirteen children- all smiling? Nearly impossible- at least they are all in this one! The one with just their backs?- we thought we had them all... Abe was with Auntie Monica and Grams, ooops.
There were more animals other than the alligators and giraffes, but who wants to look at them when you can look at all these cute kids???
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6 comments:
The Motley crew..... What a great bunch of good looking kids :)
Great photos! So hey you didnt say but Im curious. Did yall stay in a hotel or with friends? I wondered how your big family handles that one? I have to sneek my kids in because here in socal every hotel Ive stayed at near D*sney(where we like to stay often even though its close to home) have started making us get two rooms if we are honest about how many kids we have. Heck we only have half as many as you *grin* They say its due to fire code laws, blah blah blah anywho just curious if youve run into that or if you and Kari have just accepted it and sleep in seperate rooms when you travel.
My sister lives about 10 minutes away from the zoo and is kind enough to let us stay with she and her partner. They have a great set-up for us...
Yes, we have run into that same problem with hotels. Usually they recommend joining rooms plus one more for our brood. And that is just a whole lot of money... Two summers ago, when we went to the Northern Oregon coast, we drove 12 hours in one day- just to avoid a hotel.
We tried to reserve a place in Yosemite, when we only had six, but because of their ages we couldn't go unless we brought another adult...
Man! Wish I could have gone with you guys... It snowed yesterday. SNOWED for cryin out loud!!
Have a great Easter!
those pics are great! they make me feel happy to see so many smiling children.
and you are a GORGEOUS family!!!
aww, great photos...and a happy day at the zoo (even with the mishaps) :)
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