Zoo Trip Schmoo Trip

Eager to log in some much needed mommy points, I volunteered to go on the 1st grade's annual zoo trip. And what a trip it was. Four first graders, two video screens, two Nintendo DS's, one IPod and me. Thank you Jesus for technology. The boys snuggled in with all their techno-gear and nary a word did I hear for miles at a time. We arrived in record time, thanks to the handy-dandy navigation program on my phone and we met up with our group before the zoo even opened.

Once the boys were unplugged from their respective electronical devices, they began to show signs of life. They were pumped, they were ready, they wanted to get the party going. But not to the zoo. The only place those boys wanted to go was the gift shop. I couldn't convince them that seeing an actual tiger was way better than buying a tiny stuffed one.

When we finally did get on our zoo-way, I found out that corralling little boys is the functional equivalent of wrestling Jello. I never could quite keep them all together. One was a zoom aheader and another was a hanger backer. The other two were put on recon duty to gather whatever stray had wandered away. We did finally make it, intact, to 2:30. The boys then led the attack on their beloved gift shop. After 40 minutes of mulling over what forgettable crapola they were going to blow their money on, we got back on the road.

The trip back did not go smoothly. The boys were cranky and tired. They had skimped on buying food at lunchtime so that they would have enough money left for toys and so, they were also extremely hungry. I was stressed because we were the last to leave the zoo and I was afraid that the boys' parents were going to be mad if we got home late. So I really needed to get out of Ft. Worth as easily as I got in. No such luck.

My navigation system died, I got lost in the ghetto, I had to make three separate pee/snack stops, we hit 5:00 traffic and we got home three hours later than everyone else. By the time we got home I was a nervous wreck. I trudged home, collapsed into bed and vowed to get my mommy points at home from now on.