Good weather sparks spontaneity

On Halloween this year, the northeast coast experienced a freak snow storm. Not just a few flakes, but nearly 6 inches of snow. Trees tumbled under the pressure and we were snowed in at Grandma and Grandpa's with no power.

So, it's safe to say we're not taking fair weather days for granted this fall. And this weekend delivered a boat load of fair weather.

The kids dove right in. Literally.

We can finally appreciate the joy of the millions (swear) of leaves that blanket our backyard every year. They make for an AWESOME leaf jumping pile.  Another bonus? You can start exercising your snowball-throwing arm with a good leaf battle.

And that was just Saturday. Sunday, I was itching to get out of the house and do something exciting. So we decided on a spontaneous adventure that served as a first for both kids! Road trip to the Philadelphia Zoo.

The plan was to go in the morning for a few hours and head back around lunch/nap time. But as with most bouts of spontaneity, things didn't go as "planned." The kids were troopers and hung on for four hours, with no major meltdowns.

Lindsey had a standoff with some roaming ducks, though. I think she was excited there were animals that weren't behind glass or fences.

There were spontaneous bouts of spending, like when both kids got their faces painted. At first, we were only going to let Ryan do it. We didn't think Lindsey would tolerate such nonsense. But, not to be outdone by her big brother, she too sat there while the artist worked her magic. Grumpy cheeks and all.

Can you tell who was more excited by this?

Ryan didn't get grumpy until about 90 minutes into our self-guided tour. He was dead-set on seeing gorillas. But to get to the gorillas, we had to pass by bald eagles, reptiles, farm animals and (mommy's personal favorite) giraffe's. 

At each exhibit, there was whining and pouting and arm crossing. "But I wanna see gorILLas!" (emphasis on the "ill."). Finally, we made it to the primate exhibit and fast-tracked it past orangutans and  spider monkeys to the main attraction. Two huge, albeit adorable, gorillas who were thisclose to the glass and put on quite a show. I'll admit it, it was somewhat worth the whining.

After the gorilla show, we managed to get a family picture that proved everyone was in a good mood!

Until Ryan decided he didn't want to see zebras next. He wanted to see "flaMINGos."

Regardless, a four hour spontaneous trip into Philadelphia could have ended a lot worse. Family membership to the zoo? Check. Bring on more fair weather days.