Celebrating Spring

The moment I've been waiting for arrived today- the first official day of spring! I wanted to celebrate by doing something special, so right after breakfast, Grace and I ventured out to enjoy the beautiful weather at the Jacksonville Zoo.

Apparently, every family in Jacksonville with young kids had the same idea. The place was packed! But the zoo is so big and spread out that it really didn't matter. We saw plenty of animals up close and despite what it looks like in the pictures, Grace loved every minute of it. She screamed with delight whenever she spotted the animals I pointed out, and went absolutely crazy if it was an animal she is familiar with from her favorite book, Dear Zoo.



Even I had a great time, although I had to carry her in one arm and try to maneuver the stroller through the crowds with the other arm for most of the day. It just got too tedious to have to take her out of the stroller so she could see every time we came to a new exhibit. I was very impressed with the zoo. The crowd was huge, but the way the place was designed, everything flowed well. They even had a children's play area and spray ground that we didn't have time to check out today.

I was extremely tempted to buy us family passes for the year. (I've been tempted quite a bit lately, haven't I?) But with Mike gone for most of the year, I thought it would be better to wait until he got back.

I can't wait to go back again. It was the perfect way to celebrate the beginning of spring.