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Our adventure started early this morning as we packed our lunch for a trip to the zoo. We packed a container full of salami sandwiches, threw some applesauce containers, carrots, berries, and cookies into our cooler along with some water bottles and the sunscreen and we were ready to go! We packed into the car and headed out for our adventure. We were to meet our friend Pam at the zoo at 10:00.
We arrived (almost) on time, parked and loaded up the stroller with our picnic lunch and set off to see the animals. We saw tortoises, zebras, giraffes, buffalo, polar bears, gorillas, and much more. We watched Sparky the sea lion perform at 11:30 while we ate our awesome packed lunch. Anna was very into the animals, racing from exhibit to exhibit to see the next awesome animal. It was great that we met Pam at the zoo, Anna led her all around while I manned Claire who sometimes couldn't decide if she wanted to ride in the stroller, be carried or walk like a big girl. We just followed behind, sometimes checking out the animals, sometimes just trying not to trip people as she ran around everyone's ankles. Overall, Claire did very well at the zoo. She enjoyed seeing the animals and loved waving at everyone saying 'hi!'
Once we saw all the animals, we headed to Como Town for some rides. Anna was so excited to go on her first rides ever! When we walked into Como Town, the first ride she saw was the Hopper. It's for little kids, like a mini Space Shot type ride for you Adventureland visitors. It takes the 7 kids up about 20 feet in the air, then drops them and "hops" at the bottom, up and down for some extra belly fun. I wasn't so sure that was the best choice for a ride, but Anna was determined that she wanted to do the 'frog ride.' So....I thought, well, let's just see how this goes. It went a little better than I had expected....
Anna got in line, she was first for the next ride, looking a bit anxious, but excited. The little girl behind her, probably 6 years old, told her that it's a really fun ride. She got her wristband scanned, and ran to pick her seat. She picked the outside seat, climbed on and followed all directions. She was holding on to the padded bar that came down in front of her and squeezed a little tighter when I yelled, "Anna, hold on tight!"
I wasn't sure how I felt. I was nervous for her. She looked little, but yet was the same size as all the other kids on the ride. She's my shy girl; I am so proud of her for getting in line and onto the ride all by herself, but I am so scared for her to not enjoy the ride.
The ride started to go up.
She held on tight and looked a little unsure, but still, no major reaction.
Then, it dropped.
So did her face. And my heart. And probably both of our stomachs.
Her face went into cry mode; her arms squeezed the bar really tight.
Then it stopped at the bottom and headed up again. She looked relieved that it had stopped, but scared about what was next.
I yelled encouraging words to her. "Good job Anna! That looks fun! Keep holding on!"
She didn't love the next three drops either; each time it was the same. Her face dropped, her muscles flexed to hold on tighter. Her head was almost down against the pad holding on so tight by the final drop.
After realizing that she wasn't going to try to jump off the ride, I felt some relief that at least she was going to survive it physically, but we were going to have some emotional work to do. I went back and forth feeling like an awful mom for letting her go on the ride, and finding it a great opportunity for learning for Anna...she would come off that ride a little stronger since she survived it, even though it was scary for her. I did have to stop myself from running over to the young man controlling the ride and asking him to stop it completely and let my little baby girl off.
Both of us breathed again when the ride came to a complete stop and the bar was lifted. She got off the ride carefully and exited with her finger in her mouth. This is a bit of a nervous habit that has started, so I knew she was still a bit shaken.
I picked her up and asked her if she liked it. She didn't hesitate to say no. I felt bad and worried that we had just taken our first and last ride. But right across the way was a fire truck ride that intrigued her and she was ready to go again.
This ride was again an up and down ride, but it was a slow up and down. The first time the ride started heading up, Anna jumped and tensed, but then she relaxed once she realized it was at a pace she was comfortable with and was all smiles.
I was relieved she wasn't anti-rides. After the fire truck ride we hit the train, cars, teacups, and quite a few other little rides that she thoroughly enjoyed. By the end she was joking about the frog ride and how it scared her, so at least it wasn't a completely scarring event.
It was a fabulous day at the zoo. Claire fell asleep on the walk to the car, Anna slept in the car on the ride home. It was a very fun day and full of new experiences for both girls: Anna's first carnival rides, Claire's first zoo. Bad day to have a broken camera, but hopefully we'll get back again soon to recreate the day!
Here is one picture of our adventure:
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