And then Sam got sick as we left Hilton Head. Total buzz kill. No trips to the water park when you've got a fever! I'm not going to lie, I did dose him some Tylenol and head to Wonderwild one day to meet up with some friends who were going back to school even earlier than he was (No, I don't feel guilty about taking my sick kid to a place like that. Those places are already teeming with germs, thankyouverymuch!). He rallied while he played with his friends (preschool friends, who all go to different schools now!) but crashed at dinner. Annabelle played hard, too and just doesn't have as much energy to start with as Sam...so both of my kids basically ate tortilla chips at dinner that night.
Later in the fever week he was up for some bowling. Woooo summer!
Annabelle and I entertained ourselves while Sam was at camp. She insisted on playing outside in the "your makeup will literally melt off your face" weather, and I wondered if she was a bit too much "boy." And then she declared that he play makeup wasn't good enough and that we would need to use Mommy's for our make-over session, and I realized she is just the right balance.
The week after camp we were all up for more. And so, FINALLY, for the first time in a year, I took the kids to the zoo. (Actually, Annabelle went in October for ZooBoo, but we don't like to talk about that in front of Sam.) We had a blast. Of course we were breaking the summer drought in this 2-day span so I was really risking it with the weather, but it worked out. We saw those black clouds rolling in and called "Lunch!" a few minutes early. Got to the "watch the giraffes" restaurant, got our food, and then watched the sopping wet people stream in desperate for a table about 5 minutes later. After eating, we walked back out to sunny skies. We were really proud of ourselves.
This long-awaited trip also meant that we FINALLY got to see the Gorillas. Its a very nice exhibit, even by our Columbus Zoo Standards. I was pleased with how much info I could recall to share with my children about gorillas, what a big deal it is that one was born at the Columbus Zoo some 50 years ago, how Mommy saw that gorilla - and even general information about how they live and grow and interact. And I thought of my first grade teacher, Mrs. Scott, who loved gorillas and taught me a lot of what I told my own first grader that day.
Sam got a kick out of reading all the signs. This of course led to a lesson in the meanings of "endangered, declining, stable and threatened." And the identification of a new baby in the primate habitat who will forever have a special place with our family.
We also FINALLY made it back to the Children's museum. The kids had fun, it was only OK for me. But I guess that outing isn't really about me, is it? Maybe I have a bad taste in my mouth from the parking ticket I found on my windshield on our way out. Sam was indignant on my behalf. Love him for that!
What else...we saw a play in a theater - Annabelle's first! - with church and the kids really enjoyed in. I thinking the Christmas show would be fun! We had a "bonus vacation day" with some friends down in Galveston who were renting a house for a week. Sam finished his giant Lego set. We had lunch with our Heights Community Group and some other old, dear friends who were in town visiting (why do people keep moving!). We bought school shoes, deposited money in the lunch account, met the teacher.
Sam rounded out his last weekend of summer with a 2-hour nap on the couch. Would have been longer, but we had to wake him before the sitter came (Mommy's Birthday Date Night!). And in my heart I felt like that was right, a good sign that a full and fun summer had come to an end. Too tired to keep on playing. Rest up, change gears...
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