Zoo Boo

A week ago we spent a very chilly night at the Zoo Boo! Despite the cold temperatures, we did have a lot of fun. It's a good thing we had the first time slot, so at least the beginning was in the daylight and a little warmer. It also helps that we can put tights and jeans on ER underneath her long princess dress but she still wore a coat most of the time.

We met the grandparents and Uncle Dave for dinner beforehand, well at least that was the plan. They evidently couldn't wait the ten minutes extra it took us to get there and ordered their meals at Panera before we arrived. I even got a call asking us where we were BEFORE the time we were all supposed to met. Yes we're the ones driving an hour and we do have a three year old, I can see why four adults just couldn't wait...not that I'm still annoyed or anything. I love having a family dinner where everyone else is done already. I mean what's the point, I was seriously 95% ready to sit at another table. We won't be doing that again, next time we'll just meet wherever we're going. Okay, crabby time is over.

ER was all ready to go trick or treating at the zoo. It was the first time she got to officially wear her costume and she was so excited. This year we didn't even have to remind her what trick or treating was all about. At each treat station, she called out quite loudly, which was amusing.

We went to the Zoo Boo two years ago and thought that compared to another event held in our area it was kind of lame. But it's also half the price. However, they've made it longer and more elaborate now so it was a much better event and well worth the six dollar ticket price.

The downside was that it was really packed and a couple of times very congested. They need to work on their organization, one treat station clearly wasn't ready on time and there was a long hold up and not enough zoo personel working to keep things moving along. Plus my foot got run over by a wagon three times. The person pulling it clearly knew they had run over me, two of them even looked back at me, but did anyone apologize or say excuse me? No, sheesh what's the matter with people these days?!
Another thing that was different was that we actually went into the reptile and the amphibian exhibits, so there were two times when we could get in from the cold and actually see some animals. Previously, "animal" sightings were limited to the displays they have set up along the trick or treat path, like these with pumpkin and gourd elephants. It seemed like they had more this year and that some, like the farm one were much more elaborate. They are fun to see and ER liked them.

Besides the twelve or so treat stands, the hay maze we played in at the Fall Festival was still set up, and there is a fun stage show too. Instead of hay bales to sit on, there were folding chairs. The difference didn't matter to ER, cause she watched the show on the ground, peeking between the chairs. The characters scared her a little.

We were there about two hours and afterward we went to Grandma Norma's for some pie and to visit more. It was a fun evening out.