Como Zoo February 2014 Edition
Last Saturday we ventured up to St. Paul for the day. Chad and I trade off going to the temple and it was his turn to go. We dropped him off (Peyton thought it was so awesome to see the temple--it's been a while) and the kids and I headed to the Zoo. Yes, the high temperature for the day was 9 but we bundled up and enjoyed every minute of it. Peyton had been asking me for months to go see the monkeys!
I would do the zoo in the frigid weather again in a heart beat. There was no one there! We didn't have to fight to see any of the animals and I didn't have to worry about losing my 2 year old in the crowds. Amazing.
But lets back track-How did I get to the zoo? Chad and I swapped phones since I haven't entered the age of smart phones. I typed in the directions and let the kind map voice guide me to the zoo. Easy Peasy. I didn't, however, pay attention to how we got there. So when we got back in the car to head to the temple, imagine my fear and panic when the phone was....DEAD! Someone was waiting for my spot so I hopped out of the car and asked to borrow her cell phone. I dialed my number, but since I just talked to Chad two minutes previously, he didn't answer and silly me, I didn't think to leave a voicemail (but now that I think about it, he wouldn't have known how to retrieve it). So I set off into the unknown.
Just down the hill from the zoo, in the ghetto, there are some shops and whatnot. I thought, I just need to find a car phone charger and we will be fine. I have seen iPhone chargers in gas stations before so I pulled into one that didn't look too sketchy. I hauled Peyton and Avery into the gas station to no avail. I started to sob. We were lost and I had no idea how I would get back to the temple and Peyton was in the back seat saying, "Stop crying Mommy, I'm sorry!" Sweet boy. Then I remembered a testimony I heard at church a couple weeks back about a lady and her son who were lost/stranded in Ecuador. She said she felt completely alone and didn't know what to do until it finally occurred to her to pray. And in that moment of remembrance I began to pray too; to find a store, to remember how to get back, something! The next thing we came to was the freeway entrance. I took a deep breath and we merged into traffic.
I truly don't know how I found my way back. Like I said, I had no recollection of freeway names or exits we had taken to get to the zoo, but little by little I found myself remembering and feeling prompted to get on this free way or don't exit yet, keep going. I reached Oakdale, the town where the temple is located and still wasn't sure where to go when I saw a sign for Burger King. Hallelujah! I found my way back. (I am so grateful the youth have BK on temple trips.) When I pulled up to the temple, both kids were asleep and Chad wondered where I had been. It had been about 50 minutes since we spoke. I was so overjoyed to be reunited again.
This experience was a testimony to me and that God is aware of me and even the most trivial circumstances in my life. It must have been a trial and lesson I needed because even with little battery power, Chad's phone came back to life a few minutes later.
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I would do the zoo in the frigid weather again in a heart beat. There was no one there! We didn't have to fight to see any of the animals and I didn't have to worry about losing my 2 year old in the crowds. Amazing.
But lets back track-How did I get to the zoo? Chad and I swapped phones since I haven't entered the age of smart phones. I typed in the directions and let the kind map voice guide me to the zoo. Easy Peasy. I didn't, however, pay attention to how we got there. So when we got back in the car to head to the temple, imagine my fear and panic when the phone was....DEAD! Someone was waiting for my spot so I hopped out of the car and asked to borrow her cell phone. I dialed my number, but since I just talked to Chad two minutes previously, he didn't answer and silly me, I didn't think to leave a voicemail (but now that I think about it, he wouldn't have known how to retrieve it). So I set off into the unknown.
Just down the hill from the zoo, in the ghetto, there are some shops and whatnot. I thought, I just need to find a car phone charger and we will be fine. I have seen iPhone chargers in gas stations before so I pulled into one that didn't look too sketchy. I hauled Peyton and Avery into the gas station to no avail. I started to sob. We were lost and I had no idea how I would get back to the temple and Peyton was in the back seat saying, "Stop crying Mommy, I'm sorry!" Sweet boy. Then I remembered a testimony I heard at church a couple weeks back about a lady and her son who were lost/stranded in Ecuador. She said she felt completely alone and didn't know what to do until it finally occurred to her to pray. And in that moment of remembrance I began to pray too; to find a store, to remember how to get back, something! The next thing we came to was the freeway entrance. I took a deep breath and we merged into traffic.
I truly don't know how I found my way back. Like I said, I had no recollection of freeway names or exits we had taken to get to the zoo, but little by little I found myself remembering and feeling prompted to get on this free way or don't exit yet, keep going. I reached Oakdale, the town where the temple is located and still wasn't sure where to go when I saw a sign for Burger King. Hallelujah! I found my way back. (I am so grateful the youth have BK on temple trips.) When I pulled up to the temple, both kids were asleep and Chad wondered where I had been. It had been about 50 minutes since we spoke. I was so overjoyed to be reunited again.
This experience was a testimony to me and that God is aware of me and even the most trivial circumstances in my life. It must have been a trial and lesson I needed because even with little battery power, Chad's phone came back to life a few minutes later.
Rain forest experience: "Something scary?"--It was the plants. Oh boy.
"Hello monk. How you?"
My little monkey
Avery sat in the cart for the first time. She had a huge smile on her face but I didn't catch it quick enough
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