This is one of those things...

... that we'll look back on and laugh a bit, right? I suggested a trip to see the lights at the zoo last night. Saying it didn't come together smoothly is an understatement. We were running very late (getting there just before they stopped selling tickets), I was in a very poor mood as a result of the running very late, I forgot Claire's hat, and it was arctic-style, freeze-your-nose-off cold. Last but not least, my camera battery died fairly early on. So here's a picture of bundled up little Claire. The blanket was a good hat substitute, and she was warm and smiley all night. Anyway, that's about the only quality picture I got from the evening.

Mason, however, had a great time running around with Grandma. The lights were spectacular, as they were last year, and we finally got to see the tiger cubs moving around. Alan harrassed one until it (sorry, didn't check the gender) was growling and considering chewing through chain link to get to him. We also had some fun with the more nocturnal cats inside the reptile/desert building, but is it just me or does that building always smell like there is a crowd in there? There were not that many people inside but it still had it's usual aroma -- let's call it "earthy" to keep this on the more upbeat side, mmmkay?

We were also disappointed to learn that our zoo membership doesn't admit us to Zoo Lights like it does to the zoo. We still had to pay nearly full price. The concession-folk were very nice about explaining that it's because an outside company does all the displays, but I still thought it was kind of a rip-off.

In the end, the evening was a success for Mason and that's the most important part. I'm hoping in time that's the only part we'll bring up when we remember this particular outing.