calling a friend too early in the morning means...

You know you have a good friend in your pocket when you can call her at 7:50 AM and the zoo sounds tempting...and that friend is just as brave to call your other friend...and we all can pack up our crews and head to the zoo within an hour (two of us had to wake sleepers up).   Some of us shower :), we all pack lunches, and we all arrive within 20 minutes of the zoo opening.

Even though our tribes haven't seen each other in over a month...

they climb on statues and pose in all sorts of ways calling,

"Mama, take a picture of me!"

They know that the three of us mama's all have blogs and take our picture taking seriously.

Our older crew.

A quick stop at the Tiger's lair and we found the tiger ROARING this morning.

Incredible!  And pacing right by the window.

I love this picture...it is like I am saying, "Hey Syd, look at the tiger!"  

And she is saying,  "Huh?  What tiger?  Mama, you crazy."

And then we ventured into the land of the dinosaurs..a special exhibit this summer at the MN Zoo. 

Pretty incredible.  Most loved it.

But one little one needed a cuddle with her mama afterwards.

When you go with friends you can get a picture of yourself with your kiddos. 

Yes, I was there.  I brought them to the zoo, summer of 2012.  And I mounted this dino like a champ.

Then we did the lunch thing. 

Syd sat next to Soph and lunched a bit.

As Charley gets older I try and slow him down at the zoo to have him read signs.

Maybe learn a little something.

But they really do just set the pace each visit.

And this visit was pretty darn perfect. 

The kids all kept up with each other burning their July summer energy...

And us mama's strolled our strollers and chatted, calling out warnings to slow down, get down, or calm down.

After the dinos and lunch I knew we should be heading home.  But when everyone is happy and your friends are heading out to the farm...well you don't want to miss Sydney seeing goats.

Whenever she sees animals she kinda makes this face...

And then there is Miss Abby who was smiling so nice with a goat that thought it was time to take the silly picture.

As summer trucks along I realize that sometimes trips to the zoo, without much planning, can be the best spent mornings' of summer.  And yes, sometimes it is nice to absorb an outing with just my kids...but, nothing beats the camaraderie of mama friends.  Blessed.  And so glad I picked up the phone at 0' too early this morning.