Zoo time

Well, after surviving the perils of international travel during Spring Break, I was more than ready to hang local on our first weekend home.  The weather seemed to be cooperating and I had a hunch that the crowds might be smaller some places because people were tuckered out from all that break-time fun.  I told Nacho I thought it would be a good idea to hit the Bronx Zoo on Saturday since I'd been wanting to take the girls for a while and there were brand new baby gorillas which might make for an interesting visit. It had been over 3 years since our last visit with Elisa and cousin Diego and with our zoo membership thingy, I figured we'd be able to see all of the zoos at least once. I couldn't neglect the biggest of them all.  Of course the girls were up at the crack of dawn like they had been all week. That's one thing about jet lag that you just can't shake. We're still popping awake at 5:50a.m. and some days have been better than others, but anything before it has a 6 in it is just unfair. Lately, we've experimented with turning the TV on, handing each an iPad and some breakfast and going back to bed ourselves. It actually works for at least another hour which is kind of remarkable and somehow completely wrong. Does screen time really count if I'm not awake? These are the burning questions of modern parenthood. But anyway, back to the zoo. It was a lot of fun, and the best part? NO SCREENS! 

Their first camel ride! Woo hoo! And Nacho almost did it without hesitation...almost. 

The girls did a pretty good job of showing interest in the different exhibits and taking turns climbing up on Nacho's shoulders when they needed a lift to get a good peek. In front of the gorillas with the babies, there were lots of people which made it tricky to see them at first. But eventually each exhibit opened up and we tried to be patient.  I held Carolina to point out how the gorilla had her baby in her arms. "Do you see the mama holding her baby?" I asked her.  Then a very excited Carolina shouted, "That's YOU!" which prompted me and a nearby woman to laugh. Okay, sure. That's me. Elisa was definitely enthralled with the animals and the display cases offering lots of reading materials. After our success seeing the gorillas up close, we took our cue from one of the zoo staff and headed towards the newly opened monorail (it was the first day of the season for that).  I think being at the park early really helped us here since we didn't have much wait to get on. The ride was relaxing and a good change of pace for the girls since we could see all the best animals (elephants, tigers, rhinos) from the comfort of our train car.  As we departed the station, the line to get on had grown exponentially and Nacho and I exchanged knowing glances. No, we would not have waited for that otherwise, so I guess we were lucky to have arrived when we did.  Elisa and Carolina spent half of the day pushing and shoving each other before reprimands and hugs.  When they weren't fighting, they were laughing and sharing a stroller, though. It's always hot and cold with these two.  Elisa sounded a bit bored and ungrateful towards the end of the morning, but after lunch we decided to reign it in and make our way back to the entrance.  The gift store tried to lure us in with stuffed animals and other prizes, but I held strong. Not today. Today the fun was about being together and seeing the new animals. And we achieved both.