My friend Lauren got Meredith a ticket to the zoo for her birthday. On Monday I took the day off and we went; just the girls. She wanted to wear her zebra-print shorts to match the zebras. It was hot, but there was enough shade and air conditioned exhibits to make it bearable. We stayed for over five hours. There was a chimp lying on his back holding his foot and eating. It was so lazy and great. The gorillas came so close to us. They had such kind, sad eyes.

Meredith played on all the playgrounds and rode the carousel and pet the goats. We packed a picnic lunch and got ice cream for a treat. We saw the elephants get a bath and the sea lions put on their show. We loved every minute of it, and then Meredith took a solid nap and I loved that too. This girl of mine will take an experience over a toy any day. Makes me so happy.