All the planning in the world can be thwarted so very easily. Ryan celebrated the night before his birthday by awaking several times. Needless to say, we were all tired as this day of celebration began.
Thankfully, Ryan had slept for a little bit on the journey to the zoo. However, you can see he had not quite worked out all of his sleepies as he awoke to strange creatures like a barn owl.
We spent the morning at Hogle Zoo and the evening at a nearby park. The zoo has really made some improvements since the last time I was there (about 20 or so years ago). Back then me and my Mom would go to the Zoo and then after we would go to the Red Barn Hamburgers on North Temple and 9th West. Red Barn is long gone, but their legacy and pictures live on the internet (barnbuster.net Wikipedia article)
He wasn't really sure what he thought of the merry-go-round (carrousel) but his cousins enjoyed the ride. If Ryan had his choice he would rather play in the dirt and mulch around the zoo than look at the animals. By noon he was exhausted and running short on sleep and the albino alligator/crocodile (I don't know how to tell the difference) sealed the deal and he crashed.
Six hours later he was ready to go again for the next party. He enjoyed the cake but was not as messy as I wanted him to be. He enjoyed opening the gifts that were given to him and he is surprisingly good at opening things. It's a little scary truly.
Birthdays provide a good time for reflection and Tracy and I comment about how rewarding this year has been as we are learning to be parents and have greatly increased the gratitude we have for our own parents and how they raised us.
Here is to many more birthdays and loved ones to share them with....
