Hallowzooeen

One of the events I was most excited about taking the girls to this past fall was Hallowzooeen at the Tulsa Zoo. I had never been, but had heard that it was a really fun event. So, thanks to the generosity of one of my clients, we were able to attend for free on October 29th.

It was pretty chilly, at least for October, but the girls’ costumes were pretty thick, so the coldness only showed on their noses. We’ve taken them to the zoo a couple of times, so it wasn’t an entirely new adventure, but we’d certainly never been there in the evening. The zoo is a much different place at night!

The first thing they were drawn to was the large globe that rotates and cascades with water. Something about that thing gets them every time. I was more interested in them visiting with the people dressed in animal costumes. There was a giraffe, panda bear, lion and others. They weren’t quite sure what to think about them, but we did manage to get them close enough to at least give a couple of them high five’s. Once Nana arrived, we were on our way.

Different companies had booths set up along the way. There was plenty of candy to be had, so we didn’t worry too much about getting to every booth. Of course, the inflatables that were scattered about were a big hit with the girls. That’s one thing they never shy away from.

One of the last booths we walked past had music playing. When Cadie hears music, she dances; it’s automatic. I don’t think she even thinks about it. So, Cadie started dancing, but very quickly spotted a “mummy” dancing in her direction. She was pretty wary at first, but eventually gave in to the music and danced along with him. Of course, I didn’t get the camera out in time, I was too busy enjoying the moment. It was just about the cutest thing I had ever seen. The long line of trick-or-treaters “ooh-ed” and “ahh-ed” in unison. Cadie was a big hit.

We had hopes to take the girls on a train ride around the park, but it was just too cold. So, we settled for the Carousel instead, and certainly didn’t get any complaints. We ended up having to ride it twice. Cadie rode the giraffe, then the zebra, and Maddie rode the penguin, then the tiger. Cadie had a death grip on me the first go around, but soon enjoyed herself. By the end of her second ride, she was shouting “Up! Down” every time the animals rose and fell.

Finally, it was time to call it an evening. With their candy in tow, we trekked back to the car and headed home, visions of our children falling asleep on the way home in Mommy and Daddy’s heads.