Today, we went to the Smithsonian National Zoo with our fellow nomads, the Jeppsons: Aubrey, Macie, Tyce, Claire, and Reese. And it was a fantastic day.
We actually arrived earlier than we had planned to meet them (weird), so the kids and I hit the gift shop first thing. That has kinda become our pattern actually, and it has served us well.
The three older kids are collecting keychains throughout our nomading adventures, and they were each ecstatic to find a keychain of their favorite animal. Clara’s was a parrot, Jonas’s a snake, and Logan’s was a frog. They were positively giddy.
After we got out of the gift shop, I got a text from Aubrey, letting me know that they had encountered some issues getting to the zoo, so we decided to wander around and see the animals until they arrived.
A little bit of sass… 
This emu was cracking me up. It was either trying to eat the fence, or trying to escape. It was unsuccessful either way. 
It worked out for us, because the fence-attacking meant that it was right next to us. 
Ok. I want a pet emu. 
There were a few ups and downs throughout the day. #AsAlways 
We eventually made our way over to the elephants and pandas, and this is where the Jeppsons caught up with us.
At this point, the kids were getting hungry, so we found ourselves a place to post up and eat our lunches.
After food, we continued our meanderings.
And crazy thing, as we were walking, I turned around, and there were Tim and Sue Ramsden along with 3 of their kids. This is a family that I have known for AGES! It was crazy to run into them!
Sue was my seminary teacher when I was in high school, and I grew up with Brian, one of their sons from about the time that I was 10. It was fun to see them and to briefly catch up with them. I loved it so much.
Also, I cannot believe how many people we have serendipitously run into while we have been in DC.
Also, it was so fun to be on an adventure with Aubrey and her kids. And it was so much easier too. The Jeppson kids were really helpful with the twins. They just took them under their wings and ushered them around. And it was just the best. And it was lovely to just chat with Aubrey too.
Eventually, we made our way to the Amazon house. And this was the happy place for Clara and Logan. FROGS and BIRDS!
(Unfortunately, the actual bird house is currently closed, which Clara was rather disappointed about.)
After the Amazon house, we ended up at the Reptile House, and Jonas was DELIGHTED. Now we got to see HIS favorite animals, and a whole lot more as well.
After the Reptile house, we had pretty much reached the end of all the ropes. Crankiness was definitely creeping in. And the zoo closes at 4 anyway. So, we bid our friends goodbye and went our separate ways.
And pretty much as soon as we were out of earshot, Evie started throwing an almighty tantrum. She literally screamed at the top of her lungs all the way back to the car. I just kept telling myself “I will never see these people again. I will never see these people again. I will never see these people again” And it definitely helped.
Once we got to the car, there was some serious hostage negotiation level tactics employed by yours truly to get Evie into her carseat. But we got there in the end.
Aaaaaand about 30 seconds into the drive, I looked back and both she and Isaac were asleep. Logan also ended up falling asleep on the drive back to the house. (I have loved all the cool things we’ve been able to do in D.C. but I will NOT miss the traffic. It’s madness. And the drivers here are AGGRESSIVE. )
After we got back to the house, we packed up and hopped back in the car and made our way to Shenandoah National Park. (Post coming soon)
