Our Trip to the Zoo

Today, Ava and I spent the day at the NC Zoo in Asheboro. Any trip to the zoo is fun, but this particular trip was wonderful because our time was spent with a friend of mine, and her two precious kiddos. My friend, Debbie, was one of the leaders in the youth group I grew up in. She was also on staff with Student Ministries at my former church and I was fortunate enough to work with her as an intern one summer during college. We have been able to keep in touch with each other over the years, but the last time we saw each other was 6 years ago, in 2005. Since that time, I had gotten married and had Ava. Debbie had 2 little ones of her own and we decided enough is enough! The kids had to meet each other, and Debbie and I could spend a day playing catch-up. And that's exactly what we did...

Between all of the talking, laughing, and catching-up, we took the time to look at all of the animals the zoo has to offer. Ava was especially impressed with the lions.

As if getting to spend time with Debbie wasn't special enough, it was great to have an extra set of hands, willing to take a picture of me and Ava with the zebras. (Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Debbie with her little ones because I was so wrapped up in hearing about the past 6 years of her life and telling her about mine. Next time!)

We also took a break from the walking to ride the "what should have been fun" Merry-Go-Round. Ava seemed excited as we approached the carousel, but she immediately freaked out when I tried to put her on one of the animals. So, in the spinning tea-cup we went.

Ava spent about 97% of the ride....

Looking behind her...

To make sure the zebra and ostrich behind us were not going to attack.

Here is the ONE picture I got of Debbie's absolutely gorgeous little girl, Grace. Grace's baby brother, Zach, is enjoying his lunch in his stroller (in the right corner of this picture). Ava and Grace are close in age, and I look forward to getting them together more often in the future.

Thanks, Debbie, for mentioning the zoo as a meeting place. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again soon!