Mama's taking us to the zoo tomorrow

I'm very lucky to have a wonderful group of mommy-friends who are home with their little ones. It makes this stay-at-home-parenting thing much more fun when you have some company. With most of us on our second and third babies, and hardly needing another onesie or receiving blanket, I have tried to come up with some more creative and useful baby gifts.

My favorite of late has become an annual pass to the Calgary Zoo. Now I'm not overly embarrassed to admit this is a highly self-serving gift. My kids and I have annual zoo passes, and so it suits us quite well to make sure all of our friends have them also! It guarantees that we are never short of friends for an outing, and the Zoo trips have become an almost weekly affair, especially once the weather cooperates.

What I especially love about our passes is that they allow us to visit the Zoo on our own schedule without feeling any guilt about length of stay vs. cost of admission. If the kids are melting down and needing naps, we go home! If we are bored or poor and looking for something to do for an hour or two, it's an easy outing. With the fabulous playground and beautiful park-like setting, sometimes we don't even really see the animals. Last summer, Thyra and I would pack a blanket and grab a couple of books and read on the grass while Malachi crawled around happily!

If you don't have a pass yet, I highly recommend hinting to your friends/family that they would make a great birthday/baby gift next time around. The adult passes are $55 and kids under 3 are free.

Here are some photos of our last outing with some of our good friends: (Yes that elephant is PAINTING! And special mention to my cousin Jay for putting up with a bunch of ladies, and being the muscles for all the kids who couldn't see over the railings!)