How the Zoo and the Library Got Rid of Angry Mom

This morning, angry mom was around.

I'm not even sure why, because last night was date night (always fun) and #7 slept most of the night (in bed with us, but who cares! She slept!). Brandon took the girls with him for the youth baptism trip to the Kansas City temple (our van (i.e. Bison) is invaluable wherever we go!) and so it was me and the younger five kids. And it was chore day.

Whoo-hoo.

We got started and it was already going to be a bad day, I could tell. I was angry, I was frustrated, I was... blah. And I couldn't figure out why. I apologized to the kids and then I took a time-out. I re-focused and we tried again. This time, it started out better, but it was still kind of a blah time. But then! I got a text from a friend in our ward and she said they were going to the zoo this afternoon, would we like to go as well?

Would we? WOULD WE?!

Super excited (since we hadn't been to the zoo, yet and I hadn't really left my house for the last three days), I told the boys and we jumped into action. Chores got done really fast (most of them) and we went to the zoo! Sunset Zoo is small and adorable and fun and even though I have a thing about zoos (I mean, really, caging up animals so we can look at them?), we had a really great time. We even bought a family pass (because holy cow, the price was amazingly low!).

Next, we went with our friends to the library, which was good, because I had a book to return. Our library is the best, dear reader, the best! Well, the children's section is outstanding, anyway. It's better than Provo's, I promise you, and that's saying something! We spent an hour there getting books and letting the kids do crafts, play computer games, do dress-ups, play with puppets, puzzles, games, blocks, magnets, and jump around in the story room on huge stuffed dragons. I realized that:

1. We need to just come to the library as a family and hang out for FHE. Often.
2. I need three hours to myself in the library.
3. I love books so much (that wasn't a realization, just an affirmation).

So, angry mom was gone, dear reader. The outdoor air (it was only 63 degrees and beautiful, today!) and books (because... books) gave me such a good shift in attitude.

And we arrived home not long before Brandon and the girls did. So we're all home, now. The lawn is mowed, the house is semi-clean, and all of my brood is home. Fighting with each other, being children, and causing chaos, but they're mine and they're home.

P.S. Thank you so much, Kristi, for inviting us this afternoon. (I've made really great friends, here!)