March Madness

We spent Friday at the zoo (before it snowed again!) and Miles visited with one of his many rodent favorites, the mongooses. Mongeese. Whatever.
This is Wen Li saying get me off this creepy thing! Normally an adventurous sort, I think she was turned off by the gross caricature of what, we can only guess.
Miles and Wen Li ignoring the bag lunch I stayed up late packing, in favor of the crap candy that I bought before lunch. Rookie parent mistake, I know.
Wen Li was quite thrilled with her Flic -n- Lic, a lollipop that came out of a switchblade-type casing. Those wacky German candy manufacturers.
OK, there's a whole story that goes with this picture. A little background - I haven't been in favor with Miss Thing lately, probably because I spend a lot of time enforcing safety rules, withholding treats requested right before dinner, and conducting Thorough Nose Excavations.

So we enter the petting zoo, also known as the Crazed Hungry Obnoxious Small But Strong Goat lot. I had purchased some "pellets" from the vending machine, envisioning some sweet pictures of the kids feeding the goats, communing with nature, developing a powerful compassion for all living creatures, etc. (yeah, a lot to expect for sixty cents).

What actually transpires - and you know what's coming if you've ever been to one of these things - is a stampede. These guys were up on two legs, shoving me and fighting over these dry little pellet things. I was looking for Wen Li to make sure she's OK, when I feel her wrap around my leg. Normal, probably pretty scared at this point. But no, she's going to defend me from the hordes! She is shoving goats away with her other hand and yelling "NO! My Mama!" at the top of her lungs.

It was a tear-y moment for this mom.