Dreamnight at the Zoo

One wonderful thing about having kiddos with special needs is discovering all of the outstanding people who give of their time, talents, and resources to bless these children. This year we were able to attend “Dreamnight at the Zoo” for the second time. The Utah Hogle Zoo puts on this event annually for children with severe disabilities or facing a tough medical diagnosis. The zoo is shut down to the public and these kids and their families are invited to attend for free. They have face painting, special shows and a free dinner put on by Chick-fil-a. We had such a good time eating, seeing the animals, watching a bird show, and just being together. My favorite thing, by far, was being surrounded by families like our own. There is something almost therapeutic about seeing families who understand some of the same issues and difficulties as us. We met one family with twin boys who were both blind. I believe they also had cerebral palsy and they were, like Elli, significantly delayed. It was very bonding to talk with them and observe their sweet boys. They had many of the same tendencies as Elli-- constantly poking eyes, having little (ok, big) meltdowns, and making people smile just because of their sweet nature. (: I was thinking about how difficult it must be to have TWINS who are both blind, and as I walked away was suddenly hit with the thought that HELLO-- Elli and Lexi will be just 3 months apart! Crazy!! But so fun... (:

Our kids had such a great time—thank-you, Dreamnight!

PS. The extra kid is T's friend, Brodi. We thought we didn't have enough kids of our own, so we invited him to come along. LOL

Oh, and I noticed one more thing. Observe how Taylor's arms have marker all over them. That day had been yearbook signing at the school. We didn't want to spend the money to buy FOUR yearbooks, so he was out of luck this year. We thought it quite ingenious that he decided to just get markers and have kids sign his arms!