Monkey2 launched into a several minute long dissertation on the boy lion she saw, the girl tiger she saw, the flamingos she didn't see, the turtle, only stone, she saw, and the elephant that made a NOISE.
Monkey1 said simply, "Friends."
And that shows their personalities in a nutshell. Monkey2 loves the zoo for the animals. If left to her own devices, she would enjoy watching just a few animals for lengths of time. Monkey1 liked today's zoo trip -- her idea at 8 a.m. in response to Mommy saying she had not planned anything for the day -- because we unexpectedly ran into a family we knew and our six kids ran around together.
I usually do not enjoy family trips to the zoo because Monkey1 is always trying to make friends and then tag along after other families. While other children are friendly with her when they are climbing the same statue or exploring the gopher tunnels, when they leave that point with their family, their focus is their family. They are not interested in talking or playing with her anymore. She however wants to tag along with her new playmate. So the entire trip I end up alternating between Monkey2 crying because she wants to stay and watch an animal, but we must chase after Monkey1, or Monkey1 howling because she has to stay put so we can observe some animals. Now that I think of it, I'm surprised I even agreed to go to the zoo. But I'm glad I did because everyone had fun.
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