The zoo

Our first trip to the zoo today. Hard to believe it’s taken us a year and a half to get there, but I think Ally appreciates it better at two and a half than she would have if she were younger. First stop: The pandas. Hurry, before it got too crowded. Rumor had it the male panda was outside, so we rushed over and sure enough he was there, lounging around in the sun like nobody was watching him. We never saw his face but he kicked his leg a few times to remind us he was still alive. After that, a whirlwind journey through the animal kingdom. Giraffes. Elephants. Otters. Lions. Tigers. It was a fun morning. Ally fell asleep in the car on the way home. Woke up from her nap talking about the giraffes. What a fun age to be.

Near the kid’s park, they have a playground set up like a giant pizza, with movable mushrooms and pepperonis. Here’s Ally sliding down a slide that looks like a big wedge of parmesan cheese:




I’m watching the A&M-SMU game. It was shown live on Fox Sports Net, which makes the DirecTV Sports Pack worth the price. But the local sports channel is showing it on delay. It’s 66-8 Aggies in the fourth, but don’t tell me how it ends. I want to be surprised. Today is obviously “Maroon Out” because that’s the only color I see in the stands. Everyone is wearing maroon, even, I think, the SMU fans. I remember one of the best college football games I attended was the A&M-SMU game the first year I was in grad school. I think A&M won late, 42-39 or something like that. Then SMU got the “death penalty” and they’ve never been the same.

Fact most obvious: Reggie McNeal is a stud.

Update: Aggies 66, SMU 8.