Zoo Animals on the Loose

The folks at Target and Chick-fil-a got quite a shock today.   Apparently several wild animals entered the building and made themselves right at home.

There was a ferocious brown bear...

and an elephant with extra large ears...

and a skunk who threatened to "blow his stink out" at any moment.

They ran wild...which was only appropriate given their attire.

Sam started this costume outing when he begged this morning to wear his bear costume to Target.  Initially I hesitated, but then remembered that in the grand scheme of things my son sporting a Halloween costume in the middle of April really isn't that big of a deal.  The smile on his face was my reminder that as a mom I have to strive to not sweat the small stuff...and wanting to dress like a bear is "small stuff."  We stopped by Ally's first for me to grab a few things I'd left behind over the weekend and Sam insisted on going in to scare Cade and Cannon.  Those boys were thrilled to death to see Sam dressed up and they both ran to find their costumes and slip them on.  They asked if they could go to Target too and wear the costumes to which I of course said, "Sure, let's go!"

So off we went, me, Bec, Jack (who was costume less) and three wild animals.  Needless to say our party of six was the center of attention.  People did double takes, turned around to come back for a second look, laughed and made a huge deal over the boys. Sam growled at everyone in Target and many of the shoppers played along and acted scared of my big brown bear.  I told Ally it was as close as I'll ever come to being a celebrity.  I felt like I was escorting three of the most famous human beings on the planet around the baby aisles in Target.  Chick-fil-a was no different.  Again people stopped, stared, commented on the costumes and made us feel like rock stars.  If I had a dime for every time someone would look, keep going and then whip their head around for a second look at those wild animals, I could buy a whole new set of costumes for future trips.  We were even asked if we had just performed  in a play by several people.  "No,"  we'd respond.  "We just let them dress up today."  Everyone thought this was really exceptional and some even commended my parenting...which I greatly appreciated.

The boys really wanted to swing by Nana's school and pop in for a surprise.  So we did.  Cade ran right in, jumped in Nana's seat, threw on her glasses and pretended to go to work...still in full skunk attire.

Cannon was a little shy but was soon talking loudly, very loudly, about where elephants stinky.  And in case you didn't know, according to Cannon, elephants only stinky in Africa.

Sam continued to run wild making loud growling noises and then proceeded to "squat" and show Cannon how bears stinky. With sound effects.  Lovely.

My costume-less sweetheart, who is coming down with a nasty cold, fell down in the school hall and hit his head really hard.  He felt terrible, but was a trooper, like always.

The animals were a hit at the high school too and students actually came into the office and even out to our car to see the boys in their costumes.  I hope all this adoration doesn't go to their heads which could lead to demands to wear these outfits every time we venture out of the house.  And in reality, I wouldn't mind.  They're only young once and I hope to always encourage their individuality and imagination...even if it involves cleaning a sweaty, ketchup-covered Halloween costume at the end of the day.