If you had one day to live, who would you spend it with?

According to some 89 year old crazy man in California, today is supposed to be my last day on earth. Naturally I wanted to spend it with one of the sweetest guys I know. Meet my friend Noah.

Noah's Birthday was this week and I promised him a special Birthday date, just me and him. I surprised him with a trip to the zoo.

The weather was perfect and luckily most people found more exciting places to spend their last day on earth so there was barely anyone there.

As soon as we got there we made a b-line to the giraffes. Noah wasn't too keen on feeding them, probably because their tongues looked like this...

After a few minutes, I convinced Noah to feed the baby giraffe...
but after feeding him one cracker, he was ready to move on to a new exhibit.

Noah was much more comfortable posing in front of this giraffe.

The mountain lions were asleep, but Noah was sure to show me what they look like in attack mode.

Noah begged me to let him ride the carousel. I have a hard time telling that sweet face "no," and seeing as how this was his special Birthday date, he got whatever he wanted.

The grizzly bears were one of my favorites. You have to climb up into the mountain to see them, but it was well worth it.
You get to walk right up to the glass and watch the grizzlies fish for their lunch. The whole time I was secretly hoping he wouldn't get a fish. All the kids seemed so excited, but I bet that excitement would fade really quickly if they actually watched this giant bear catch, mutilate and eat one of those little fish. Luckily, the bear got sidetracked with a toy and the fish lived to see another day.Noah was more excited about the fish then he was the bear. He told me that if he was inside the cage he would jump in the water, catch the fish, and throw them into a bucket so the bear could not get them. He also said he wanted a pet hippopotamus so that he could train it to fight bad guys.

Next up were the tigers. We managed to time it almost perfectly so that we got to see the "Tiger Show." I'm seriously considering writing the zoo a letter because I would not consider a 20 something girl throwing raw meet into his cage a "show," but at least the tiger got close enough for me to get this picture.
Noah was way more interested in becoming a tiger then he was in the tiger feeding. Honestly, I can't say I blame him.

Noah may have been intimidated by giraffes, but he was all about feeding the birds. He was so sweet and patient with them. We would have stayed in there feeding birds all day if I could stand it. About 45 minutes into feeding them I finally told Noah we needed to, "Give other kids the chance to feed them." I remember my parents saying that to me when I was a kid. I used to think it was to teach me the importance of sharing, but now I'm starting to wonder if they too were just bored with our latest obsession.

Right after pulling Noah away from the birds, we went to see the wallabies. As we were looking at them, an older lady came up to me and mentioned there was a baby one further down the path that Noah could pet. She was right. Just a few feet away the sweetest old man was holding a baby wallaby wrapped in a blanket in his lap. The man pulled Noah right up on the bench next to him so that he could pet it.

Next it was time for a little snack. Mmmm, chocolate!

Our final stop for the day was the reptile house. I was praying all day that Noah would forget about the need to see the snakes, but he just kept asking.

To say that I am scared of snakes is the understatement of the year. I am deathly terrified. In fact, just looking at this picture makes my heart think we are running a marathon. On my family vacations any snake exhibit is totally off limits. At theme parks my Dad is the one who holds everyone's stuff while we ride the roller coasters, and at zoo's, I am the one who gets a snack and stands outside the snake house until everyone is done. One time my parents forced me to go inside and I started hyperventilating. My mom had to practically carry me out, eyes closed with tears running down my face. I would love to tell you I was five, but I think I was closer to thirteen.

As Noah and I walked up one of the million hills at the zoo to the snake house I kept tying to convince myself that there was nothing to be afraid of. The snakes are in cages, I am totally safe, and Noah really wanted to see them. As we approached the house of doom, I slowly opened the door as Noah jumped in front of me and pushed right through. I took three steps inside and noticed Noah was no longer at my side. As my eyes darted around the room I found him huddled with another boy around an older woman. Then to my terror I realized the woman was holding a live snake, HOLDING it...meaning it was not in a cage. I froze. The lady sat Noah down next to her in a great position assuming I would want a picture of him petting the snake. It was all I could do to hold the camera steady enough to get a few shots. After a few minutes Noah skipped off and asked me to go with him to see the other snakes. I would have loved to, but those cages were all sitting behind the lady holding the spawn of satan. I just couldn't make my feet walk toward it, so I told Noah the room was really crowded and that he should just go and look. He persisted, but there was no way he could win this one. I stood by the door frozen in fear, hoping he didn't notice, until he was ready to go.

When we were walking down the hill Noah asked me why I didn't pet the snake. I told him snakes are not my favorite, but he insisted the lady told him it was a nice snake. I resisted the urge to tell him the woman was a dirty liar and all snakes are miserable creatures that smell your fear from a mile away. I didn't want to be responsible for instilling terror in this sweet boy. Noah told me that he hoped next time I would pet the snake and that he hoped when I did pet a snake he could be there to see it. I think he is going to be waiting a long time...

This is how we spent most of the day. Noah holding my hand and pointing out every little detail of his day. He was never at a loss for conversation topics.

I could not have imaged or planned a better day in a more beautiful place. Happy Birthday Noah! Thank you for a great date. I love you.