Boys will be Joys

So, I think I have mentioned this before, but I’m a grandma now. We have a beautiful little Rennert girl in our lives.

In my efforts to collect my thoughts and reign in my excitement, I wrote a book for our sweet little one while we awaited her arrival. The book was just published last week.

It is called “The Fun We Will Have”. It is not only an expression of the excitement I felt, but also a tribute to grandparents who have come before us, with little hints of #rennertlife sprinkled in.

The first easter egg in my book is the picture that accompanies the line, “I had to prepare, what else could I do? Could I find a new house, with a yard for a zoo?”

Going to the zoo was one of my favorite things to do with my boys. Almost every trip we took as a family, we would find a zoo to visit. One was always extra special to us – Scovill Zoo in Decatur, Illinois.

For many years, my nieces and nephew would come visit my mom and dad and stay at their house for a week each summer. During each of these visits, my mom and I took the whole crew to Scovill Zoo. Those are some of my favorite memories.

If you have not had the pleasure of visiting Scovill Zoo, let me tell you a bit about it. It is a smaller zoo that has a lot of really great animals. When we visited, you walked right past the wolves in their massive enclosure as you entered, then the flamingos and the red panda. The spider monkey entertained you as you rode by on the train. They also had zebras, cheetahs, camels and a petting zoo, along with many other great exhibits.

There were also two tortoises who always seemed to be givng the other a “piggy-back ride”. Literally, it happened almost every. single. time. They were like 80 years old or something, so whatever. Let them be, I guess.

One of the most memorable things about this zoo was the presence of peacocks. They had the kind of peacocks that you would normally think of, and they had quite a few leucistic (white) peacocks. Many times they were roaming around, walking right past you as they showed you their beautiful feathers. They also roamed around on the roof of the building right above you, making the unique sound that a peacock makes. If you are someone who is scared of birds, that stays with you.

Side note: Do you know what kind of sound a peacock makes? If not, just ask one of my boys. They have mastered it.

So, when writing a book about all of the fun experiences that we will have together, the zoo had to be a part of it. Each animal in the picture represents a person in our family, except the peacock on the roof of the house. That’s my official shout out to my mom for the many trips to the zoo, and to Scovill Zoo for all of the great memories.