This past weekend we had no plans and nothing on the calendar so we decided to make Saturday a family fun day. We knew we wanted to do something fun with the girls and have dinner out so I suggested we head to Lodi.

I first visited the town back in July when I took the girls to the Micke Grove Zoo. I’d heard such great things about it from friends and the girls and I ended up loving it. Yes, it is a very small zoo and there are no giraffes, elephants or lions BUT it’s perfect for my girls. It’s small enough to get around easily and there is enough to look at. It keeps the girls entertained but not overwhelmed and that is a win in my book. Sophie actually remembered her favorite animals from the first time we were there. It was a beautiful day, not too hot and my hubby was able to get some great pictures.

After the zoo, we stopped at a park and let the girls play in the water fountains and on the swings and slides. After drying off and changing, we headed into downtown Lodi for an early dinner. When the girls and I were there in July, we drove through the downtown area but did not stop and I knew next time we were here, we had to stop downtown. I adore town’s that have a downtown area with shops, restaurants, etc. and Lodi’s downtown looked just adorable. I did a bit of research on restaurants beforehand and we decided to eat at the Lodi Beer Company. It was such a cute place! We ended up eating outside because it seemed a little loud inside but the interior was done really well. All brick and exposed walls, I loved how it looked. My hubby thought it was funny that Lyla and I were dying over how nice the bathrooms are but, hey, you gotta appreciate a nice, clean, well-decorated bathroom at a restaurant. The food and beer were great and the prices were very reasonable. We’ll definitely be back.