It's All Happening at the Zoo!

Michael and I have been wanting to get back to the zoo before the schools let out and before it gets too hot. Well, we met one of those criteria!

Since Michael is finally finished with his crazy work project, we headed to the zoo yesterday morning. It also happened to be the warmest day of the year so far, just our luck! It was just the four of us, so Michael and I were on our A-game!

(The family that wears hats together, stays together??)

Our plan was to arrive at 9:00 when the zoo opened and stay until lunch and then come home for nap. Thanks to rush hour we were a little behind schedule, but that didn't end up mattering anyway. The place was pretty empty when we got there, and, actually, stayed pretty empty (unless you are counting the MILLIONS of field trips). It was still better than a weekend.

I like the zoo in the morning because the animals are actually DOING things. We were really lucky this time; we saw/heard the male lion roaring, the baby elephant splashing, the giraffes eating, and, oh yes, the POLAR BEARS SWIMMING.

We have been to the zoo probably four times since the polar bear exhibit opened, and each time Michael is desperate for the bears to be in the water so he can see them from the underwater tunnel. He was set for disappointment this time too since the bears were not cooperating when we were checking them out above ground. By the time we got to the underwater tunnel though: TA DA!


Ok, so now you know Michael and I enjoyed ourselves, but what about the kiddos? Well, we decided that they had a good time, but they couldn't have cared less if there were actually animals at the zoo. What did they like? Well, Colin liked the 1,000 school buses we saw on the way there, he liked the grasses and leaves that grew along the paths, and he really, really like the water in all the exhibits. Like it so much that he kept trying to get IN the water.
Checking out the cement termite mound:


He totally wanted to get in with the fish:


And Gillian? Well, she like pushing the stroller, picking grasses along the path, and playing with the binocular stands at each exhibit. I accidentally took a picture of the ground, but it's pretty cool with Bean and my shadows in it:


Using the binoculars:


Despite the fun at the rest of the zoo, the kids REALLY had fun at the children's section of the zoo. Especially the slides. Bean was wicked fast on those slides too! Fast down the slide, then ZIP back up the steps again. She was hard to keep track of! She tried out a few of the animal statues, briefly. She was already climbing off the camel:


Here is Colin climbing the "wall" that served as the stairs for one of the slides:

Is it any wonder they were tired?

Oh, they did end up being interested in some animals. On our way out, the elephants were in the elephant house and we could get about 15 feet away from them. Much more interest then! We had both kids making lots of elephant noises!
Look at this cute baby!

All in all, very fun, if not a little hot. We're planning to go back at least one more time this summer!