Back to the zoo!

So, we love the zoo. We have family passes and try to go as often as we can. The kids love the animals (so do I) and we're almost certainly guaranteed a good night's sleep after a day at the zoo. The last few times we've gone I've tried to leave the camera at home and leave my phone in the bag and just enjoy the moment instead of documenting everything.

But this weekend was different! July 20th was Visitor Appreciation Day, which meant the attractions that were normally a few dollars a head were free. Jay had an unexpected Sunday off so it worked out perfectly. Hayden had really been wanting to see the Rio 4-D experience and everything is better free.

We started off in North America. Lila loves the polar bear, Patches, and Hayden loves to watch the sea lions swim at the underwater viewing area. Lila loves all things bear, really, so when we got to the bears and they were actually moving around, she lost it. Overjoyed.

We saw the alligators and the turtles and the Sonora Desert but these kids really wanted to get to Jungle Junction! (That's where all the free stuff was) We grabbed a snack in one of the cafes and headed into the Rio movie. Thanks to the drizzly weather early in the day, things weren't too too busy so we didn't have to wait long.

Rio was really cool because a) the kids are currently obsessed with the sequel and b) it was a totally interactive experience. There were puffs of air blowing behind your ear, things flapping at your feet, birds flying at your face, the smell of sunscreen and even a little spray of the ocean! Hayden loved it, Lila tolerated it (in my lap). 

Since the carousel was free, we rode it all together. Lila always picks the Polar Bear; Hayden wanted to be beside her and that left the dolphin in the middle for me. They wanted to ride it over and over but we said one was enough. There was more to see! So we headed over to the Bugs exhibit.

This was so cool because the bugs were all giant so you could see all their moving parts. Hayden loved it; Lila hated it of course. But they learned a lot! Hayden has a recent obsession with scorpions so it was awesome for him to get to see a giant one. He was a little worried that the enormous spider was going to come to life, come down off the web and get him. So he was cautious in taking a picture with it.

Somehow, we have missed the Aviary on our last 1000 trips to the zoo. I can't remember ever having gone in it in the past four years. We stopped to see the flamingos, which was a huge hit with the kids. Inside,we saw pineapples growing, a ton of amazing birds and some that were hiding from us! 

By this point in the afternoon the kiddos were running out of steam but they won't leave the zoo without a trip to see the elephants, because they know they're my favorite! This time, we were there at the same time as the elephant keeper so we got to see a mother and daughter up close and personal, and even doing a few tricks for treats! 

It was a beautiful day well spent! We saw our baby baboons and the gorillas and a quick stop at the zebras and giraffes before we finally headed out. The biggest bonus? Lila rode in the stroller for the first time in over a year. Parent win! She loves the zoo and loves to walk but gets tired of walking pretty quickly, doesn't want to ride in the stroller and doesn't want Jay to carry her. So that means a long day for mom. This time, Jay told her "you're riding in your stroller, end of story" and she went for it! 

Thanks for taking it easy on mom, Lila! 

To the zoo!

We took our first trip to the zoo this season, and it was Lila's first trip ever! The zoo with two is definitely a different experience but we are learning as we go! The stroller proved to be helpful, as Lila preferred to nap in it and roll around about half the time, and the other half was content to be strapped to my chest and looking around. Hayden was excited about all the animals of course, and kept trying to use the machines to see further (despite never putting money in them).

We paid the extra fees for the Giraffe Observation Deck (they were busy fighting in another part of their habitat) and for the Dinosaur Exhibitions. The dino stuff was pretty cool. We walked around, where they had moving replicas of a lot of dinosaurs. The kids could do an archaelogical dig in the sand for fossils, pretend to drive the jeep, and even got sprayed a few times by some overzealous reptiles.

The 4-D dinosaur movie proved to be a little scary for Hayden, so he and Jay didn't last but about 90 seconds in the theater. We enjoyed pizza and other zoo treats, including ice cream! Hayden was very sweet to share his ice cream with me, while Lila looked longingly at all the things she just can't have yet. After ice cream, the boys went on the Carousel and Hayden had a blast!

Lila is content to spend most of her time with me, but for a little while each day she needs some daddy time. The zoo was no exception, and she had fun hanging out with daddy at the geyser, while Hayden hid behind me to avoid the water spraying him.

After we had walked our way through Africa, the dinos and part of North America, Hayden's feet started to get heavy. As he trudged along behind us, I asked him if he was tired and ready to go home. His response was, "Mommy, my batteries is runnin' out". We took this to mean it was time to go, and packed up to head home. As we left the zoo, he kept asking to go back. Finally Jay told him that we can only go to the zoo one time per day, and we'd already been today. He seemed to accept this, and was passed out after about 30 seconds on the road.

Happy Mothers Day!

To celebrate Mother's Day, Jay, Hayden and I went to the NC Zoo in Asheboro. It was actually Hayden's first zoo visit. Jay and I had been to one in Germany, and visited the NC Zoo just before we moved to Germany. We were so excited to take Hayden, and it was perfect weather for it!

Hayden was too excited about everything, and we had to stop for him to see absolutely every bit of it! He was very good about being quiet around the baby wolves, and the sleeping bear and gorilla. He loved the elephants and giraffes! From the website we had seen pictures of the animals and he couldn't wait to see the polar bear. He thought the polar bear looked a lot like Oscar, especially when he was chewing on a tire. His favorite part may have been the tram we took to get from one side to the other, and he loved running through the water misters.

He fell asleep as soon as we hit the car, and slept the whole way home. Good thing too, because our day wasn't over! We went over to my aunt's house for another family get-together. My aunt Pamela was in town, she had never met Hayden and we finally got to meet some other cousins. With such a big family it's really hard to get everyone in one place at one time, so a bunch of get-togethers seems like the best way to do it. It's always a ton of fun for everyone, and the kids leave tired and happy. What a great gift, to spend Mothers Day with so much of my wonderful family!