The Zoo!

We went to the zoo yesterday! The real one – not just the one we call our home

We got there at about 9:45. The goal was to be there when it opened at 9, but let’s face it: we never get anywhere on time.

We hadn’t been to the zoo in 2 years! Last time, not knowing better, we did the North America section, which we found to be not very exciting. This time, we walked through the Africa section instead – much better!

Here are the kids and Jason looking at the lions (you can sort of see one laying in the grass in the upper right):

The chimps were all right by the glass and were very entertaining!

Meredith said the monkeys were her favorite part. (Snack was probably a close second.)

We were very happy that we got to see the zoo’s dinosaur exhibit!

The dinosaurs were definitely Russell’s favorite part. They were the only thing he talked about the whole time: “When are we going to see the dinosaurs?” and then  “I want to go back to the dinosaurs.”

The dinosaurs moved and made noises. Meredith liked them at first, but got spooked by a very big one and wanted to be carried for the rest of the exhibit. Russell loved all of them! He kept asking if they were real or pretend.

They got to dig for fossils at the end. My kids always love the chance to dig in rocks!

We walked through the pavilion (a lush indoor garden) and there were a couple of hopscotch games at the end, which they took plenty of advantage of!

And that is the end of my pictures.  It’s a good thing we live pretty close to the zoo, because they can only do a half-day trip right now. They were both tired – and frankly, so was I! It was a lot of walking – even for them, even though we had the double stroller. Other highlights: we let the kids each pick a toy/surprise from the gift shop. Russell picked a truck with dinosaurs on it and Meredith picked some chocolate. We also had a picnic lunch before we went home around 1. It was a wonderful family trip!