It's Zoo Time

Today, Addy's school got out early for parent/teacher conferences. Addy's kindergarten teacher sent me a note saying that Addy is of course super smart & that she is doing so well in class that we don't need to have a conference unless of course I am just dying to have one (which I was not, by the way.) So when school let out at 10:55, we had the next 3 & a half hours to do whatever our little hearts desired! I was planning on bringing Addy & Alex to The Children's Musuem but since it was so beautiful outside, I thought maybe we would go to the zoo instead. So I gave the kids a choice & they both chose the zoo.

This trip was pretty different than our usual trips. First off, the kids walked the whole time. I didn't bring a stroller or the wagon & it actually made it a whole lot easier. (They always want to walk anyway & so I usually end up pulling around an empty wagon.) And we spent a lot more time in the Children's Zoo section than we usually do. We went in the petting zoo which we never do & we saw some animals that we haven't seen before.

I think it's funny how neither of my kids would look at me to take a picture.

First we headed into the aquarium.

And then Addy wanted to go to the rainforest house. There was a zookeeper there letting the kids pet a baby animal. It had quills just like a hedgehog but I don't remember the name of it.

Then we were off to see the meerkats.

And then it was time for Addy's favorite, the elephants!

This little lady was dropping her hay all over us!

My son is so silly. He took his jacket off & put it around his neck & said it's a scarf now.

After the elephants, we went to see the cats.

Jaguar, leopard or cheetah? Anyone know based on the spots???

This is the leopard. (If you knew that, you're pretty good! I have a hard time distinguishing between the leopard & the jaguar.)

Alex was tired & sat down for a quick break.

Jonathan the lion

I've always loved tigers & when you look at this guy you can see why. Doesn't he look like he just wants to be pet.  I could totally stroke his neck & nose & rub his ears!

And then it was lunch time. We had our choice of pizza, pizza, or pizza. So we all had pizza!

We also had some goldfish that I had brought with us & we shared them with the squirrels.

After lunch, we stopped by the giraffes on the way to the Children's section.

Ahh, the playground!

Look at that pure joy on Addy's face!

When I could finally tear the kids away from the playground, we walked around in the children's section looking at some of the animals.

And then we went into the petting zoo. I always avoid the petting zoo for ovbious reasons (the smell & poo), but Addy really wanted to go in, so I said why not! It was actually pretty cool. The kids can grab a brush on the way in & brush the animals.

Addy grabbed a handful of hay & brought it to the goats that were not eating. As much as she wanted it to, that goat was just not interested in food right then. But she did get another one to eat, lol. I was kind of afraid that she was going to push his head down to the food like she does to Bailey. 

After the petting zoo, we walked over to see the zebras.

And then the birds where we saw this guy! A peacock with all his feathers on display! As many times as we've been to the zoo, I've never seen this guy!

And that's it. We had to leave so that we could make it back to Sienna to pick Maryse up from school. Do you think all that walking wore these guys out or what?

With Spring on it's way, I'm sure we'll be making plenty more trips to the zoo. So be prepared to see many, many more zoo posts in your near future, lol!