A mornin' at the zoo

After being gone all weekend (that post will come later once I get the pics from my mom), I decided to have a special day with the kids at the zoo on Monday. I enjoy going with friends, but it was nice to be just us for a change. We went at our own pace and just enjoyed each other. Both kids love the zoo, and I love watching them watch the animals. It's also great exercise for me as I push that double stroller up and down all the ramps. For the first hour or more, we felt like we had the place to ourselves (see the pictures below of main walkway completely empty - only those who've been to our zoo will truly appreciate this). I also love that our zoo takes as much pride in the scenery as the animals. I've passed it many times, but was struck by the beauty of this waterfall all over again. The boy loves to watch the animals, but it's hard to capture his joy on film. He asks to go to the zoo almost weekly. The girl is a bit more expressive (surprise, surprise) and is all about pointing to animals and attempting to say their name or their sound - and keeping her seated is almost impossible.











The kids were priceless when we fed the birds. The birds were quite brazen today, and the boy wasn't too sure about it. The girl was quite intrigued. I managed to get a couple on my seed stick, but then found them fighting over it!











Unfortunately, the train tracks were being worked on today (along with the tiger exhibit). This could mean great disaster with the boy (the train is his favorite thing), but I found a great distraction: the carousel! Both kids enjoyed it making it easier to manage the two by myself (especially when there are no belts on the horses). I even saw the girl smile although I didn't catch it on camera. The boy refused to look in my direction while I had the camera ready.











Here are some pictures of God's beautiful creatures. The last two pictures make me laugh...the first is of the gorilla sleeping. He was totally laid out on his back. I can't decide if he was having a good dream or was restless because he kept "fluffing" the grass around his head while totally asleep. The last is of a group of orangutangs huddled in the corner - reminded me of women congregating. I so wanted to be a fly to hear what they were talking about! (Now is that a girlie thing to think or what?!?!)