Zoooooooo!

I need to make this quick.  Today we went to the zoo.  It was absolutely a beautiful day.  I told the kids they needed to do a one page report on any animal at the zoo.  So each kid picked an animal.  We headed to the zoo after lunch.  I thought I remembered the zoo closing at 6:00, but when we got there they closed at 4:00.  So we had 2 hours to RUSH through the zoo and have time for the kids to play on the playground as well.

 An Eland

 A Lynx- this is the first time I've seen a lynx up and pacing the cage.  It's much prettier than I remembered.

 Ashley of course picked the tiger.

 

 Aussie picked the zebra.  The zebra was actually the first animal picked that we came upon.  I told Aussie to read the sign and take some notes.  After waiting SEVERAL minutes I finally asked, "Aussie what are you doing? Are you writing your entire report?"  He answered, "Yes!"  So I told him he didn't need to write it all now, that he could write it when we got home.  He said, "I wish I had known that!  Why didn't you tell me?"  I told him I didn't think I needed to.  Good grief!  The child is smart, but he really doesn't have much common sense.

 The meerkat- for some reason every kids favorite.

 The gibbons monkey.  Yes, I acted like a monkey.  This one actually stopped swinging and payed attention to me.  He didn't talk back to me like the monkeys at the Cincinnati zoo.

 The macaw.  Absolutely gorgeous!  This one seemed to be smiling at me.

 Mason chose the elephant.

 The kids played on the playground for maybe 45 minutes.  That is their favorite thing to do at this zoo.  Aussie came up with an obstacle course and all three of them took turns running it.  His shoes were hurting him so I gave him my socks.  And after walking the zoo, by the time we left my feet were killing me.

 Mason wanted to take a picture of EVERY animal.  He said he is doing a report on all of them.  While he took some pictures in the petting zoo, I rested on the bench with my zoom lens.

 The newest addition to the zoo is the Flamingo Lagoon.

I was really surprised, they are really beautiful.  The color was splendid! 

 I let them play on the playground before seeing the elephants and giraffes.  We had 10 minutes to run and see them.  We saw the elephants in plenty of time, but by the time we got to the giraffes they were just putting them away.

After the zoo, we went to Chick Fil A and then to see a dress rehearsal of Pacific Overtures.  We just got home a few minutes ago.  I'm exhausted.  I'm going to bed.  I need a shower but it will have to wait until the morning.