Spring Break Day 1

We are finally enjoying some beautiful spring weather as the boys begin their break.  I'm hoping that this week will be filled with lots of fun adventures for us. Since the weather was so lovely, we decided a zoo trip was a great way to start our week.  

Graeme donned his explorer coat, hat and bag and with map in hand, helped us make our way around the zoo.  We got there just after lunch and though very nice and warm, it was not too crowded.  Since there are certain exhibits we can NEVER miss, we parked and started our adventure on the African side of the zoo.  The giraffes and zebras were our first animals of the day.

Our next stop was the elephants.  There are two things we must always do when we go to the zoo.  Graeme must find the cot in the expedition tent and take a nap (this involves lots of fake snoring).  

We must also head over to the helicopter they have in the elephant tracking exhibit.  Today was one of the few times when we have gotten to this exhibit and there was no one else there.  The boys enjoyed climbing in the cockpit (and Graeme of course checked the map to make sure we knew where we should head next.    
The animals were very cooperative today.  They all were out and about and enjoying the sunshine and warmth.

We came up just after lunch for the gorillas.   It was fun to watch as this mom (Olympia) gave her son Apollo a ride on her back and then took him over to climb and play while she snacked.  Not so different from some of my afternoons with my boys.

The zoo is celebrating its 40th year and they have just opened a bug exhibit featuring some fun LARGE animatronic arthropods. The boys really enjoyed checking out all the different creatures and Graeme gave me some great "scary" pictures in front of the spider web and tarantula.  There were also some mounts and some live arthropods at the end (I just can't call them all bugs-it goes against my zoology background) that the boys enjoyed checking out.  Graeme took out his magnifying glass to check out the small critters.

Next we crossed over into the North America section of the zoo.  We enjoyed the bee garden.  Liam loved checking out the bees and their hive.  Over at the Sonora Desert exhibit, Graeme liked the cactus and pretended to be extremely scared of the snakes.  He was excited to see the ocelots (though he really wanted them to be jaguars).  

We didn't do much with the bears and bisons today, the boys were ready to get to the playground and do some climbing and sliding.  Liam really enjoyed himself and Graeme finally admitted that the day might be too hot for his jacket.  (I also realized that he had put his shirt on backward this morning-if you look closely you will see the slight v-neck to the shirt on his back :-)

After playing, we stopped for some applesauce and carrots.  Graeme also asked to take my picture so here is proof I took my boys to the zoo today!

After snack, it was time for the polar bear and the seals.  We enjoyed seeing a polar bear back on exhibit and watching the seals swim and play.  We also enjoyed the informational and interactive displays.  The "ice cave" was a fun adventure especially when we found a Graeme dinosaur lurking inside!

Over in the Cypress Swamp exhibit, Graeme had us tiptoe past the alligators so we wouldn't wake them up.  A bit further on there is a small pavilion where they have a couple of alligators, some turtles and snakes on exhibit,where one alligator was basking with its mouth open.  Graeme apologized for talking loud and waking up the alligator :-).  We also found a small swamp boat where the boys enjoyed a round of "Row, Row, Row your Boat".

Our day ended back on the Africa side as we made our way back to our car.  We had to stop and check on the red river hogs (or as Graeme calls them-the three little pigs) and we even saw a small snake on the edge of the path.  

Before that however, there were the lions who for once were up and wide awake.  There was some roaring, some walking around, and the male was feeling quite frisky.  We'll have to keep checking to see if there will be any little cubs joining the zoo family :-p.  

What a great start to our break!