We had to park at the Museum of Nature and Science and walk about a mile to the zoo. On our way out of the parking garage the kids found this dinosaur. They were all in awe of it!
Our first stop was the big cats. We saw a snow leopard running back and forth in its cage. Kristin and I walked around to the side of the cage where there was a big window. We’d seen it run past there several times and thought we’d get an up-close look. HA! Next thing we know Jon is telling us that the leopard is up above us looking down. Kristin and I both jumped and squealed. It was just an eerie feeling. Then as we were leaving the feline area we caught this leopard. He was sitting up in the top of his cage watching Zeke very closely. That was a pretty creepy too! But we’ve all laughed about it several times. 
“Two bites or three?”
All of the boys would have loved to have been able to get their hands on one of the many peacocks wandering around the zoo. Naturally the peacocks are much too fast for little boys to grab!
We never did see the polar bear, but I love the way most of the kids are looking up at the bear on the wall.
Zeke loved all the fish and water creatures in the Tropical area of the zoo.
I remember years ago when we first went to the zoo with just the three boys, Nathan was totally fascinated with Komodo dragons thanks to Steve Irwin (the Crocodile Hunter). Nathan and Caleb were both really excited to see them again. Zeke didn’t care much for them, but he is happy to pose for pictures!
Everybody thought these Asian camels were pretty cool. This one had its mouth all the way around the log in front of it. We were amazed that it could open up that big. When we first walked up to the rail, Abbie wouldn’t get anywhere near it. She looked at her dad and said, “Be careful, Dad! These might be spitting camels!”
Zeke loved the giraffes…okay, we all loved the giraffes. When we walked into their “house” Zeke said he wanted to go see the “Daddy giraffe”. He was definitely the biggest and his spots were much darker than all the others. This isn’t him though.
Ah, the Pachyderms…this was the highlight of the zoo for Zeke. As we came around the corner to the hippo enclosure we heard a zookeeper calling a hippo our of its pool. We could not believe how that hippo came right out of the pool, up the ramp and walked in the door to go inside. It was incredible! Who knew you could train a hippo?!?! Zeke is able to say the big long names of the pachyderms really well. He loved the hippopotamus and the rhinoceros.
But the elephants were without a doubt his favorite.
Oh, the monkeys were a huge hit too. Zeke has always called gorillas “Hoogas”. He was excited to see the “hoogas” in their indoor cage even though they weren’t very active. The orangutans were much more interesting for him. He keeps talking about how the big one laid over and grabbed the rope with his two front hands and one back foot. But because they were all behind glass I didn’t get any pictures.
One more pictures on our way out. The sun was too bright when we went in, but I really wanted to get a picture of the kids with these metal giraffes. The kids were such good sports…they never gave me any grief over taking their pictures.
After the zoo we stopped at Taco Bell to get the Cinnamon Twists that they’d failed to give us at lunch. We all enjoyed the snack on the way home!
Fun day!!!!
awesome pictures of an awesome time! we always loved going to the zoo growing up. My favorites were the prairie dogs and birds, like the eagle. I can’t remember what my brothers like, but they always thought the elephants were really cool too. Micah, naturally, liked the monkeys best.
Does this zoo have a playground? The one in Nashville has a HUGE wooden playground that is divided for older kids and younger kids.
We never found a playground, but there was a little train and a merry-go-around (as Zeke called it). We didn’t have time to do either of those things though. Maybe next time.
Megan, I haven’t forgotten about your question in regards to making cards, but I think it might be easier to correspond about that via email. My address is: stampy@emileeann.com. Shoot me a note and I’ll give you what information I can think of. I started making cards after my oldest son was born (10 years ago…whoa!) because I felt like I needed something to do that wouldn’t take all my time, but would allow me to be creative. It’s really blossomed since then.
What fun! Thanks for all the news and pictures! The new church looks great and I bet it feels great to hang stuff up on your walls! The zoo trip looks like it was a lot of fun!
question.. i’ve found the stamp sets (I like Stamping Bella and Sweet and Sassy best!) and I know about the papers, embellishments, and all the rest of it. But what do I do about the cards themselves? Where do you buy the cards and envelopes that fit the finished product? The beginnings of card makings are pretty much my entire Christmas list this year.