Lions, (no) tigers, and bears ~ Oh my!

Ian took a rare day off work today to accompany Kylie (she was really happy that her daddy was along for the ride!), Alexander, and I on a road trip to the NC Zoo. We met up with Darby and her parents, Stephen and C.C. (pretty convenient that the zoo is within 10 minutes of being the same distance from each of our homes!) and checked out pretty much every animal housed there.

We walked (I'd be willing to bet we covered 85% of the five miles of trails), talked (much to catch up on since we last saw each other in January), dined (nothing like overpriced medium quality food), & "oohhed and aahhed" (so many animals to see in their natural habits) for about 5 hours. The girls were excited to see each other and before it was all said and done were each carried around by all four parents there, rode in each other's strollers, and were photographed about 100 times. Alexander was a great sport and helped with stroller duty, holding doors, and trying to make the girls smile in several pictures. We just couldn't get him on the carousel...

I could go on and on, but the best way to remember the day is through pictures!

"So does anyone have a quarter so we can view the bison a little better? We'd like to see these animals that song is written about ~ and why doesn't the song say 'Oh give me a home, where the bison roam'?"

"Girl, I don't know about you, but I sure hope our daddies hurry up with our lunch! Those Teddy Grahams will onlycarry me so far!"

"The baboons are really entertaining!"

"It was BIG ~ and it had a hone!"
I think Kylie would have stayed here the rest of the day if we had let her!

Attempting to capture "the perfect photo opp"

"Now that both of our families are members of the zoo, we should meet here at least once a month, don't you think? I'll miss you until next time!"

Still in the parking lot...

Perhaps my favorite shot of the day was this one of a young niece and her uncle. I think that there were some attention jealousy moments for both of them this week (after all, they are both used to being the only one competing for the full focus of parents), but overall they really enjoyed one another's company. Sadly our trip to the zoo also served as a half-way meeting point to get Alexander back to his mom. Kylie was so exhausted for the ride home that she didn't really notice that he wasn't there. But I'm sure in the morning we'll pass by the guest room and she'll ask, "Where Al-eh-dander?" Poor baby is going to miss her new found playmate ~ hopefully he'll be able to come back before long!