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1.03.2009

Daddy took us to the zoo!

**We've had a blast while Ian's been off from work this week. If we had known earlier (he found out on Dec 20 that he'd be off until Jan 5) that his company was going to be closed we may have headed somewhere exciting, but in the end staying here and acting like we were on vacation was pretty fun. We've slept late, stayed in our pajamas until after noon some days, eaten out several times, done some shopping together, played with Christmas toys, and today we finished it out by heading to the zoo.**

The weather was glorious and made a perfect day to aimlessly wander the trails. Well, almost aimlessly ~ Kylie started asking to see the zebras as we got out of the car... However the Africa gate was closed, so we had to start in North America and make our way across. First stop, sea lions and harbor seals!

I think that we could have stayed at the underground viewing area for another 30 minutes and then gone home and Caleb would have been thrilled! Unfortunately the camera can't record squeals ~ wish you could have heard him when one of the sea lions brushed up against the window! Kylie was also happy to watch the sea lions and seals swim by for about 10 minutes, and then we started hearing, "Where da zebas?" So on we went!









Of course we had to make a 20 minute stop at the play ground! Both kiddos had a blast.



Along the way to the zebras, we stopped to see most of the habitats. One great thing about being at the zoo in cooler weather is that most of the animals are quite active! We saw bears frolicking in their water, elk hanging out, and elephants running. Each time Caleb would squeal and point excitedly and Kylie would join in the excitement and then after a few minutes ask, "Are we doin' to see de zebas yet?" Talk about a one track mind! And so we'd start walking again ~ here are some pictures along the way...
"Hey Mommy, you see that gorilla?"
(I got a kick out of the fact that despite his excitement he couldn't part with his pomegranate/blueberry V-8 Fusion juice)
"Elephants are BIG!"

"I can pet this rhi-nos-rus!"
(This picture is worth clicking on to enlarge to see her expression ~ it's priceless!)
Sadly this was the only rhino we saw today, not sure where the real ones were hiding...
Look what hatched out of these enlarged ostrich eggs!
"Fin-a-yee! Will you lif me higher Daddy? I want to see bedder!"
We could have finished our day here. Several of the zebras were right there and Kylie was enthralled! One fun note, after I put the camera down and picked Caleb up so he could see, I caught a college age guy taking a picture of our family. Seriously? I thought we left that in China! I wanted to hand him my camera and ask if he'd mind taking one with mine too, but decided that was sassy and simply smiled at him instead. He knew he was "caught" and sheepishly walked off and let us admire the zebras in peace.
ROAR! (Or actually I caught a series of him yawning...)
One fun Kylie story. The female lion was sunning herself near the male. Kylie looked up at me and asked, "Mommy, which ones da guhrl one?" I almost flat out told her, but decided to check her thoughts so I asked, "Which one do you think is the girl?" She pointed to the male and said, "Dat one cauze it have long hair like you Mommy!" I told her that was very good thinking, but actually the one with long hair was the boy. Wish I had the camera ready to capture her expression that followed!
"What, dare are dirafs behind us? Oh well, we have doldfish, who cares?"
By this point our munchkins were pretty much done. They didn't get whiney, just tired and hungry. Luckily it was nothing that a stroller ride and some goldfish couldn't fix! (Both kids ~ and me for that matter ~ took a snooze on the way home). It was a wonderful day and the perfect finale to our "stay-cation!"

11 comments:

Jill said...

What a fun day! Enjoy your hubby's time home! I am dreaming for that!!

Jess Danielson said...

What a fun day! I love Kylie's comments!

Nicole said...

How fun!!! Wish we were there to enjoy some of that weather with you all!

Tricia said...

That sounds like a really fun day. I have pictures of Adam hanging on that spider web thing and sitting in that egg from our 2nd grade class trip last fall.

Kristi said...

And I have pictures of Abby on the same spiral thing Kylie was on when I took your kids there the summer I watched them!

Anonymous said...

Who doesn't love a trip to the zoo? There are some great pictures!
I love the expressions on their faces!
Aunt Cici

Heather said...

Geez I was behind, ha! I loved catching up. Looks like you all had a wonderful Christmas (although I will pretend like I didn't see the pictures of your kiddos in WARM weather clothes, sigh) :) I read your post on my blog and laughed thinking you were at first going to tell me Eli wasn't the only Chinese boy to ... wear a crown and heels. He isn't is he? :) Let me know how that table manners thing is working out - we could use some suggestions over here!

Laura said...

Looks like a fun day! Kylie looks so excited to see the rhino! That picture is too cute. The zoo rocks!

Anonymous said...

I just got caught up, too. I love seeing the photos of your 2 in their matching Christmas jammies. Soooo sweet. And the zoo~ such fun and a beautiful day. You guys sure look like you have some fun around your place. And Caleb is making much greater strides in eating than Kate. Sigh...

Out of AC's mouth yesterday in the car and out of the blue~ "I want to go back to China." Me: Why is that? AC: Because I want to play with Kylie and Lu Tao (I'm sure I spelled that incorrectly, sorry.) Me: Kylie and her brother live in NC, just like you do. AC: Well then let's play with them. So let me know the next time you guys are in town. :)

Pam

Anonymous said...

Don't you love the zoo? We'll have to meet you guys there sometime. It's kind of in the middle.
Stephanie Y

Kathy said...

It's wonderful that you have such a great zoo within driving distance. I'm looking forward to meeting you there so I can watch the kids' reactions to the animals. Glad you had a mild winter day to see the animals in action.
Love, NaiNai