A Day Off

Mimi and Buddy didn't have school today, and since the forecast called for beautiful Indian Summer weather we decided to spend the day at the zoo. The kids were all very helpful in the morning, getting their rooms clean and doing their chores quickly and without too many reminders from mom. They played outside in the leaves and rode their bikes while I got the laundry started and washed dishes, and then we were off to enjoy the day.

When I asked Sweetsa where she wanted to go/eat for lunch, her response was,"Ice cream chop!" We didn't go to the ice cream shop, but we did get Frosties (and Sweetsa was happy to get her sweet!)!

When we finally made it to the zoo, the train was the first stop (of course!)

Baby B was big enough to sit on the seat...at least until the train started! (She grabbed that straw out of the water cup at Wendy's and didn't let go of it for about two hours!)

After getting off the train I asked them what they wanted to see first. Their answers:
Mimi: the monkeys and apes (the same answer every time we go.)
Buddy: the Kangaroos
Sweetsa: the cows
As usual, Sweetsa made me laugh.

As we made our way around the the requested animal displays they had to climb on all the animal statues and take turns holding Baby B. We discovered that as well as having all the animals they have "faux fossils"...in the new cement paths, there are impressions of different leaves and branches. I thought it was pretty cool to id the different trees "fossilized" at the zoo! (too bad I forgot to take a pic.)



We spent quite a while in the small animal house this time (we haven't been in there for at least a year). The kids all loved it. What I thought was so neat was that there were hardly any other people there, and so we could take our time, look at our favorites five times or more and it was so much quieter than the other times we have been there! It was wonderful! Mimi loved being able to read the animal names and info for all of us. Buddy got a huge kick out of the squirrel species that kept jumping around it's enclosure. If you haven't heard his giggle, let me tell you it is so contagious, all of us were laughing with him. Sweetsa loved being able to climb on the railings to see the animals, "All by mys-self!" She was also tickled by the black footed cat (a domestic-cat-sized wild cat that is really cute, but apparently quite a ferocious hunter). It was pacing along the window, so she started walking with it, squealing as she tried to keep up with it. It was pretty cute.
After the small animal house we ate a snack and then went to see the big cats, or at least tried to see them. We found the Siberian lynx (pictured with Sweetsa, above) and the Pallas cat, but the tigers were hiding really well, or not in their enclosures. Sweetsa had a thing going with the cats, because the Pallas cat tried to get her through the glass...she jumped the first time it growled and swatted, but then just laughed and squealed. And of course the lynx actually turned and looked at us when Sweetsa was standing by the glass (that's how we got that cool pic, and not just his back!)
The zoo also has a new carousel (the Conservation Carousel) that the kids really wanted to go on. Sweetsa rode the bald eagle, Mimi rode the dolphin, Baby B rode the tortoise, and Buddy started out on the poison dart frog, but switched to the lady bug with the caterpillar riding it's back.

Before we headed home for the day we made the requisite stop at the playground and walked through the marshland area, looking at the ducks, swans, geese and pelicans (I keep forgetting to bring quarters so we can feed the ducks!)

I am so glad the weather was so beautiful and we had such a great time at the zoo. It was a great day off!