Another day at the zoo.........

June 12th, 2008

Wednesday night we decided that it would be great to go to the zoo on Thursday morning. I had baked some bran muffins and we had yogurt and grapes, so we decided it would be an easy breakfast to pack and take with us to eat there so we could get an early start before it got too hot. As soon as Kenzie woke up Thursday morning (around 7:15ish) we all got up and threw on clothes, packed up the diaper bag and jumped in the car. We got to the zoo right around 8am and it was already pretty warm, but not TOOO bad.

We went in and ate our breakfast first. There were a bunch of tables in the shade and not many people there yet. It was so nice : )


Kenzie getting bites from dad.....

I still look half-asleep : )

Kenzie not paying attention to her bite from mom......

After breakfast, Kenzie climbed the tower to watch the giraffes. She LOVES doing this! I like when we go at an uncrowded time, because it is so much harder for her and scarier for me when she is trying to climb up with a bunch of "big kids" going up and down all around her. She can go up fine, but still needs some help back down. I tried to get a picture of her at the top, but the sun was making it to hard. Here she is with Daddy helping her come down.....

Across the bridge....

Almost at the bottom...only a couple steps left!

Here we are in front of the giraffes. I wanted to get one in front of that giraffe that was eating way in the background : )

This is the creepiest bird ever. Chip and I both hate these storks. I would be really scared to meet one of these in the wild......they are probably almost as tall as me!


Here we are walking to the next thing......

Kenzie decided she needed to get out and push her stroller. This works out well for us because she just puts her head down and pushes away. We can guide the stroller wherever we want her to go : ) Makes it nice to not have to worry about her running off!


After we looked at the animals (mostly just the monkeys, orangutans, and elephants) we went to the water play area. Kenzie LOVED it : ) It was definitely already warm enough outside by 9am for her to enjoy the cool water. Here are a few of her playing in the water:




She is still too scared to actually run through any of the water fountains...but she likes walking up to them and trying to put her hands in. She also really enjoys the drains..............

After the water area, we had a coupon the zoo sent us for a free Icee. We couldn't believe that normally they would be $4.50! So Kenzie got to try her first Icee. Who doesn't love a frozen sugar slush with fruity flavoring?! MMMmmm.....We were worried she was going to get a brain freeze the way she was gulping it down!



On our way out I had Chip take a "belly shot" of me on the bridge, just cause I thought it would make a nice background. So here is my belly....one day before I turned 31 weeks.


Chip decided to get some of he and Kenzie leaving the zoo too....since he had the camera out anyway.




It was a good morning and lots of fun! Kenzie took a great nap when we got home : ) She was all worn out from her big adventure. We are so thankful to have our zoo membership this year! I hope we can get it again next year!!

Perfect Day for the ZOO : )

So. Earlier this week,on Monday and Tuesday, Arizona summer temperatures hit with a vengeance. I believe one day it was around 106 and the next around 110. It was HOT! We went to the zoo on Monday with our neighbors, Becki and Kingston (who is almost 6 months old). We couldn't WAIT to get out of the sun and into some nice A/C.

TODAY....on the otherhand....was PERFECT : ) It was 75 degrees, partly cloudy skies, a nice breeze, and possibly THE busiest day at the zoo for the entire year! The parking lot was FULL. I knew it would probably be busy today, but it was just so nice outside I couldn't resist. (We visit the zoo quite often as we have a membership...thanks Mom and Dad B!)

Here are some pictures from our zoo trip today. We go so often and I don't remember to take pictures enough, I guess because it isn't a really "special" trip since we're there so much. But today, I decided we would document it : ) (I am hoping this blog will encourage me to take pictures of more everyday events as well......)

Kenzie has this cute pink sunhat. Until she was around 8-9 months old she wore hats JUST FINE. She wouldn't touch them : ) NOW.....we are lucky to get her to keep it on for 5 seconds. I thought I would try anyway, especially cause she looked so cute in it.














NOPE! Yeah right Mom! Off comes the hat.













And not just off. She also had to throw it to the ground for dramatic effect.













It was totally worth the effort though, because in the midst of this very short process I was able to capture a picture that to this point in time is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES of my little girl. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture. I hope you guys enjoy it 1/2 as much as I do : )








Here we are with the zebras. A nice guy offered to take our picture as he saw me struggling to hold Kenzie on the fence with one hand and lean back with the other hand trying to get far enough back to get her and the zebras in the picture.








Here is Kenzie watching the pretty pink flamingos. We usually go to the zoo in the morning and they are usually sleeping and boring, but today it must have been feeding time when we went and Kenzie LOVED watching them : )









Monkey Village is one of our FAVORITE parts of the zoo. It is an exhibit where you get to go right in an enclosed path with about 16 little squirrel monkeys. They swing on ropes and climb trees and jump from branch to branch right in front of you! We did NOT go in today, as it was PACKED in there.....but I thought it would be cute to get a picture with the big sign.












Here we are.....nice self-portrait huh? Ok...so not the best, but it is pretty hard to be pregnant and holding a 13 month old and get a GOOD self-portrait. So I am happy with how it turned out anyway : )









We had a great view of the elephants today. And the keepers had put out snacks for them, so they were very actively trying to get their treats. Kenzie watched them for a LONG time : )










Here is Kenz looking at the elephant. It was another picture that was a juggling act for me. But we got one in the end!









By this time Kenzie was getting tired...and more importantly...HUNGRY! She LOVED her raisin snack.




"Boy, this looks good"












In the mouth it goes.


















In this picture, she was audibly enjoying her snack with a nice "Mmmmm" sound! (Which she does OFTEN when she is enjoying her food....)
















So...that was our trip to the zoo today. Thank you Lord for the AMAZING weather, the resources to visit the zoo, and most of all....for all the beautiful creatures you designed for us to enjoy!

In His Hands,
Dani