A Saturday at the zoo

On Saturday morning we got our yard work and chores done as quick as we could so that we could take our kids to the zoo!  We technically felt like we had two zoo experiences that day when one of our errands that morning was to Zamzows for fertilizer and we all got to see them feed the tarantulas and bearded dragon crickets! Boy was that equal parts horrifying and fascinating! haha I think I'll stick to the real zoo thankyouverymuch. ;)

There weren't very many people at the zoo which was so nice. We started with the side that has the tiger exhibit but their poor tiger recently died so it was closed but Lyla looked adorable riding a baby pretend tiger!

I love Liam's imagination so much. I always have but even more so when I see all of his facial expressions that go with it. Turtle face!

My FAVORITE picture from the day!

My mom didn't have any afternoon plans so we invited her to come along with us! Her and yaya checking out the meerkats ...

One of their new animals they've added since we last came turned out to be Lyla's favorite ... Sand cats! They were all huddled up together in one small box.

Goofiest baby bird I've ever seen. ;)

I waddled my way along behind everyone. haha Everything is incredibly swollen and sore at this point. While I don't have a ton of energy left, I want to make the most out of my last weekend(s) as a family of 4. 

It was so fun to see the giraffes SO close to the fence. They are such an incredible animal ...

I think I have a picture of my kids on this safari jeep every year since Liam was a baby. <3

A few of the indoor exhibits were finally open again like the penguins! We wore a mask inside. 

One of the indoor exhibits that was still closed of course were the bats. Liam was so disappointed!! In fact, he shouted "I've been stuck at home for a year and this is what I get?!" haha It was comical to the rest of us but he really meant it. Poor guy. His other favorite is the crocodile. When we got to that exhibit we weren't quite sure if it was real?! It wasn't out in the pond like it usually is ... instead, we could only see its head peaking out from inside with its jaw permanently open from the door that leads to the indoor habitat. The indoor habitat was completely closed off and the water drained. What do you think ... does it look real?! 

We couldn't believe how much the baby anteater had grown! After only a few months, you can no longer tell the difference between the momma and the baby because they were the same size. Since we went in the afternoon, a lot of the animals were laying down and sleeping including the emu's who apparently lay on their stomachs with their neck extended on the ground. We didn't know they slept that way, it looked incredibly uncomfortable. The butterfly exhibit closed at 2:30 so we just barely missed it!

It was about 86 degrees but felt pretty hot so we ended our zoo trip with orange and blue slushies for the kids courtesy of my sweet mom. Those tongues! 

They put just about everything they saw in the gift shop "on their birthday lists". So sneaky that they make you exit through there ... parental torture! haha So happy we could give these cute kids a fun Saturday!