One Last Zoo Trip

Pictures taken July 25, 2011

The boys and I got ambitious one day and decided to walk to the zoo.

I was impressed, but after watching them bike at Bear Lake, I knew they could do it.

I thought it was about half a mile, but it turned out to be a little more than that.

We looked at animals and rode the Merry-Go-Round.

We waited in the longest line ever to ride the train.

After we went home, I realized that our pass was going to expire soon.

Sure enough, it expired later that week.

With school starting soon, and us having a pass to Heritage Park,
I don't think we'll renew right away.

So we probably won't be back to the zoo until next summer.

I'm glad we were able to go one last time.

Dinosaur Hunt

Pictures taken June 16, 2011

A couple of days ago I received an invitation from some friends to join them at the zoo.  I was pleased when it worked out.  We all lived on the same street a few years ago, but two of us have since moved away and it was nice to see them again.

The zoo put in a new dinosaur exhibit this year and has dinosaurs scattered throughout the zoo.  Ammon has been a couple of times since the dinosaurs arrived, but he hadn't taken the time to hunt them all down yet.  Apparently the last time we were there, he had found nine of the fourteen.  This time he was determined to get to all of them.

Ammon hunted down all fourteen dinosaurs one by one.  The younger children enjoyed all the animals we saw along the way.  They also had fun riding the carousel.

By the time we got back home, the boys were completely exhausted.  But it was a fun time and I'm glad we went.

Visiting the Zoo

Pictures taken June 10, 2011

With the zoo being a simple half mile up the road, you'd think we would go all the time.  But we don't - not as a family anyway.  On Friday we decided to take advantage of the fact that we were all home at the same time and head up there.  We still split up in our travel arrangements.  Ammon was ready to go first and wanted to walk.  Peter was slower to get out the door (which is very unusual - it is typically Peter who is quick to leave and Ammon who is lollygagging behind) so Ammon and I headed up the road on foot while Andrew continued to help Peter get ready.  It was a pleasant day and Ammon and I enjoyed the walk (even though it is a pretty brutal uphill climb).

The zoo was very crowded and people were parked almost all the way down the street.  I wondered if Andrew and Peter would end up just walking most of it anyway, but as we got to the gate to enter the zoo, Andrew and Peter were right behind us.  They had been able to find a parking place with no problem and the timing of their arrival was perfect.

Ammon was excited to see the "spitting dinosaurs".  He had been to the zoo the previous week on a field trip and had seen some of the new dinosaur display.  Peter and I had been a few weeks earlier than that, so we new what he was talking about.  Andrew was just confused because he had never seen dinosaurs in the zoo.  The boys were excited to show them off.  Peter was braver than he had been the first time - having his big brother by his side seemed to help him feel a little more bold.  But he still didn't want to get too close to the dinosaur that spits water on the crowd of people to help cool them down.  He quickly passed that area clinging onto Daddy's leg and we headed to the Elephants, which is what he wanted to see most.  We got there during the elephant show and watched them do their tricks.

The boys got out their maps and studied them hard deciding where to go next.  The dinosaurs are scattered throughout the zoo, but have several of them clustered in one particular area, so Ammon wanted to head that way.  While we were going that direction, we passed by the gorillas.  There was one sitting just inside the glass and Peter and I stood a foot away from a full-grown gorilla!

Then we rounded the corner into the area that Ammon wanted to be at when we noticed that a show was going to start in about ten minutes so we got some seats and stayed for that.  Afterwards, we played at the playground and spotted more dinosaurs.  Soon it was time to head home for dinner.  It was a short trip to the zoo - just an hour or two, but we had a good time.  It was fun to have all four of us there together.

Outings with Peter

Pictures taken May 05 and May 06, 2011

On an ordinary Thursday morning Peter and were just hanging out at home.

My neighbor called and invited us to join her at the zoo with her son (a friend of Peter's).

It was a fabulous way to spend the morning and I'm so glad she called.

While we were at the zoo, my neighbor and I discussed Heritage Park.

As students, we had the option to buy an annual pass for half price.

But the deal was only good for a certain time, and that window was closing the next day.

I had never been there, so I was debating whether or not to buy the tickets.

She volunteers there in the summer and loves it.

She wasn't available the next day, but gave Peter and I tickets to go check it out.

Peter rode a pony and pet the animals.

He went to an old-fashioned school and wrote his name on his personal chalkboard.

He panned for gold and toured a boat.

We even took TWO different train rides.

Peter had a blast, and we decided to go ahead and buy the season pass.

We were excited to bring Daddy and Ammon back.

(Which we did this past weekend.  More on that later.)

Fall Break

Last week the boys and I all had Fall Break.

We had cousins visit,

Friends play,

A trip to the Zoo

(With more cousins.)

And even a fun Halloween party.

Sadly, the only time I broke out the camera, was at the zoo.

We went with my red-headed nieces.

(I especially adore them because I wish I had a red-headed girl of my own.)

Aunt Krista made sure we hit all the fun stuff - like the train and the carousel.

The day wore me out, but was fun while we were there!

It was a fun week, but I am eager to be back to the routine tomorrow

When the boys go back to school.

Afternoon at the Zoo (Week 9)

The thing I love about having my sister on Facebook

Is that I get random posts from her

saying things like,

"Let's take the kids to the zoo today."

And since I have a zoo pass

and it is literally half a mile down the street from me

it totally worked out.

Yay for an impromptu activity.

The weather was perfect and the afternoon was splendid.

Thanks Katy!

Zoo

A couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law called and invited Peter and me to go to the zoo with her and my niece Kambria. I almost didn't go and had to cancel an appointment to make it work, but am glad for the trip. Krista brought the wagon and Peter LOVED it. He didn't ever want to get out so poor Krista ended up pulling him around all day even though Kambria spent most of her time walking.
It was the perfect day for the zoo. The weather was just right, the crowds were non-existant, and the animals all seemed especially close to us. I got a better look at rhinos, elephants, the cougar and the giraffes than I think I ever have. Especially the rhinos. It was fun.

Peter and Kambria both really seemed to like the giraffes. It was cute to watch them get excited about seeing the animals.

Taking the picture below was an interesting experience because once on this little statue, Kambria didn't want to leave. On the other hand, Peter was furious to have been removed from the stroller and pretty much cried until he was back in it. So it was a rough experience for the kids on both ends. Peter, because he actually had to get on it, and Kambria, because eventually she had to leave.

Overall it was a really fun outing (although quick since we did it while Ammon was at school and I needed to get back for him) and I hope we get to do it again soon! Thanks Krista!

A Day at the Zoo

On Friday Ammon, Peter and I went to the zoo with Peggy and her uncle, Graham. We met his niece and her daughter-in-law Nicki along with Nicki's three little girls. The zoo was crowded so it was slow going by the time we all got through the ticket line and even into the zoo. Ammon was adventurous and ran away on his own several times.

The first time I lost him it was just Graham, Peter and me waiting for the others at the playground. I pulled out the camera to get some picture and Graham offered to take a picture of Peter and me. (see picture posted above) In that 20 seconds it took, I lost sight of Ammon. Apparently Ammon decided that he should go find the train station. I was on my way to report him as missing when I found him wandering around trying to figure out where the train had gone to.

The second time we lost him was just after we got to the giraffe's. The day had warmed up and I had several people throwing stuff into the bottom of my stroller. The wheels were starting to rub against the side of the basket so I bent down to rearrange things. When I looked up Ammon was gone! I assumed he had gone ahead of us and into the building for the giraffes. I went in and didn't see him. Peggy followed quickly and I stayed downstairs to watch the doors while she went upstairs. I was so surprised when she came down without him. We had NO idea where he could be.

The five adults all split up looking for Ammon. Peggy was the one who actually found him. She had been calling his name and a zookeeper beckoned her over. Ammon had found his way in to where the zookeepers were taking care of the giraffe's and he was hanging out with them. It was probably a pretty fun little adventure for him, but the day was getting late enough, and I was getting tired enough of him running away that we decided to head home at that point. It was fun though, and I am glad we went.