Day at the Zoo

Over the weekend, we went to the Big Zoo with my parents.  It's an hour away and Hubby hadn't been there since the 5th grade.  We have a small zoo close to our house and the kids and I have a membership there.  The small zoo doesn't have elephants or giraffes.  Big Sis was so excited to see a giraffe for the first time.  She even took her stuffed Giraffey with her.  The expression on her face when she first saw the giraffe was priceless!

The zoo was holding a photo contest so I was all too excited.  Sadly, I didn't come home with anything worth submitting.  To enter that kind of contest, you have to set up at one area with a tripod and wait for the animals to get into the perfect position.  I was more interested in enjoying the zoo with my family. 

The primates were by far my favorite.  I could sit and watch gorillas and orangutans all day.  Grammy had to spoil the kids, of course.  So she bought a blue monkey for Big Sis and a purple frog for Baby Girl.  When we saw the little monkeys, Big Sis decided to show her blue monkey to them.  We snickered but were amazed at what happened.  All the monkeys crowded up to the edge and stared at that blue monkey.  A stranger next to us was tickled and said the monkeys were thinking Why are we not blue?  Baby Girl had to follow suit and held out her purple frog.

Big Sis did the same thing when we saw the giraffes.  They didn't seem to care like the monkeys did.  Maybe they're a snooty animal?  They do hold up their heads awfully high.

We reached the orangutan display a few minutes before closing time.  They must have been super excited about the day's end because they were showing off like no one's business.  They were swinging and jumping, but I just couldn't get a good shot.  The glass was thick and scratched and wasn't conducive to photos.  So I decided to try to get one of the active guys to come closer my way.  I lightly drummed on the glass with my fingernails.  When I did that, he charged at the glass and hit it right where my face was.  I nearly wet my pants, jumping back and screaming!  Everyone laughed at my expense.  The orangutan was apparently amused and continued playing with us.  He screamed right at Big Sis and played around with Hubby.  (Maybe he saw a resemblance there?)  But before I could get any good pictures, the zookeeper kicked us out.  We will definitely visit that display first next time.

The kids also rode a camel!  (They get to do a lot more when Grammy is there.  She doesn't know how to say no.)  We ate Kettle Corn, toured the Butterfly House, and walked a few hundred miles - a perfect day at the zoo!