san diego z-z-z-zoo

today we tackled the "world famous" san diego zoo. maddie fell asleep in the car on the way over this morning and continued sleeping for more than a half hour after we got there. she missed a few of the animals near the entrance so we took pictures to show her later. the zoo is huge! there aren't as many animals as you would think for the size, but it was very nice. they are also a site for endangered plants and the 'landscaping' (i know that is not the right word, but i am too tired to come up with something else) was really great. they actually grow some of the animals' food in the zoo. including the bamboo for the pandas.

we got to see a mommy panda and her one year old baby (maddie's age). the baby panda was up in a tree, out on a branch, sleeping. maddie watched him the whole time. she really got excited when we left the exhibit and there was a panda mural painted by kids - she must have touched at least half the pandas on the wall as we made our way down the hill.

we made our way around on foot (or stroller in maddie's case) for most of the day, but then rode the skyfari buckets (i don't know what they are really called) and the bus tour. they have a 'children's zoo' there were maddie could run excitedly between exhibits and get a little more hands on. here she is playing with a little boy in front of a little monkey house (she didn't really care about the monkey).

its so funny for me how she just knows when she can run around wildly laughing because its a kiddie friendly area. not just at the zoo, she does it at malls, playgrounds, any where with a designated kid zone.

also in the children's zoo was a petting area with goats. maddie managed to overcome her fear and pet a goat!

we rode the bus tour last since it is near the entrance and maddie was asleep when we got there. it was really hot and we sat on the top out in the sun. madelyn fell asleep almost immediately because she was so tired and slept the whole time. matt and i were just trying to keep her covered up with our hats, arms, and hands so that she wouldn't get any more sun.

we were all pretty tired by the time we left the zoo and decided to go to nana's favorite mexican restaurant - el indio - for lunch. we were showing papa, nana, and uncle derek how madelyn can say "salsa" (matt taught her how when we were grocery shopping a few weeks ago) and maddie made her own salsa center piece for her plate - bob. nana had given maddie a plastic bob toy and maddie put it on her plate. she just left it there and ate around it. we thought it was pretty funny that she was saying salsa and then put a tomato toy in the middle of her lunch.

we are all tired from a day of fun in the sun. tomorrow we head up to laguna beach for a wedding this weekend. we are meeting some friends for lunch and then going to the beach where i got the rocks maddie plays with at home. i don't think that her hands will be big enough for all the rocks she will find tomorrow. love.