st. louis zoo

and on the road again!  next stop - the st. louis zoo.  (well, after a few bathroom, nursing and lunch breaks.) i had to take a picture of the kids piled in the van with all our gear (we also have a bag that attaches to the roof).  we were glad to see that our family of six fit.  thankfully, mason started being able to buckle himself in about a week or so after manning was born (he could already unbuckle) because it would have been very difficult for matt or i to help him.

the kids weren't as impressed by the arch as i was (i have seen it before and still think that it is neat).  i was taking pictures while we drove by and when the car next to us finally got out of the shot, you can't tell that it is an arch!  the sky was a pretty blue though.

we drove around the park 'complex' were the zoo was for a while.  first, it was a saturday.  second, it was a pretty day.  third, the zoo is free to the public.  fourth, parking was very limited!  they had one smallish lot and it was closed as 'full' even though there were plenty of spots open.  after that there is only street parking so we had to walk a decent amount before actually getting to the zoo (read: we were sweating like crazy and the kids were complaining before we even got there). 

i believe the structure at the top of the hill/stairs is the 1904 (?) world's fair pavilion (there were signs while we were driving around looking for parking and i think that is is).  either way it was lovely and i asked matt to pose with the kids - only mason would join him.

once we got to the zoo we got in line for the new sea lion exhibit.  yes, we had to wait in line to see them.  there is a new 'tunnel' through their tank and they must try to keep too many people from crowding in at once.  plus, it was much cooler in there than in the line!

madelyn and mason checking out a sea lion scull and hide while we waited in line.

inside the tunnel

how do you like madelyn's pose?

it was going to be around 91 according to weather.com and it felt very hot.  at least there was a pretty strong breeze that kept it from being miserable.  for this trip we were really worried about how we were going to keep manning from overheating.  and then it came to me.  frozen water bottles!  we wrapped them in burp cloths to keep the extreme cold of the ice off of his delicate skin and then tucked them on either side of him.  they worked awesome!  his skin felt cool like he had been in air conditioning when i picked him up to nurse and he seemed comfortable throughout the afternoon.  i have joked that this is my 'million-dollar-idea' because i haven't seen anything else like it.  maybe i should really look into it...  it was another reason that the hotel room with a kitchen was great - we could refreeze the water bottles overnight.

the kids checking out a pretty neat ant-eater.

i think the hippos were some of our favorites.  i have never seen hippos so active! the kept swimming/walking back and forth in their pond and turning over and around.

madelyn wanted her picture taken with the baby elephant.  i don't think you can see it very well in the picture.

matt had the unfortunate task of carrying maddux and mason off and on.  he said that maddux is worse because he just sits there like dead weight and matt has to do all of the work. it just makes me hot to think about it.

madelyn and the zebras  (or something that we saw too that kind of looked like the zebras)

maddux watching the giraffes.  i think he enjoyed the large animals the most because we don't have them in our zoo.

we passed this on a round-about while looking for parking and i had to get a picture.  matt had to keep it moving so i was just trying to get something that wasn't blurry.  it was a very neat sculpture.

we were there around 4 hours before piling our sweaty selves back into the van to find some dinner.  we stopped just west of st. louis at a chick-fil-a.  the lady in the booth next to us (with her daughter and husband) asked if i needed any help because she thought i was there by myself and manning was screaming.  i politely declined and explained that my husband was in line getting the food.  she then proceeded to talk to me through our entire meal.  she was very nice, but i felt disgusting after the zoo and just wanted to nurse manning, eat my dinner and get back on the road (and towards a shower).  she over shared about her pregnancy, etc with her now 5-year-old and asked about the name of madelyn's school even after i had already told her that we weren't from there and were just passing through.  she even offered to hold manning for me while i ate.  still, very nice, but a little odd.  matt marvels at how i attract 'talkers'.

we were all happy to reach kansas (i think it was around 10pm) and get cleaned up and into bed.  we were also happy to see papa, nana and uncle derek!  love.