all day, zoo day

the kids and i had a goal today - open to close at 'our' zoo. this would be tough because we are usually in and out (with lunch) in under three hours. we made it for six hours before leaving because we had done (and enjoyed) everything we wanted to for the day. we were within 30 minutes of closing and were quite satisfied. manning even went the entire time without napping. although, he fell asleep before i left the parking lot on the way home.

(yes, we are wearing sweatshirts. in august. during the day.)

manning pointing out the jaguar. he loved finding the animals in each exhibit.

the macaws were so loud that it could only be captured by video...

the big attraction at the zoo right now are a new pair of snow leopard cubs. they are only on exhibit for a couple of hours each day and were extremely active. you can see both of them in the picture following their mom down the rock.

manning couldn't leave a single drop of guacamole behind at lunch!

this was new to us too. this exhibit is called "ew at the zoo" and this 'car' has bird droppings on the windshield (artistic renderings not the real deal) that you could compare to a chart and identify which bird each one came from. it was both disgusting and intriguing. maddux just loved that it was an orange car! we actually had to wait a long time to get a turn to sit in it.

manning has recently hit his 'train phase' so i sprung for a ride on the train - an inexpensive trip for one or two kids, but four is a bit steep ($8) for a ride in a small figure 8 sort of track. this was a treat for all the kids. just look at the smile on manning's face!

we normally see the penguins first but it was so crowded that we decided to see them on our way out. it turned out to be a great call! the penguins were darting around the water so fast that they were 'jumping' like dolphins.

on our way home we stopped for ice cream - of course! we had planned on doing this after their last baseball practice/game but it was well after bedtime and manning fell asleep in the car. the kids were thrilled!

a super great last 'summer' trip to the zoo! love.