Our Ohio Trip: Part One, The Zoo

The boys and I just got back from a six day trip to Ohio to see friends and family. We had such a fun time. It was weird to be there as visitors after living there for 8 years. We stayed with my in-laws, Grandma and Grandpa to the boys, and got to see lots of B's family. We also got to see some good friends and I had an amazing night out with some of my "mom friends." Other fun included a trip to the zoo and a trip to Amish country. The weather was perfect--70s and 80s with a nice breeze. I can't believe I used to take that kind of weather for granted.

Here is the first group of photos from our trip. These are all from the Cleveland Zoo.

As many of you know, J loves polar bears. The first time we went to the zoo in Dallas, he was crushed to learn there were no polar bears--too hot! So when we decided to go visit friends and family in Ohio, Grandpa decided we needed to go to the zoo. J's been talking ever since about going to see polar bears at the zoo.

So on Tuesday, we went to the Cleveland Zoo with B's parents and his cousin, Olivia. The boys both loved Olivia and it was fun to have her there. At the zoo, our first stop, needless to say, was the "Northern Trek" to see the polar bears.

On our way to the polar bears, we saw this lovely Grizzly Bear enjoying the cool water on a warm summer day.

N thought the Grizzly was pretty cool--actually I think he really wanted to go play in the waterfall. Grandma had to hold on tight so he didn't crawl right over the wall.

J just wanted to see the polar bears.

We got to the polar bear exhibit and saw this instead...someone cleaning the empty polar bear home. Not good :(.

While J moped, N saw something else he wanted to see...

Sea lions! They were lots of fun. You could pay $1 to buy a fish to feed them. We didn't buy any fish, but enjoyed watching others feed the sea lions or "seal lions" as J labeled them.

Then we saw a crowd gathering over by the polar bear enclosure. So we went back over.

What's that in the background? Yep, that's a polar bear.

Glad he made it back in time for J to see him.

After a break for lunch, we decided to go check out the Rain Forest at the zoo before heading home. It was a big hit. It was inside (so a little cooler) and more contained so we could let the boys run around. A lot of animals were in enclosures with half walls so you could get really close to them.

J and N liked to climb right up next to the glass to watch the animals.
These monkeys were fun to watch and I loved the little tiny baby with his mom.

A group photo in front of the orangutans: N, Grandma, J and Grandpa.