Zoo Trip with Grandma and Grandpa

B's parents came to visit to celebrate birthdays and enjoy time with the boys. As part of their visit, we ventured to the zoo. Here are a few of my favorite memories/pics from the zoo trip:


N on the ostrich on the carousel:

The boys love this cool coin donation area in the reptile house. They convinced Grandma to donate some coins:

Another of the boys' current favorites: the underground tunnel and domes in the Underzone in the Children's Zoo:
This is one of the animals in the area around the domes. He's been very friendly to visitors our last two visits:

Cowboy N in the children's zoo:
Cowboy J in the children's zoo. Yee haw!:


The rhino because I think he's so cute:

The koalas were both asleep, but at least they were facing the glass:

Riding the monorail with Grandma and Grandpa:

Movie Monday: Zoo Babies!

Apparently summer time is baby time at the zoo. We made a quick trip to the Dallas Zoo before the heat hit too badly yesterday and saw these little cuties.

Baby warthogs (Toby and Teddy) born June 13th:




Baby girl giraffe born in July:

She's five weeks old and already 6 feet tall.


Baby flamingo:
There are actually two baby flamingos (easily visible with their gray feathers).


Baby Colobus monkey born July 13th:


If you watch closely, you'll see the little white baby playing around the black and white adults.

Just had to share a little zoo baby cuteness this Monday morning. Happy Monday, everyone!

More Family Fun!

Last weekend B's sister and her husband and children came to visit from Oregon. We had SO much fun! Here are some (a LOT) of pics.

My sweet niece Isla (who just turned 2) at our neighborhood splashpad:

My sweet nephew Oscar (almost 4) enjoying N's watering can:

Uncle Chris spraying N (sorry this one is blurry as Chris's expression is priceless):
My swimmer, J:

Isla LOVED the splashpad:

Walking home:

On Friday, we went to the Dallas Zoo.

Isla:

N checking out the Galapagos tortoises and a squirrel:
N picked out his own outfit today. He said he wanted to be a rainbow. :)

We checked out SOAR, the new bird show at the zoo. It was really fun.

Chris, Isla and N watching the penguins:

A hawk! One of the many birds who soared right over our heads:

Chris and Isla watching the children's favorite bird--the parrot who sang Old MacDonald:

We actually got a decent photo of all four children!:

Oscar and J outside of the African Savanna:

N checking out a lion outside of the Serengeti Grill:

Isla and the lions:

J pretending to be a lion:

Feeding the giraffes!:



Isla and a cheetah:

On Friday night, we went to Randy White's Barbecue (actually really good and very family friendly) and DQ for ice cream.

Isla:

N and J:
Oscar:

Can you tell that I am a little smitten with Isla? She was just so photogenic this weekend.

We are so thankful that our family ventured all this way just to spend a long weekend with us. SO MUCH FUN!

Animal Photos

A Trip to the Zoo

My in-laws came in town to help celebrate B's birthday and N's birthday. On B's birthday, we went to the zoo.
While we were in the Giants of the Savanna section, we caught the end of the cheetah zookeeper talk. They told us that they had hidden meat throughout the cheetah enclosure and that they were going to let the three cheetahs go look for it. So we went next to the "safari jeep" and waited. We soon saw the cheetahs approaching.


Then they went to explore other parts so J and N took a break to pretend driving the jeep.

Then a cheetah jumped right up into the back of the jeep to eat a small morsel of meat. It was super cool!

Later in the day, the boys and I took a camel ride (the person working the membership booth had given the boys free ride passes in honor of N's birthday).

Towards the end of our visit, N asked to revisit the Reptile Building so he could hold a snake. So we did.

Houston Highlights: The Zoo

During our brief stint of thinking we were going to move to Houston, the boys and I spent several weekends there with B checking out the area. During our first weekend, we went to the Houston Zoo. Shockingly, this was the first place J wanted to go in Houston :). Here are some pics from that trip:

The first main attraction we saw: the sea lions. N loved watching them swim around. This is one thing that is missing from the Dallas Zoo.


I thought the trees in this park area near the zoo entrance were beautiful. There was a pool in the middle with animal themed sculptures.


The boys LOVED brushing this goat (one of many) in the children's area.


The boys were tired after a not so great night's sleep in B's one bedroom apartment so we decided a wagon was needed.


The male lions at the Dallas zoo are only 2 years old so they don't have full manes yet. It was fun to see this big male up close from the tunnels near the lion exhibit.


The female lions looked calm and regal as they relaxed in their part of the exhibit.


Even though this is all we could see, we were all excited to see a Maned Wolf after seeing them on Diego so many times.


Holy horns!


N loved the drums in the African section.


I loved how close this chimp was to the glass. He was interacting with the people watching him. Unfortunately, the boys were really tired at this point and did not appreciate how cool this was.


The big male rhinoceros. We just got a rhinoceros at the Dallas Zoo. I think they are so cute.


One of the trivia questions in the rhino area. Texans love their Dr. Pepper!


A "daddy" orangutan. The boys were captivated by his big round face.


An adorable baby Asian elephant!


A Red Panda!


J cheesing it up with a sea lion statue.


Our last stop was the aquarium that is part of the zoo. J loved the stingrays.


I loved these little luminescent jellyfish. There was a whole tank of them and they were just beautiful to watch.