We're going to the Zoo, How about You?!

The kids were out of school for a rare four-day weekend.  We decided to brave the crowds and go to the Dallas Zoo with some good friends.  I'm so glad that we did.  The weather was perfect and everyone really enjoyed themselves.

First up--elephants!  I love the seeing the biggest hold the youngest.  Nash adores Jackson.

In fact, Bubbster was a big hit with both the little kids.

These kids were ready to go find that baby elephant!

It was so cute!

Pretty sure it was going for a walk with it's mommy and daddy, too.

Next up, the giraffes!  They weren't hungry while we were there, so we just got to admire how pretty they are.

We checked out the ostriches...

said hello to the cheetahs...

and then got a real treat by watching this beast pace around his enclosure while roaring every now and then.  Very cool.

It's so funny to me, but climbing on these fake elephants was almost as neat to these kids as being on the real thing! 

They love it!  The only way we were able to convince Cami to leave was by telling her that we could go see the gorillas.

Thank goodness this big guy was out and about!

The big kids were begging him to come see them.

Sure enough, a couple minutes later, he walked right up to the glass and took a seat.

After lunch, we bought tickets for the train.

We had one train car all to ourselves.

This little girl was fading, but still wanted to see more animals.

She loved seeing these guys!

And thought that the fake hippo in this river was the real deal!

We caught a glimpse of Dallas...

and then got to see the apes...

and big alligator!

We thought we were going to end our afternoon with the flamingos...

even Jackson was tired:)

Alas, Cami remembered the children's area and said, "let's go to that place where I can get my feet in the water!"  I love this picture.  Cami hanging with Brentley and Nash hanging with Lila.

There were a ton of kids in this area, so Cami preferred to sit up high.

She took a few turns down the slide, hopped inside this big egg and got into the nest.
And then we were done!

Another fun Friday at the zoo.
 When we go back next time, we will get to see the brand new hippo exhibit.  We can't wait!