We went to the zoo today and had a great time!
I took Evelyn (3) and her two cousins, Shelby (12) and Katie (8) to the zoo this morning. We started off fairly early, arriving by 10am, because the weather reports called for hot and humid high of 90 degrees. I figured the sooner we started, the better. It didn't end up getting that hot today, which made the trip even better than anticipated.
We went to Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, which is usually nothing to write home about (or write on your blog about), but today was great. Possibly the key to great animal adventures at the zoo is an early arrival. The animals were out in full force today and provided us with a ton of entertainment.
We started off in the underwater living world of fish and coral. We essentially saw the cast of "Finding Nemo". From there we went over to the Arctic Foxes and the River Otters, who were as adorable as can be. The three otters made it a point to swim right at us and make us feel like the show was all for us! From there we went to the wolves, the ostrich, and farm animals. We were able to pet some goats and I have to say one baby goat that was brown with white spots was the cutest ever and I wanted to take it home! After this we went to the house that holds Lemurs and Mandrills as well as Lions and Tigers (oh my - no bears though). Of course we sang "I like to move it, move it" from the movie Madagascar while watching the Lemurs. The Mandrills had a baby born last December and he was very cute. He came right up to the glass and even shocked my niece Katie when he jumped up and placed his hands on the glass right where she was. We watched two large tigers play games with each other, roar at each other , and walk shockingly close by us! We captured pictures. We saw a lion and got pictures, but the lion was farther away. Then we snacked on Pringles and soft serve ice cream cones before heading to see a large snake, black Asian Bear cats, Meerkats, and things that are part of the reindeer family - yet are very small and cute and I cannot remember their name! My nieces were ready to see the penguins, but I have to say all of us were disappointed when we arrived and the penguins did nothing but sit on their rocks! From there we went on to an area that was giving camel rides. Katie really wanted to ride a camel, so I caved and paid the over-priced fee of $3.00 each for my nieces to ride the camel around a small circle one time. I will never do that again! From there we saw Spider Monkeys, went back to the River Otters which were not playing anymore, stopped back by the underwater sealife, and watched the Arctic Foxes again (we all decided that the fox with excessive energy... who repeatedly ran in the same circle around his cage was, in essence, my niece Katie!). We ended with a short discussion about how I would allow them to enter the gift shop under the conditions of; no crying, no whining, no getting lost, and only one item per child would be purchased. I forgot to mention a price limit on each item, but it turned out fine. All girls wanted stuffed animals so Katie picked a fox (go figure), Shelby picked a white snow leopard (which wasn't out that day), and Evelyn picked a frog with 6 plastic frogs in a pouch. Turns out Evelyn is smarter than the older girls. Even though I said one gift per child, she got 7! We also purchased a gift for my niece, Kayla (5), who will be here on Saturday! More to come on that, once they arrive.
After the zoo, I took the girls to lunch at Burger King and back home. A fun day like today is the reason I take Fridays off during the summer!
I took Evelyn (3) and her two cousins, Shelby (12) and Katie (8) to the zoo this morning. We started off fairly early, arriving by 10am, because the weather reports called for hot and humid high of 90 degrees. I figured the sooner we started, the better. It didn't end up getting that hot today, which made the trip even better than anticipated.
We went to Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, which is usually nothing to write home about (or write on your blog about), but today was great. Possibly the key to great animal adventures at the zoo is an early arrival. The animals were out in full force today and provided us with a ton of entertainment.
We started off in the underwater living world of fish and coral. We essentially saw the cast of "Finding Nemo". From there we went over to the Arctic Foxes and the River Otters, who were as adorable as can be. The three otters made it a point to swim right at us and make us feel like the show was all for us! From there we went to the wolves, the ostrich, and farm animals. We were able to pet some goats and I have to say one baby goat that was brown with white spots was the cutest ever and I wanted to take it home! After this we went to the house that holds Lemurs and Mandrills as well as Lions and Tigers (oh my - no bears though). Of course we sang "I like to move it, move it" from the movie Madagascar while watching the Lemurs. The Mandrills had a baby born last December and he was very cute. He came right up to the glass and even shocked my niece Katie when he jumped up and placed his hands on the glass right where she was. We watched two large tigers play games with each other, roar at each other , and walk shockingly close by us! We captured pictures. We saw a lion and got pictures, but the lion was farther away. Then we snacked on Pringles and soft serve ice cream cones before heading to see a large snake, black Asian Bear cats, Meerkats, and things that are part of the reindeer family - yet are very small and cute and I cannot remember their name! My nieces were ready to see the penguins, but I have to say all of us were disappointed when we arrived and the penguins did nothing but sit on their rocks! From there we went on to an area that was giving camel rides. Katie really wanted to ride a camel, so I caved and paid the over-priced fee of $3.00 each for my nieces to ride the camel around a small circle one time. I will never do that again! From there we saw Spider Monkeys, went back to the River Otters which were not playing anymore, stopped back by the underwater sealife, and watched the Arctic Foxes again (we all decided that the fox with excessive energy... who repeatedly ran in the same circle around his cage was, in essence, my niece Katie!). We ended with a short discussion about how I would allow them to enter the gift shop under the conditions of; no crying, no whining, no getting lost, and only one item per child would be purchased. I forgot to mention a price limit on each item, but it turned out fine. All girls wanted stuffed animals so Katie picked a fox (go figure), Shelby picked a white snow leopard (which wasn't out that day), and Evelyn picked a frog with 6 plastic frogs in a pouch. Turns out Evelyn is smarter than the older girls. Even though I said one gift per child, she got 7! We also purchased a gift for my niece, Kayla (5), who will be here on Saturday! More to come on that, once they arrive.
After the zoo, I took the girls to lunch at Burger King and back home. A fun day like today is the reason I take Fridays off during the summer!
2 comments:
Sounds like a great day! I remember taking Caleb to that zoo. Such great memories! Today, Allen starts his volunteer activities at our local zoo. He wants to work full time at the zoo some day. Glad to hear you had a great Friday!
Glad to know my daughters had a great time with their Aunt Linda and cousin Evelyn. Love the site Linda. Ed
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