I love my zoo days with Sadie. We have been so many times I think I could actually have a blog section dedication to our zoo adventures. Perhaps it is because I always enjoyed the zoo as a child, because Sadie is entranced by the animals, or maybe it's both of these reasons that draw us to the exhibits time and time again. I know I'm not alone, either. I look at the names of people who have given money to the zoo and I think about when I was in elementary school. I remember starting a wildlife club. Several girls were in it - none of whom I could actually tell you their names today - and we were so proud of ourselves. We had dues; I am certain they amounted to no more than 25 cents. We had different titles and such and had a goal to adopt an animal - a white tiger perhaps. A rather lofty goal for a club with dues only 25 cents a month. So, when I look at the names of real people who have given REAL money to the zoo, it makes me happy. It makes me want to teach Sadie about how special animals are to humans and how much care God must have taken to create such a menagerie of life through hundreds upon hundreds of species.
Sadie might not gather all these deep thoughts in her two-year old self yet, but I love that she loves the monkeys and even when I am ready to move onto another exhibit, she is still transfixed and wants more time. I think it is sweet that she wants to share her lunch with the ducks at the duck pond, although I must remind her that ducks eat duck food and people food will hurt their tummies. I love that she cheers for the sea lions swimming back and forth and tells them, "Good job!" when they hop up onto dry land to meet their zookeepers for a snack. I think that's why I love that adults give money to the zoo - they may be grown up, but every name on the African exhibit wall or Natural Encounters exhibit makes me think that someone must have reeeeally loved animals when he or she was little and perhaps that all started with a trip to the zoo.
Here are all those fabulous facts about monkeys at one of our favorite exhibits. Sadie is trying very hard to say cheese, but it is very difficult to focus with all those monkeys jumping about.
I loooove this picture. Sadie is smiling for me, head turned upside down, in front of the monkey cages. I like to think of this as my very own monkey shot from Sadie. Hilarious. She just couldn't figure out why her dress kept falling in her face when she tried to smile. :o)
One of our favorite finds on this trip, besides the lovely elephants, were the beautiful azaleas in bloom! We had just taken pictures in front of Su Su's flowers so we thought it would be fun to send her a picture showing some more! We captured great smiles on this self-portrait of the two of us and it stayed on my iphone for a good while as my screen saver.
When Sadie needs a rest, we always like to stop and have lunch. I am prone to over-packing our lunches, but am always thrilled that we have more than we need to eat. What a fortunate problem and makes for great snacking on the way home.
Of all the areas in the children's zoo section, Sadie probably likes the little skyline the best. Popping her head in and out of the windows gives her a certain delight as it mimics a game of hide-and-go-seek, I'm sure!
One thing I made sure to do this trip is to pre-purchase tickets to the carousel. Sadie loved riding and could really ride by herself this time! she chose and elephant and would have loved to keep riding for hours, but we had to move onto more fun.
We haven't taken too many pictures with this giraffe because it is always crawling with kids. Literally. I mean, there are what seems like hundreds of kids climbing up and down this poor statue and although I know the statue is just a statue, I cannot help but feel sorry for the thing! Ha! I would imagine if it could speak it would say, "Ahhhh. Yes. Just one tiny toddler in a rainbow dress curled up on my back. What a reprieve and delight." hahaha
OK, I know I am an over-thinker and am constantly relating life situations, art, and experiences to books and such, but this sign always cracks me up. "Lions, Tigers, and Bears." REALLY? As in lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my! LOVE IT. Every time we see the sign, I sing to Sadie, "Lions, and tigers, and bears!" and she loves it and starts chanting right along with me. I appreciate whoever made this sign. That individual had humor that is much appreciated.
There are normally so many kids at the lion fountain that I feel Sadie would need a hazmat suit to even approach it, however, on this day the lion only had one little boy there, so we thought we'd check it out. Gammy has pictures of me drinking out of this same fountain when I was little, so I appreciate that it is still here and countless, albeit germy, kids are still enjoying it. It was also a nice segue into seeing the actual lions. The male's real name is "Jonathan," but Sadie overheard some child call him Simba, so she kept shouting, "SIMBA!!! WAKE UP, SIMBA!!!" I was very happy for the inches of plastic/glass barrier between he and Sadie at that point.
On our way out, Sadie spied the pretzel stand and was obsessed. I don't even remember the last time she had one - maybe at the Aggie bowl game? Anyway, I relented because it looked delicious and I thought it a wiser choice than Dippin' Dots. We ate it plain - no salt, butter, or anything else needed and Sadie loved every bite all the way out to the parking lot and was still holding a bit of soft pretzel as she drifted away for nap time to dream of monkeys and lions.
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