My ZOO!

X, Aunt Jill, A

This week, I bought a zoo pass.  To initiate the pass, my sister Jill came to visit and take advantage of "guest" status.  This is not Xander or Ainsley's first trip to the zoo, but Ainsley remembers this one pretty well.  We went on Friday...and all day yesterday all she could talk about was "my zoo!"  Clearly, the selfishness is still alive and well in Ms. A.

We took lots of pics at the zoo...and X and A are now at the age where I'd have to sacrifice a goat and recover the Titanic to get them to look at the same place at the same time.  Because we were at the zoo and there were goats there, I considered it (I hate goats, btw), but ultimately decided it might get my pass revoked to assault zoo animals.

Alligators are awesome.

The FW zoo is bigish, so we only hit half of it; we avoided Africa, the new section, as we always start there, the kids poop out, and we never make it to the rest of the zoo.  So, this visit gave us a few random exhibits (penguins, sea lions, otters), Australia, and Indiana (basically a farm).  It was a chilly day, so many of the outside exhibits (monkeys, for example) were closed; the penguins and otters mostly just stood around. The sea lions were huddled in the one area of their tank where the sun was shining.  They had their snouts and fins in the sun--it reminded me of sunning cats.

Ironically, we didn't consider
naming either child Joey.

Australia was much more successful.  When I was single, I used to take a lunch and go visit the zoo.  Africa had yet to be redone into the awesomeness it is now, so Australia was my favorite part--especially the kangaroos.

So clearly, my love of all things kangarooy has passed onto my children.

FISH

I think the kids' favorite part of the zoo was the Great Barrier Reef exhibit.  Ainsley has always liked fish; our trip to the Georgia Aquarium last year was quite the hit.  She continues to really enjoy them.  I think she could probably sit and watch the fish all day long.

I'm glad for this discovery. When we're at the zoo in July when it's hot hot hot, we can hang out in the air conditioned Great Barrier reef indefinitely.

Xander was particularly enchanted by the fish.  He was only one month old when we went to Georgia Aquarium, so the only thing he really cared about then was boob.  It was fun to see him stare at the fish.

FISH part deux

Xander has been upgraded to the stroller sans car seat carrier, by the way.  He seems to not understand that he can sit up.  Right now he's all just chillin'. Maybe that's just how Xander rolls then.

*side note* Xander is so big now he's going to get to move into his big boy car seat for his 1st birthday.  We're gonna have to get a convertible one so that he can remain rear-facing until he's two. Interesting juxtaposition: Ainsley moved into her car seat about a week before Xander was born. Technically, she probably shouldn't have been in the seat because she was only 19 lbs, but I was not going to buy a second carrier seat for her to use for 1 month. 

This close to kangaroos.

So, why do I love the kangroo exhibit, you ask?  Because if the kangaroos deemed it so, they can come right up to you!  The partition in the exhibit is basically some poles with some plastic wire connecting the poles.  The first time I went to the zoo, the kangaroos were really active and hopped back and forth across the trail that we were on; it was awesome.  Today, like most of my visits after, they were laying around in the sun.

Wondering where
The Doctor is....

We went to the zoo on a Friday afternoon--the first dry, sunny Friday in a long time.  So there were lots of people there, and , of course, school field trips.  The largest group of children were from a school that was either Amish or Mennonite.

Two things happened with this particular group that I found worth sharing.

Insert "dingo at my baby"
joke here.

1.  I don't know if this is a racist statement or not (I'm hoping it's more ignorant than racist), but I have to say I was surprised to see black members of the group--adults and children.  Jill asked me about it, and I honestly had a moment of, "Well, of course, why wouldn't there be?!"  Living in Indiana, I've seen my fair share of Amish/Mennonites, and up until this weekend, all have been white. So, I did a little research (cause that's how I roll) and found out that because most Amish come from Swiss roots, it's more rare for there to be African American Amish and/or Mennonites.  But as the site I read indicated (and I totally had a big fat duh moment as I read this), the belief system is being embraced by a variety of ethnicities.

The kids teasing the dingos

2. The kids were kinda monsters.  Well, actually, the kids were kids; they reinforced the fact that I really only like my own children and those of my friends.  At one point, Ainsley and Xander were looking at kangaroos.  Three boys came and stood directly in front of Xander's stroller.  I almost had a moment (and I fear that as my tenure as zoo member continues, I may still have a moment), but instead, we opted for a "play through" mentality. I think it was the wiser choice.

Photo Op Challenge

Jill and I tried really hard to get the kids to pose for pictures with this train.  Xander had his moments of smiling for Momma and Aunt Jill, but Ainsley was On. The. Move.  Hence, this photo montage.

Walking with Jill

Ainsley really enjoyed crawling around all parts of the zoo. I'm quite looking forward to taking her there in the mornings to wear her out before naps.  Well, after my summer class is done, of course.

Funny Story
So, the peacocks were really loud--and adamant. They probably cawed every 20 minutes.  The first time they cawed, Ainsley asked, "What's that?"  I told her I wasn't sure (at that point, I wasn't).

The second time we heard it, I figured out it was a peacock, as they were all over the zoo.

Peacocks are loud.

Again, Ainsley asked: "What's that?!"
Me: "It's a peacock sweetie."
Ainsley: "What's wrong?"
Me: "He's probably talking to the other peacocks."
Ainsley: "He misses his mommy."

Well, alright then.

Zoos are tiring.