Did I Mention We Heart The Zoo?

As I mentioned in my previous post, in the first week of February we made two zoo trips... the second one only 3 days after the first!  We went again so soon for a few reasons, first being that my sister mentioned that she'd like to go, and second because the zoo was having a special event during which they put snow in some of the animals' exhibits!  I thought it would be really cool to see the animals frolicking in the snow, so we packed up the boys and headed to the zoo!  And not only was Amy able to join us this time, but so was Travis and my dad! 

 
All eight of us were surprised by the sponsor booths set up at the entrance, but we didn't hesitate to go and check them out!  Jack got to learn all about preventing forest fires, he and Luke got to sit in a police car (Luke turned on the siren on accident!), and Jack checked out the fire engine while I accidentally insulted the firemen when I told Jack that their gear wasn't as dirty as daddy's gear was! 

After checking out the booths, we headed to see  the animals!  Our first stop was the nursery, of course, to check on Jack's pals, the baby komodo dragons!

The train at the zoo only runs on holidays and weekends, and since we always go midweek Jack never gets to ride it!  He was really excited, then, when we realized that it was running this day!!!  He and Luke got to ride it twice!

Luke really wanted to ride standing up and had a hard time remembering to sit... Jack helped to hold him still!  Such a good big cousin!

The snow exhibits were a pretty big disappointment, unfortunately.  Every animal was ignoring the snow- even the snow leopard!  I guess they've all been in Los Angeles too long and have acclimated to our weather...?  Either that or we missed their playtime.  The tiger walked over the snow for a second, but then he ran right off of it again to go lay down.  Bummer.

Aside from my disappointment in the snow, it was definitely the easiest trip I'd ever had to the zoo!  Mom, too!  I am used to juggling two kids while my mom takes care of Luke... it was freeing for her that Luke had his mommy there to take care of him (and he was loving having her there, too!) and she got to play with Jack more than she is usually able to, which both of them loved!

And Sam was loving having Uncle Travis' full attention!

And at one point, my dad was playing with Jack, and both my mom and I were free!!!  We had dad take a picture of us, sans kiddos, to commemorate the moment.

(I have no seque for these photos, but I like them so I'm just sticking them in here)

(note the elephants as they ignore the snow)

Sam was having such a great time with Uncle Travis, that he didn't even start whining and crying when he got tired... he just put his head down and zonked out!  And he stayed like that forever!!!  Amazing!!!



(must include a photo of one of Amy's favorites... the orangutan)


And on our way to seeing Jack's favorite animal, the komodo dragon, Jack saw that the Kangaroo's name was Jack, too!  He was so excited about that and now declares that the Kangaroo is his new favorite animal.


Sam finally woke up as we were headed to the exit, so on the way out he decided to get some walking practice with grandma and Auntie Mimi


He was so refreshed after his nap.  He never sleeps that long in the afternoons- he must have thought that Uncle Travis' arms were very comfortable!  


Uncle Travis had such a good time, too, that he even came with us the next time we went to the zoo!  Once again, Sam fell asleep in his arms... and even though I tranferred him to the stroller to sleep, he had another epic nap!  I think Uncle Travis is going to have to come to the zoo every time we go, if just so that Sam gets a great nap!