ZOO!

Our friends from the seminary invited us to be their 'guests' at the zoo. They have a family pass that includes 2 friends for free. Since Ava is under 2 years of age, all four of us went to the zoo and we only had to pay for Cade ($8). Pretty awesome deal! It was kind of chilly and very hazy. The local schools had a 2 hour delay because of fog. The weather report said it would rain most of the morning and afternoon, but luckily it held off for the 3 hours we were there! I can't even believe that we've been here for 4 years and never made it to the zoo. Our friends go almost every week, so their kids were showing us around and speeding through everything. It turned out to be a good thing that we were moving along quickly because I think if we were on our own, it would have taken us all day to see most of the animals.

Kids and friends on a comodo dragon statue. Cade wouldn't go near it until we assured him that it wasn't real.

Ava's first carousel ride! She had a stunned look on her face the whole time, but when the ride was over, she didn't want to get off!

Big ole gator!

We took a train ride around a little lake. This friendly guy was just outside the station for kids to sit in.

The best part of the day - the goats. They stood on tree stumps in their fenced in area and waited for people to come and brush them.

The goats were very gentle and quiet animals, though I saw them nibbling Ava's fingers a few times. She really enjoyed all the animals and when she saw a new animal, she would let out her goofy little laugh or 'oooo' or 'whas at?' She learned how to roar like a lion and 'oo oo ah ah' like a monkey!

Finally persuaded Cade into the stroller for a little bit with a snack.

We had such a great time and the kids did really well. Cade did not want to leave even though it was definitely lunch time (and nap time!).