The Zoo

So, I finally got memory card and memory card reader in one place. Aren't you excited? I know you are, because there is nothing like watching someone else's vacation slide show!!

My new looking skinnier in photos method: make everyone sit on my lap. Is it working? Or should I just buy clothes that fit? That shirt is huge!

Okay, so no slide show. Instead, I thought I would share with you 6 Things I Learned From my Zoo Trip.

1. When Brynna starts acting like Satan has possessed her, feed her. Exactly the opposite of gremlins. We were all ready to leave because she was being so heinous and decided to eat lunch in the zoo first. Not only did we get to eat with a peacock, but as Brynna polished off a huge piece of pizza, a bag of chips, 2 genetically enhanced strawberries, 2 carrot sticks dipped in ranch dressing, half a piece of broccoli, 2 rice crispy treats and half a giant cookie, her mood improved. By the time we bid our dear peacock friend adieu, she was a normal human being.

If you've never broken bread with a peacock, you should try it. Very calming. Better than goldfish.

2. Baby peacocks are uglier than baby swans. I mean it. But also soo cute. I didn't want to get my hand pecked off, so I restrained myself, but I was dying to pick one of these guys up.
Seriously, like troll dolls. So ugly they are cute.

3. Some facepaint just doesn't photograph well. Brynna has a unicorn and stars and some other pink and purple stuff, but in all the pictures, it just looks like she has a horrible rash on the top half of her head.

There she is, Miss Allergy America.

4. Giraffes have really long tongues. Brynna got to feed a giraffe a cracker. Which was super cool. Especially after she petted the shark at the aquarium. More on that tomorrow. Anyway, I didn't get any good pictures of the giraffe tongue, but it wasn't for lack of trying. She fed him sort of through a deck rail.

5. Four year olds still need strollers. We spent the week looking for a wagon because I thought that a wagon was the best choice for two kids capable of sitting up. I couldn't find one that didn't seem ridiculously priced. So, we tried to get Brynna to walk. Not a good plan. While even after we got the stroller, she walked a lot, she was a lot happier just having a place to flop down. Next year I'll pay the frightening price and get a wagon. I still think that would have been the best plan. But, when we decided we needed a stroller, we were on the polar opposite side of the zoo from the one and only gift shop that rents strollers. Note to zoos, have more than one stroller rental site please.

This lovely creation cost me $7 to rent. Totally worth it, although I'm not sure it was worth my solitary hike back to the main entrance.

6. My zoo has a botanical garden, too. I think I knew that, but I have never been so in love with the flowers there. I took way more pictures of the flowers than I did of my kids.

Unfortunately, I didn't write down what any of my flowers were, so I am pretty much clueless except for the petunias. How sad is that?

*If you are a masochist who likes to look at other people's vacation photos. You can check them out on my Flikr stream. So far, only the zoo shots are up, but tomorrow I'll add the aquarium shots.