We're going to the Zoo!

A few weeks ago, we went to Woodland Park Zoo with our playgroup from Church. I'd been looking forward to the Zoo trip, since I heard about it, in March, I think. Seriously, I was SOOOOOO excited to take Jilly to the Zoo. We actually took her back in April, but we didn't have tons of time, so I was excited to go again, and this time with more friends and little kids. I even drove Steve to work, so that I could have the car and everything. It was a thrilling day.

When we first arrived, we stuck together, but the group broke up the longer the day went on. I actually had to leave before I wanted to, because Steve had this strange idea that once he was off work, I needed to pick him up. Nonsense if you ask me, but hey, that's what a wife does, right? Anyway, back to the story. The first stop was the African Savanna area.

Zebras


A Giraffe eating. You could actually pay $5 to feed the giraffe yourself, but it wasn't worth it to an 18 month old. ;-)


Lions, you can see the heads of both a male and female.


Hippopotamus! I love this picture for some reason. The hippo is all flopped there, with it's stubby little arm hanging out.


Hippo in the water


Then we saw the elephants! I couldn't get the best angle on them for a picture.


But we got to see one inside, getting a bath, which was fun.


Here are some of the friends we were with:


This was Jilly's favorite part- The orangutan! I didn't get a picture of that specific orangutan, but there was one who was sitting right against the glass. I let Jilly out of the stroller, to see up close. I sat with my back to the glass, while she faced me and the orangutan. She would look over at her, gasp, look back at me to make sure I was watching, gasp again and look back. She did this over and over again. It was the most I saw her respond to any of the animals.


The tapir, with a couple more friends of ours.


This was how Jilly spent most of the day. I call it Captive But Happy; fitting for a Zoo trip, eh?


On the way to lunch, we went past the tiger. He was so far back, I couldn't get the best picture, but hey, it's a tiger and you can see it.


We also passed the sloth bears.


At lunch, Jilly was so thrilled to be out of her stroller, that she kept being super cheesy. This is pretty much the standard grin anytime she sees a camera. :-)


After lunch, we went past the pudu. It's a tiny little deer like animal. Like seriously, it was less than 1 1/2' tall, maybe 2' long. Tiny, but very cute.


Then we saw flamingoes!! They're a new exhibit at the Zoo and were quite neat.


Closer up with the 'mingoes.


Proof that Jilly and I were both there at the same time. Plus, pink birds. How can you go wrong?


Another picture of friends with us. :-)


The last thing we did was visit the Day/Night Exhibits which are indoor. We weren't allowed to take strollers in. This was when/where I discovered I needed a leash. Jilly kept running from exit to exit, away from me.


We had a fabulous time at the zoo and can't wait to go another time!! Hooray!