Zoo Round 2 (same place, different child)

On May 20, I was able to go with Nile's kindergarten class to the zoo for his school field trip.  Originally this was scheduled for April, but it was 40 degrees and a rain/sleet/snow mix that day.  Not such a good zoo day...Monday was much better!

I was ready to chaperone my "small group" of children, so I was surprised when they said all I had to be responsible for was my own child!  I was even more surprised (and happy) when Nile said he didn't want to go around with any of his classmates, he wanted to go with "just you, Mom."

Like I was going to argue with that!

We had a blast exploring together, even though we had only about an hour of time to do so.  We even found some tiny tamarin monkeys we have never seen before.

On the train.  

Outside the zebra enclosure.

Measuring up against the falcons.  (despite his expression, he made sure we did this)

On a rock. :)

I guess now I just need to take Nate to the zoo and the trilogy will be complete. :)

Spring...Finally! And the zoo!

Novak and I made our first trip to the zoo this year...in fact it was the first spring-like day that we've been able to enjoy this year.  Sad that it's the 17th of May...but better late than never!

We started the morning off at 7:45 playing outside (right after we walked home from taking the older two boys to the bus stop.

Peekaboo!

 After playing outside for a while, we met Becky and Baby Brandt at the zoo for our first trip of the year.  I was so excited to share the zoo with this guy!  He didn't remember the trips we made last year, so it was all fresh and new to him.

Being a huge train fan, he loved the zoo train (but he still didn't like the train whistle).

Definitely loved the train best of all.

Goofball.

I have a feeling we'll be going to the zoo a lot this summer.

Winter?!?

It is 83 degrees today. In March. Amazingly, it's still technically winter.

And best of all? Nate didn't have school today! So we packed up the new minivan and headed to the zoo. (along with the rest of Geneseo, I think!). We met our friends there and had a picnic lunch. We also picked up our zoo membership for the year ($55 - can't be beat!)

Novak was getting tired and cranky towards the end, but we always ride the train last. So I was hoping he would settle down and enjoy the ride.

I think he did :)

old stomping grounds

Last weekend we took a family mini-vacation to Des Moines.  We spent three days and two nights there, and I was able to share some of my childhood favorites with my boys and the Roodhouse family, who came along for the trip.

We started with a trip to see the Iowa Cubs play at Principal Park.  Yes, all the boys were wearing Kansas City Royals shirts. :)

One of my favorites!

Nile and Novak, at the game.

That night we swam in the hotel pool and the next day...Adventureland!

All the kids (those who can walk, that is!)

Nate found his new favorite ride:  The Scrambler.  This makes me beyond excited.  This was my absolute favorite ride as a kid.  We rode it twice and were planning to go back before the rain hit.

Nate's new favorite ride!

Nile on "Puff the Magic Dragon"

I had to include this picture because you can see James riding Puff with Lily... ;) 

Adventureland was a lot of fun - this year the boys were able to do a bit more (except for poor Novak...) and that meant I got to do a bit more too!  Apparently, though, we attract rain.  Three years in a row we have made trips to Adventureland, and the last two years it has rained.  True to form, the day was interrupted by a thunderstorm - we took cover in one of the restaurants on Main Street and ate lunch, then headed back out.  Unfortunately everything was wet, and cold (65 degrees), so we only lasted about an hour more before it was time to go.  We headed back to the hotel for a little bit more goofing off...and the Roodhouses headed home.

Typical Nile, Typical Nate, and look at Novak's eyes!

The next morning we headed to Blank Park Zoo.  We have a membership to the Niabi Zoo here, so we were able to get in for free.  The zoo is undergoing quite a bit of construction but we still spent a good two hours there looking at the animals.

They actually did this without coaxing.

Of course Nate had to get his picture taken with a frog.

The aquarium was one of Nile's favorites.

After the zoo we ate lunch and headed home.  Except for Novak's sleep issues, I'd say it was a really successful (and fun) trip!

Zoo Birthday Party!

On Saturday the boys went to their friend Rachael's birthday party. It was at the Niabi Zoo - what a perfect place for a party! The weather was perfect, if not a bit warm (it was pushing 85 degrees yesterday!).

Nate was beside himself with joy when we arrived and his friend Connor from Kindergarten was also there. The boys (Nate, Connor, Nile, and Daniel) were pretty much inseparable throughout the party.

I realized I didn't get any pictures of Novak's first zoo trip. But that's probably okay. All he did was sleep in his car seat in the stroller.

Nile, riding the "biggest tiger ever" on the zoo carousel.

Nate and Connor on the carousel.

Measuring their "wingspan."

St. Louis Zoo

On Sunday, we got up early and headed to the St. Louis zoo. It was a much cooler day than the day before, but the area had a round of thunderstorms go through the night before, so it was really humid. In the end, it was still pretty hot and sticky!

This zoo is also free - in fact, almost completely free! They did also charge $11 for parking - but many people had parked along the road leading up to the zoo. I didn't mind $11 for parking, considering what we were getting in return. We also had to buy $5 train tickets or we would have had a mutiny on our hands.

Of course, the first thing we had to do was ride the train. This train is excellent - it is a long train, goes through several tunnels, and actually has four stations. For your $5 ticket, you get four "station-to-station" rides - so you can get off at a station and then get back on and ride again. We rode twice, letting the boys ride through a station stop each time.

Here is Nate, watching the train go by shortly after we got off it the first time.

This zoo is amazing - huge, and amazing. We were there two hours (that's about all that the little feet could stand) and we probably didn't see half of it. By far, the highlight had to be the penguins. There was an outdoor penguin exhibit first...

Then we went indoors to a very well-air-conditioned area where the "cold-weather" penguins live. The boys really love penguins, and enjoyed watching them dive and swim.

The other highlight? Seeing the Nile Hippopotamus. Nile was so excited to see an animal that had "his name." The fact that they were huge and right up next to the glass was a bonus too.

Although we don't often buy "souvenir" stuffed animals, we did indulge the boys this time. Nate picked out a rhino, and Nile picked out his own Nile Hippo. They also bought the baby a small stuffed elephant.