My Family Belongs in the Zoo ....

.... because we love it so much!

I know moms that dread taking their kids to the zoo. I feel that way about the water park. I take my kids because they love it, but I don't really enjoy it. My joy comes from seeing the excitement on their faces!

But, the zoo ... I genuinely love going to the zoo. And my kids do too. (The jury's still out on my husband, although he seems to be enjoying himself in the picture above.)

We live about 15 minutes from the Tulsa Zoo. It is the perfect size for us. We get family passes every year. So, we can go for an hour here, two hours there, or all day. We can just go through the buildings, or just go and hit our favorite animals, or just go and ride the train to the playground and play.

We are there often enough that we know lots about the animals. We know when they come out of hiding, when they are sleeping, all about the new animals at the zoo, babies, etc.

Rick's company had a picnic there this past Friday. Of course we went! There are two new baby giraffes that we were dying to see!

We saw them from afar when we were pulling in on the train (didn't get a photo then), but by the time we went to observe them closer they had already retreated into their indoor habitat. But it was a treat to see them!

We were also pleasantly surprised to see a litter of new baby hogs. They were sooooo cute! My dream is to have a farm someday and have a teacup piggie that I keep inside as a house pet.

Then Brynne had the most exciting experience! A couple of years ago the beloved polar bear passed away. Last year they replaced it with a grizzly. But, he's been adapting to his captivity so has been hiding every time we have come to visit. Brynne ran up the hill to check on him and squealed when she saw him out playing with a ball. She was so excited! He is housed next to the carousel. It plays Disney music. I kid you not, that bear sat there, upright, and nodded his head back and forth, on beat, to the song, "Move it, move it" from Madagascar. The kids were thrilled! It was so funny!!!

Brynne named the bear "Grizzly Cool"

After the obligatory carousel ride and photo with the tiger statue outside the entrance, we headed home. It was a hot night, but so worth the trip.

The older kids had ditched us by this point.