The Zoo

On Thursday it worked out that we both had the day off and could finally take the girls to The Zoo. We timed it to the girls could take their morning naps in the car on the drive out there and come home around the time of their afternoon naps. It worked out perfectly so the girls were rested and ready to go once we arrived. It was drizzly and overcast when we arrived but once we got inside and started walking around the weather was perfect. It stopped drizzling almost immediately and then warmed up a bit and it was perfect for being outside for most of the day.

The first animal the girls really saw was, of course, a dog-dog. There as a woman walking next to us with a service dog and you would think the girls had died and gone to heaven. They were so excited that we drove all the way to the zoo to check out a dog-dog. After we lost the dog lady, the girls were more fascinated with all the school children than looking at the flamingos, otters or turtles. And yes, a lot of these school children and teachers were just as intrigued with a set of twins as they were with the animal exhibits. It quickly became obvious to us that maneuvering the double-stroller to the front of the exhibits took a lot of patience and sometimes just giving up and moving on. It will be easier when the girls are older and can walk a bit more and are taller to see over the railing.

Overall, once they got the hang of what was going on and realized they could spot various creatures in the enclosures, they really got into it. They're favorites were the kangaroos, giraffes, lions (of course), and anything that remotely resembled a dog-dog (so basically anything small, hairy and walking on 4 legs close to the ground). Some highlights of the trip: seeing the rhinoceros pee (he must have had a wading pool full of water to drink that morning), Kevin and the girls' up close encounter with the chimps and the little children's playground where the girls fell in love with the slide. It was a great day for all of us and we definitely plan on taking more day trips like this soon.