Our first evening there, the kids stayed with my parents and had pizza and a movie in the hotel while Dave and I got to go out to dinner just the two of us. The next day we had a great time at Jack Hanna's zoo. It's a huge place and a wonderful zoo! They have a new polar bear exhibit that is so awesome. The polar bears were right next to us and were so fun to watch. They were really playing with each other and wrestling in the water!
One of the polar bears was so fun to watch b/c he kept climbing up on this rock and would jump into the water.
Here's Anna giving me her best bear growl!
Benjamin and Dave watching the bear (in the picture above) playing with a big frozen block of watermelon slices.
As we were walking into the zoo, the lady taking our tickets said to me and Dave, "Don't let him walk around without shoes b/c there's stuff from the animals that could make him sick." I confusingly looked down at Benjamin (who was in the stroller with Anna) to make sure his shoes were still on. They were and that's when I realized she was referring to my 9 month old baby who apparently looks more like a toddler that would be walking around.
Poor Collin had a stomach bug during the trip. He was pretty somber most of the time, but super sweet and didn't act like he felt bad other than being quiet and cuddly.
Lunch time!
Benjamin excitedly pointing out a rhinoceros (he said the whole word without difficulty). It was cool that they had this big indoor enclosure for some rhinos and elephants.
Me, Mom, and Collin in the Asian wing of the zoo. My poor baby spent most of the day with his head on our shoulders like this. I was sad that he didn't feel good, but I did enjoy the extra cuddles.
Benjamin and Anna watching this sweet mom/baby elephant pair.
They were so cute walking around together, just the two of them. :) I love it when babies watch things like animals. So fun to see their curiosity!
It was unbelievable how close we were to this tiger. He was pacing back and forth and Benjamin and Anna were so amazed by him!
Anna really likes tigers (and elephants and polar bears). She was very excited about the tiger in the picture above and this statue. Grandma had them pick out something from the gift shop after our zoo day and she happily picked out a sweet stuffed tiger. :)
Benjamin's favorites are always lions (and cheetahs and meerkats). Here he is pointing out his lions....
The male lion really tickled me. He was sleeping right up on the gate (with two females) and had his paws over his face like this.
Then he rolled a little and was sleeping with his tongue out. It was funny b/c the female above him was irritating him and kept whacking him in his face w/ her tail.
The zoo was made up with lots of neat pathways like this.....
It was really nice for Dave and I to have the extra hands at the zoo for once!
We watched a little show where they brought out different animals and told the kids about them. Benjamin got called on and won a bookmark and an owl CD!
His question was about this sloth (like Sid from Ice Age).
Our hotel was pretty close to the zoo and they said we could re-enter their parking lot and the zoo, so we took the kids back to the hotel for naps and then came back afterwards. It worked out really well and we definitely needed the extra time b/c the zoo was so huge!!! Here they are petting neat animals in the aquarium area....
Collin checking out fish with Grandpa.
Checking out a pretty turtle that was in a big tank with a bunch of manatees.
Collin and I enjoying watching an absolutely adorable koala bear (who was actually awake and moving around).
Benjamin is really into snakes right now. He wants to know what kind they are and if they are dangerous.
The next day we spent the morning at a cave that Indians used to live in. While we waited for our tour, the kids got to play on a playground that had a sheep and goat next to it. We also got to mine for gems. I thought Benjamin would probably have fun with this and I was right, they both had so much fun!!! The bags of dirt were really generous too and had lots of fun finds in them! They were really good at it.
I picked out a bag that had arrowheads in it for Benjamin....
and as you can tell, he was overjoyed to find them! :)
There was enough dirt for them to each do it 3-4 times and they really had so much fun!
Anna's bag just had gems in it....
but her bag had a fun surprise in it too.....
a big purple gem...
she really loves finding purple and pink things.....
and was very pleased to find this one!
Benjamin proudly showing off his arrowhead finds!
Don't think we left Collin out. I found this cute little drum for him to shake!
Then it was time to go down into the cool cave!
Benjamin with a cool bench that formed into the shape of a fish.
Anna stuck close to Grandma during our caving.
After naps, we went swimming in the hotel pool and then headed to Dublin's cute little town. We walked around and found a nice restaraunt that we got to eat dinner outside at. Then my favorite, we had ice cream at this super cool place. They had these really unique flavors and the ice cream was really yummy. I got salty caramel ice cream in a root beer float and it was really something! :) The best part for me though was Anna got to have her first ice cream cone. She did really great with it and was so happy!
She's getting so stinkin' big!
He wears chocolate well.
I'm very blessed by these happy faces!
They're just a little silly too.
It was a great trip and I'm very thankful for the fun times we had!
2 comments:
looks like you had a blast! where exactly were you in OH?? love the photos! gotta get me a new camera now! :) also the blog title pics and new family picture -- fantastic!
What a fun trip! Great photos as usual; I love your new haircut.
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