Christmas Day Russ called his family. His dad asked him what fun things we were going to be doing around town since we hadn't been able to come down to California for Christmas. When Russ told me this, I kinda looked at him with a blank look. My mind hadn't even processed that we should do something fun with the girls. So we tossed around a few ideas, and rested on taking the girls to the zoo. They had been asking to go there a lot recently, so what better opportunity?!
We started off by running to Target and Toys R Us. We grabbed a new bouncer for Bree since hers had broken yesterday. Toys R Us we grabbed a few presents for Charlotte's birthday. I love shopping for two year old, because you can shop for them while they are there, and then on their birthday they will still be excited about what they get! We had to wait a bit in the parking lot so Bree could eat, but it worked out nicely since it was snack time for the girls as well.
Finally around 11:00 we made it to the zoo. The girls were super excited. We had to keep reminding them not to run too far ahead out of excitement. This was only our second time going to the Houston Zoo. Last time we went was the middle of summer and the animals were pretty lethargic. Today we were lucky enough to see the animals much more active. A few were missing due to the cold weather though. Allie was bit sad that the alligator was one of those.
Walking through the gates Russ saw this rhinocerous that was coming out the building. He jumped on it and insisted I take a picture of him. It was too funny! A bunch of people were pointing and smiling as I took it.
The girls couldn't let daddy have all the fun so they asked if they could get their pictures taken too. Sure thing!
Next we hit up the aquarium first and saw a lot of beautiful fish. At one of the first tanks Allie excitedly pointed and said, "Look it's n-a-me!" I was so impressed that she could actually identify a sea anemone even if she couldn't quite say it right. She promptly set out to find Nemo, his dad, and Dorie. We eventually found all of them...and a few friends too.
After the fish we headed straight for the elephants. We did stop by and see the sea lions swim first though. We were pleasantly surprised to see that their were two baby elephants still at the zoo. They had grown a little bit since we were at the zoo last but you could still tell they were babies. One baby had a bunch of fun throwing its hay all over its back instead of eating it. The girls thought it was the funniest thing ever.
We saw some cats after this. The male lion got a little annoyed with a lioness while we were there and let out a good roar for us. The girls got even more excited from this and started jumping around.
The African jungle was our next stop. On the way there we saw this guy next to the glass. We parked Charlotte right in front of him. He turned toward her and licked the glass. She laughed and laughed as he kept doing this. It was super cute to see this little interaction.
We didn't quite make it to the jungle though because our little animals were roaring for lunch, so we stopped and ate. Bree was also done with being in her carseat so I strapped her to me using the Moby. So glad I bought that thing! I carried her the rest of the trip and my back and shoulders never hurt from it!
At the beginning of the African jungle they have a fun little area in this part of the zoo where you can play some drums. Charlotte was particularly excited about this.
The monkeys were our next stop. Most of the monkeys were either playing shy or moving to fast for me to get picture of them. However this guy took a trip around his cage carrying his blanket and looking for food on the ground. He was soooo cute and came right up to the window where the girls were standing. Charlotte loved being so close to him since most of the time she couldn't see many of them. Allie was in HEAVEN seeing him as well since she has a thing for monkeys.
This guy also sat still for me.
We thought these were the cutest monkeys at the zoo though. :D
Next, we passed by some Rhinos who got in a little scuffle as we passed by. Only Russ and I were tall enough to see it over the fence, but we enjoyed watching it. The Rhinos were followed up by the Giraffe's, Zebras, and Ostriches. We were greeted there by another baby! Oh this baby giraffe was sooo cute! The girls were starting to get tired by this time and started pulling faces for the camera.
A nice lady saw me taking pictures of Russ and the girls and offered to take a picture of our family. Oh how nice that I actually got to be in a picture with them too!
We went and saw some birds before heading out of the zoo. We were tired and ready for a rest. We walked across the zoo plaza and payed to go on the train that goes around Hermann Park. The girls loved going on the train. Charlotte kept yelling at me, "Mom-meee!" She was excited to tell me all about the ride. It was a short ride and not very scenic, but it still was fun to be on it.
We hopped in the car and came home to the golden arches for dinner. Long days like this always end with us going out to eat. Do you blame me for not wanting to cook?! We had such great time on our family outing. I'm hoping to plan something fun for us to do each month this year. The family outings really are helping us grow and bond as a family.
