Family day at the zoo

Dan had a day off from class last week and graciously put all books aside to spend time with his biggest fans. It was a cloudy day but not too chilly, so we thought the zoo would be a great place to have a family day. I've been to the zoo more than 10 times since we moved to St. Louis last summer, but Dan has only been once. It was great to have Dan be part of what would have been a usual day for Elijah and I.

The skies threatened to rain all morning, so we spent most of our time in the houses. We started with the Reptile House. I have never been inside (FOR GOOD REASON!!!) but felt a little more confident being with Dan. We spent the most time in this house, looking at snake after snake after snake. Eli kept calling them frogs, but by the end, he remembered their proper name: nnnnake. Eli's favorite of all the snakes was the gigantic python, go figure. I had to leave the area after being there for seconds while Elijah and Dan could have stayed all day long.

Elijah loved the turtles. He sat at the window and talked to them like they were his little friends.

When we went downstairs, we saw the giant turtles being hosed down. Elijah could barely contain his excitement. He didn't talk, he just squealed and stared. It took a long time to get him to leave the reptile house.

The primate house is always fun to visit. There are so many different types of monkeys. Elijah just giggles as he watches them run and swing around.

Before we left the zoo, we stopped by the bird house. It is one of my favorites, but the different exotic bird calls kind of scare Elijah.

Every time I go to the zoo, I am amazed all over again at how many different animals there are in the world. I don't think the zoo will ever get old to me.