NC Zoo

"Ew elephanto bummies!"-Sadie (I really don't know where any of those words came from!)

Since Saturdays family activity was sort of a failure.  We decided to use Ben's day off to check out the North Carolina Zoological Park.  Sadie LOVES animals so we knew it would be a hit. (It was!) 

Even the 2 hour ride there was enjoyable.  I could hear Sadie in the back saying "CAAAMMMEEELSSS deener time!" (Camels! dinner time!)  She was so excited.  The weather was perfect and the drive was beautiful.  We got a little nervous when the GPS was telling us we were almost there but we were driving down a dirt road.  Also we hadn't seen any signs suggesting any kind of attraction whatsoever.  Other than pottery shops.  I think we passed at least a hundred different pottery shops.  I thought it was weird at the time but the history of it is actually kind of interesting.   

"Bye Bye big bird, Night Night"-Sadie

Sadie LOVED this Ostrich.  She talked to it like they were best friends.  Then she said "Shoo!  Shoo! bird" "Cheep Cheep Cheep" She was sad to say goodbye so we told her he had to go night night.  She was ok after that.  I think it was because she didn't want to have to go night nights too.

I was impressed by the acrobatics that I was able to do to get myself out of that egg!  It hurt a little. 

This girl is just like I was when I was little.  She has an obsession with rocks.  I love it that I see that part of me in her. 

Tyson was amazing through all of this.  He did have a pretty nasty blow out when we got to the zoo though.  Luckily we know our kids and their proneness to major poopage so we were prepared.  It's amazing how much more skilled you are with your second kid then with your first.  If it would have happened when Sadie was a new born I probably would have cried.  It would have ruined my whole day.

OK so here is the 411 of the NC Zoo:

*Be ready to walk, A LOT.  Wear tennis shoes!

*The exhibits were great because the animals had a LOT of room to move around and be more "natural" but at the same time you might not see all of the animals because they have places to hide.  (The gorilla hid behind a log, Sadie was very disappointed.)  Maybe take binoculars if you have them.  In a way it makes it feel like a real safari because you don't really know what you're going to see.  We only made it through half of the park in 5 hours.  We were EXHAUSTED after!

*They charged 2$ to see the giraffes which was really really dumb.

*The indoor exhibits like the desert and the "swamp ghosts" were pretty lame. 

*There were lots of drinking fountains and they even had air conditioned rest areas. 

*If you stay until 5 stop by the chimpanzees.  They went CRAZY after they got fed.  They were so loud! It was pretty cool.