Animal Watching

Sunday was a recap (I think) of VBS at our church, so Jason didn't have to be there to play the drums (it's been a long time since he's had a Sunday off) so we skipped church *gasp!* and headed out for a family day of fun! We asked Ezra if he knew what a zoo was. He said "Yes" as he nodded his head. So we asked him "well, what is it?" and he had no idea (gee I wonder why - it's only beentwo years since we've been to a zoo) so we decided to head up to the Sacramento Zoo.

Check it out! We were at the front of the line when the bridge went UP to let a boat go underneath. Here it is coming back down.
The Sac Zoo is pretty great. Not too big and the enclosures are really natural looking, but not so overgrown that one can't find the animals. Most of the animals were actually out and around even though it was hot and in the middle of the day so we really got to see a lot and not get too tired! Here's Ezra getting close to the tiger. Wow!
Jason and Ezra enjoying the giraffes who were enjoying a little lunch.
My dancing queen pulling out the vegetation and putting on a little show for us : )
These are the cutest little kangaroos ever (in this momma's humble opinion!)

Just below is Oliver (my little Olligator) who had to be covered up most of the time, but there was a lot of shade so he was able to stay cool and enjoy the ride.

Here's Ezra and Aurelia climbing on a cute little alligator sculpture. Next time we head out that way we're going to visit Fairytale Town, which is just across the street, so they can climb to their hearts' content.I thought it was kind of interesting that they had this big aquarium full of koi, but the kids were pretty fascinated with the big fish. Aurelia wanted to look at the fish from the top so Jason held her up and she decided that it was pretty smart of the zoo to put this window in so we could get a good look. For some reason this made her want to hold her own fish, Daniel, in her hands when she got home, but we had to say "no" to that. I have to say that the reptile and amphibian house at this zoo is the best I've seen ever. The design was really smart, it kept people moving, it was cool (a huge plus on this 100 degree day) and it had a lot of great, easy to find creatures.
The last part of the day was spent on the train ride. Aurelia was so enthralled with the ticket punching process. It made her feel very grown up to hand over our tickets and get them punched. Ezra just loved the idea of getting on a train. I had fun too!
Here's a few photos of the kids starting up at gymnastics.

Ezra on the trampoline - Teacher Kristi was surprised at his "natural ability" until I told her we have a trampoline at home!
Aurelia doing high steps on the Balance Beam.
I'm not sure what they were doing here. Ezra had to do bear walks across but the bigger class must have been doing something else. My momma took the photos this first day of class (thanks, Mom!) Anywho . . . The kids were JAZZED to be back at gymnastics! Ezra got up the next morning and said he was ready to go to gymnastics again!