The Zoo

Today I got Tyler out of school 1/2 hour early and the three of us visited the zoo for a couple hours. It was supposed to be 60 today, which is what I was counting on when I planned our excursion. Although it ended up only being in the low 50s, it was still much warmer than it has been in a long time. We had a really nice time. To the kids, this was a spontaneous adventure (getting out of school early) that deviated from the normal routine. I think that made it even more enjoyable. It also helped the kids forget that Dad will be gone until Saturday.

I don't think we saw more than 20 other people at the zoo today, if that. It felt like we owned the place. We were able to spend a lot of time watching the silver langur monkies. Danielle really enjoyed watching the baby run around and pick on the other monkies. He was born on Danielle's birthday this past summer and was orange the last time we saw him.

We also enjoyed the flying fox bats. I have seen these several times, but I am always amazed by them. They are so huge! They had just been fed and were very active while we were there. Several of them were "walking" across the ceiling and spreading out their wings. They're usually asleep while we're there, so it was a treat to get to watch them.

The kids also thoroughly enjoyed the tiger. He was right up against the window and had been playing with part of a cardboard box when we walked up. He was fun to watch. We were all amazed at how big he was and how huge his head was. Although he didn't sound quite like we expected, I'm sure he could sound fierce if he needed to.

I made the right choice in taking the kids' boots! I remember going one time after the snow had melted and yelling at the kids the entire time to stay out of the puddles. We were prepared this time! We really did have a great time.