Roo at the Zoo

My friend Becky had the brilliant idea to take the kids to the zoo on Friday. I was all over this idea because (1) I'm all over any idea that gets us out of the house and (2) I love zoos. I get just as excited about going to the zoo now as I did when I was a kid. I get the biggest kick out of watching the animals. We took the kids to the Akron Zoo. My dad informs me that I've been there before, sometime way back in my youth, but I have no recollection of it. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I thought it was very nice. It wasn't the Cleveland Zoo but what do you expect from a city whose claim to fame is tires and sauerkraut balls. 

Riley loved the zoo. I was afraid the day was going to be a wash when Riley spent most of lunch either throwing herself on the floor or standing in time-out, but her mood greatly improved when we started walking around looking at animals. The sun bears provided a lot of entertainment. The male was pacing back and forth in his enclosure, and Riley thought he was chasing her from window to window. Meanwhile, the female bear was laying stretched out on her back in her artificial cave with one enormous paw thrown dramatically across her eyes. Becky and I speculated about her thoughts, probably something along the lines of, "Will you stop pacing and get a real job?" 

The zoo had several play areas for the kids so they were able to run off some additional energy. They seemed to prefer the monster truck and pirate ship play sets that are identical to the ones we have three blocks away at the local park except these didn't have nasty comments about high school girls written on them. The highlight of Riley's day was riding the train. She is completely fascinated with trains so the chance to ride one - even if it was only two times around a tiny loop on the slow-poke express- was a big thrill. 

Here's Riley and Ethan checking out a gibbon.

Dang, these guys are cute.

Miss Maddie is just along for the ride.

I asked Riley to pose for a photo with the tulips. I'm not sure how she came up with this interpretation but it's not exactly what I had in mind. Has she been been reading fashion magazines without my knowledge?

Hang on to you hats kids. It's a wild ride. . . Ok maybe not.