Day Trippin'- Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

This summer, I knew a nice lengthy vacation wasn't a good idea, but I still want us to really enjoy our time off together.  (And I don't want Minecraft to turn my kids' brains to mush.)  I decided that we would plan some day trips and go out and do the things that we don't do during the school year.  In spite of the taciturn weather we've been having, we've had a few fun days.

First up: The Zoo!

And...where is Nathan?  He's at Run Camp.

We'll probably do this a few times because I of course bought a pass.  Any guesses on how much it would cost our family to get into the zoo?  Just a nice little trip to the local zoo.  $99.  Ninety-nine dollars!  Yes, it's true.  Life is expensive these days.  At any rate, the $125 pass made a lot more sense.

 I've loved the zoo ever since I was a wee thing. When I was little, we lived in San Antonio for a brief period of time, and I spent my 2nd birthday at the zoo.  (I'll bet it didn't cost us a fortune to get in then!)  Here I am with Grandaddy (and the giraffes and an ostrich) on that day.

(As a side note, on that very zoo trip, I kept saying, "We don't color on the walls, do we?" to all of the adults present.  They agreed with me, praised me for my excellent recitation of the rules, and then when we got home, after cake and ice cream, realized that I had colored all over my walls with red crayon.  At least I knew better.)

I have to say that the San Antonio Zoo has really done a beautiful job with its new exhibits.  There's so much natural greenery, but they've also done a good job making sure that all the animals are still visible.

In the case of the snakes, TOO visible, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Austin wasn't really big enough on our last trip to the zoo to really appreciate it all, so he was especially fascinated.  

All the younger boys were absolutely insistent that they mark every. single. animal. off on the zoo map.  They each had their own copies and we spent an awful lot of time on map-marking.  Austin held onto his nearly the entire time, trailing it behind him as he ran from exhibit to exhibit.  

We finished the day off with a picnic.  (Evan was busy catching up on his map-marking.  He apparently missed a bird or fish.)  The kids had a great time, and the best part of day-tripping is, of course, heading back HOME at the end.