Well, go ahead- poke him

I bet you'll never guess where we went today.

It was a spur of the moment trip to the zoo. We have a year-round pass- free parking, free admission, two guests admission, and all the pony, camel, swan boat, and balloon rides you can handle. We plan on wearing it right out this summer.

Dylan really had a good time, but seemed to go through the park like he was on a mission. "Monkeys, check. Now, lets' go see the polar bears." At the end of the day, he commented, "Okay, so we saw the flamingos. Next we go on the balloon, and we are done. I saw every animal."

Jordan was quite taken with the birds, roosters, chickens, peacocks, and pigeons which were roaming around freely. They didn't seem to be afraid of anyone, so they would walk right up to us. You can tell we aren't in the city much when Dylan sees a pigeon in the eating area, and asks, "Mama, what is that called?!" (Like it's another exhibit from the zoo) When I told him it was a pigeon, he replied, "A PIGEON?! Oh my Gosh! I LOVE pigeons! Hey little buddy." (Please take a moment to envision the expressions on people surrounding us)And it only got better when he saw one go into the garbage can, obviously looking for food. You could've heard him laugh a mile away.

So, let me explain some of the pictures.

Mark and Dylan took a ride on the huge balloon. I was certain that Dylan would throw up, or become terrified once he got up high enough. To my surprise, and delight, he loved every second of the ride.

For some reason, Jordan thought it was funny to walk around and look at birds with a piece of a granola bar hanging from the corner of his mouth. Maybe he was trying to lure one in, and keep it in his pocket until he got in the car for the long ride home. Obviously, it was funny.

Dylan's pose in front of the beautiful flowering bush- he's so bad ass with his sign language "I love you" pose. It's his biggest thing now.

All the other pictures are pretty well explanatory, except for the dead donkey. (My favorite) No, he's not really dead. But, all the kids at the zoo thought he was....

"Oh no, Daddy! That big dog is deaded!"
"Mommy, what's wrong with the horsey?"
"Poke him, dad"