St Louis Zoo

With Jason's busy schedule we've been trying to make the best of the days off that he has and we recently decided that it was about time our boys get to visit the "big" zoo. We made the trip to St. Louis (roughly 2 hours) and it was well worth it.

Here Kyle is having quite the conversation with a large fish.

Oh, that large grayish lump behind the glass is NOT a rock.... it's a hippo! Just lounging there.
MOM! Look at the fish! (No, he didn't really say that. It was more like, "Eh! Ooooo! Ah!)
Kyle was pretty stylish "wearing" his sunglasses. As Zach would say, "My sunglasses tect (protect) my Eyes from the sun"
Kyle thought these Stalactites were pretty hysterical.
We rode the train.... several times.
Yup, there we are again. Riding the train.
Oh ya, Kyle and I were there to.
Zach was a bit apprehensive about riding the Merry-go-round.
"Ummmm..... what's gonna happen?"
He warmed up to it pretty quick once it got going.
(Sorry, had to show off my man a bit. Good lookin' guy, right?)
I know this one's dark. Haven't got my photoshop up and running again yet. If you can't see him, Zach is thoroughly enjoying himself.
I wish I could see inside Kyle's head to know what he's thinking. I love his expression here. Very matter-of-fact. "See dad, this is a bear. It's a bit larger than the one I snuggle with at home. But it still has plenty of soft fur. And he appears to enjoy swimming......"
We also got to enjoy the Seal show.
Riveting. (Actually, I don't think it had started yet. Kyle was just chowing a fruit leather and Jason was trying not to get slimed)
I have about 30 pictures of Kyle that are very similar to this. It seemed like he was always directing traffic or pointing out some very important object/creature.
This is Zach doing a surprisingly accurate rendition of my little brother Creed. (Currently serving a mission. But this is still how I remember him. Luv You Creed!)
There's Kyle showing his leadership skills again. "This, family, is a super tall, long necked who-see-ma-what's-it. Oh.... a giraffe then.

Funny Story:

As we were looking at the giraffes, a family came up next to us and the mom was pointing out the giraffes to her kids. She made the mistake of calling them zebras. I didn't really notice, but Zach sure did!

He leaped into action. Immediately correcting the woman for her mistake and then getting right in her little boy's face to make sure he understood. "That is NOT a zebra! That is a giraffe!" The woman apologized profusely while choking down giggles at Zach's reaction to her "terrible" mistake. Even as we walked away he was still muttering under his breath, "that lady said it was a zebra but it's NOT, it's a giraffe!"

Smart Kid

Oh, and we just HAD to ride the train one more time while Kyle was sleeping. And visit the penguins. (so that he could make one more attempt at convincing me we needed to buy the school bus we saw in the gift shop next door)
Long Day, Fun Day,

loved.every.minute.

(for the most part)