The Last Hoorah …

On Friday we took one last trip to end the Summer. We loaded the kids in the van and headed into Washington D.C. to enjoy a day at the National Zoo. Did you know the National Zoo is a Smithsonian, so entrance is free?

I’m not usually a huge fan of zoos because I feel like whenever I go the animals decide to sleep, hide or lay around and play dead. Our schools usually take the kids to the National Zoo for a field trip in Third Grade, which means I have avoided the zoo for the past ten years.

A certain four year old was pretty excited to go see real animals though, and much to my surprise, the animals obliged! It was a perfect day to enjoy the zoo. The sun and animals were out and we had a great time as a family (minus a little complaining from the teenager).

Here are some pictures of our favorite zoo animals from the day.

This elephant put on quite a show for us, slurping and blowing water from his trunk, picking up sticks and playing with rocks. RedDog thought he should be bigger. I thought he was old and tired.

The Bengal tiger was the only animal that looked hot to me. His tongue was hanging out like a panting dog. I wanted to congratulate him because his mate just had twins three weeks before our visit. Tiger babies! CUTE.

A day at the zoo is certainly a great way to recognize the amazing handiwork of God! So many beautiful, exotic and different creatures all in one place. This bird caught my eye.

I was thrilled to catch one of the rarest moments on camera – the teenager actually loving on his little brother. Melts my heart every single time.

Gorillas scare me. That is all.

This is my favorite shot from the day. I could stare at flamingoes forever. The way they stand on one leg. The color of their plumage (did you know it comes from eating shrimp?). The way their legs bend forwards at the knee instead of backwards like ours. Their yellow eyes. Fascinating. So much pink in one photo. How can you not feel happy!

This guy was a let down. Wake up, stinkin’ king of the jungle! His female cohorts were absolutely stunning and looked right at me for the photos. They also followed me with their eyes as I walked away. I think they were hungry for lunch.

Tiny turtles climbing together. How cute is that? Ollie wanted to take one home as a pet. Been there, done that. No thanks.

I have nightmares about ostriches pecking my eyes out. This guy could sense my fear. Freak.

We all cheered when this tortoise answered the call of his handler banging the food container for lunch. He dragged his giant body every so slowly over to get some carrots. It was a big effort! He was over ninety years old!

This seal freaked The Hubby out with his giant wet eyes. I say cute. He says not. What say you?

Prairie dogs are adorable! Hannibe B and I waited fifteen minutes just to see one stand on its hind legs. It was worth it. Funny, they kind of have faces like squirrels. I hate squirrels.

Here are all of my animals at the zoo. This eagle was donated to the zoo from Penn Station in New York City when it was demolished (remodeled?). I like these kids a whole lot. And now I want them to go back to school.

We spent over four hours walking around the zoo. That is a lot of walking for a four year old. At the end of the day he got a tiny stuffed panda since we didn’t get to see the actual pandas. They had a one week old new born baby panda to care for. No problem. A stuffed panda left my baby looking like this:

Yay for the National Zoo! I highly recommend it. And just for your information, here is a list of the animals I refused to photograph: snakes, vultures, baboons and naked mole rats.

Tonight we have our Back to School dinner and father’s blessings. And then tomorrow my three oldest head back to school.