What a Great Day at the Zoo!

It's Spring Break this week, and unfortunately I didn't make any specific plans for the week.  Daddy couldn't take any time off because of other upcoming trips we have planned.  And going on a trip by myself with the boys just wasn't an option this week.  So on this beautiful early spring day, we decided to go to the zoo.  I purposely didn't tell the boys in advance because they would start acting crazy and not let me get things packed if they knew.  So I quietly made sandwiches, packed snacks, and got sippy cups ready to go.  Then we loaded up in the car to head out.  That's when I finally told them where we were going.  I think they were pretty happy with my surprise.

We got there just a little after the park opened.  The black bears were first and we got lucky.  Since it was early in the day and still cool outside, they were active.

Just a little ways into the zoo, I got a text from my friend & next door neighbor, Nicole.  She and her daughter, Audrey, were just arriving and had seen my car in the parking lot.  Yay!  Having friends along always makes it more fun.

The boys were a little 'energetic' at first and were running ahead of me a little too far.  I don't mind them running ahead a little, because I get sweet photos like this.

And this.

But they eventually settled down and slowed down.  Of course, that's probably because they were getting tired.  We ended the day at the carousel and rode 5 times.

And Fenn even ran into his school friend, Cole.  Coincidentally, they were both wearing their TOT (Teams of Tomorrow) t-shirts.

We had a great day at the zoo with our friends.  A couple of highlights of the day were seeing the chimpanzees.  One of the young ones was carrying around a dead bird and kept slinging it, whacking it on the ground, and throwing it up in the air like it was a toy.  And the other big highlight were the red pandas.  They were so fun to watch running around, tackling each other and chasing each other.  One of them ran up on the ledge of the window where the kids were watching and I guess it caught Fenn off-guard because he lost his balance and fell backward.  Anyway, the kids did a ton of giggling while watching them.

Now... what to do for the rest of the week???