Our version of Zoo day Hoo-ray!

We have this book by Cathy Heck called "Let's Go to the Zoo! A 123 book." It goes something like this:

Zoo day! Ho-ray! 1-2-3
How many animals will we see?
1 - A one ton elephant jumping in the sun.
2 - Two kangaroos and a joey having fun.
3 - Three little lion cubs learning how to roar.
4- One giraffe, two giraffe, three giraffe, four!
5- Roly-poly pandas. We count five.
6 - Six queen bees all a-quilting in the hive.
7 - Seven soapy seals blowing bubbles in the air.
8 - Eight dandy ducks all a-dancing with a bear.
9 - Nine little peek-a-bunnies play. And then...
10 - Ten silly monkeys say, "Count us again!"

Well, here's our version of Zoo day!

Hoo-ray! I was feeling pretty grouchy and anxious today so I figured it would do us all good to get out of the house. Well, I spent $22 to battle every single preschool and kindergarten class field trip (not to mention every single stay-at-home mommy play group) in Utah... and came home with a bigger headache than when I left! Hoo-ray! Sense the sarcasm people. I've never been to the zoo with such a ridiculous crowd.1- The elephant wasn't exactly jumping in the sun. And technically we saw three elephants but hey, it's close enough. Cole LOVED the elephants! He could have stayed there walking up and down the exhibit, pointing, and babbling all day. Cole was fascinated by all the cages, fences, and look outs. He had a blast at the zoo!
Pearl on the other hand complained about everything being stinky. And noisy. And the boys running around chaotically were being mean and pushing her. Oh and did I mention the screaming? She was terrified of everything. She screamed at the alligator 'cause he was going to bite her, the monkeys (ok, so that one was probably justified... keep reading), the rhinos, the moving and shrieking dinosaurs, and on and on and on.

2- I did see a kangaroo. But no pictures - I was too busy trying to keep tabs on Cole who wanted to run the opposite way Pearl was going.3 - No lions anymore. Just three lazy tiger cubs and their momma keeping tabs on them from a far. Did I mention Pearl had absolutely no interest in the actual animals? Nope. She was more excited about the tiger's giant tank to swim in. I should have kept my $22 and taken her to look at the fish tanks at the pet store.
4 - By the time we got to the giraffes I had about had it. I'm sure there were more inside the giraffe house, maybe even four of them like the book, but I was mean and said one was enough. I figured I'd embarrassed myself enough by hollering at a whiny three year old and chasing a running baby like a mad fool that it was time to head to the train and call it quits for the day.5 - No roly-poly pandas at this zoo. But Pearl would have gone on the carousel and train AT LEAST five times had I been willing to fork out more money and stand in line with throngs of zoo goers. Cole wasn't too sure what to think about either ride and at one point tried to eat the train, but Pearl loved them.
6 - What zoo has bees, really? Now dinosaurs though, that would be cool to find in a zoo. And find we did... 13 of them to be exact. This freaky looking guy even squirted water out at unsuspecting onlookers. Pearl was thrilled when it "squirted me right in the bum."7 - I don't even remember seeing the penguins this visit, let alone any seals. That's what Sea World is for.

8 - There were at least two batches of eight baby geese with their mommas. Pearl didn't seem to care much for them, fluffy feathers and all. And the bears - polar bears in this case - were getting a new home so they weren't on exhibit. And yes, I know these pictures aren't of any geese but this little owl was so cute and Cole wanted to reach out and pet him.
9 - I do remember seeing a couple of bunnies on the train ride. Not really my idea of a zoo animal though, even if they are wild.

10 - Monkeys. Ah... the first screaming incident of the day! We were checking out the "skunks" as Pearl insisted - and still does - they were because of their black and white fur when all of a sudden this spunky guy jumped right up on the window's ledge where Pearl just happened to be standing. You'll see there is no Pearl in the actual picture though because she ran off faster than I've ever seen her move screaming like the thing had jumped on top of her! I guess it would be kind of scary for a kid to have a monkey jump right in front of them when they are about the same size and there's only a thin piece of glass separating the two of you. I was laughing so hard (and a bit embarrassed with her screaming) that I couldn't help but snap a picture so I'd remember the "skunk" incident rather than comfort her. I'm mean. Even Cole found the situation pretty funny. Needless to say, Pearl was NOT interested in seeing anymore monkeys after that, and really any animal for that matter.So yeah. What more is there to say except, zoo day! Hoo-ray!