ellie had been to the zoo before … with her grandmas when she was approximately four months old, so we knew taking her again last weekend would be like the first time. couple that with the fact that she’s really starting to pick-up on new words and short phrases and you get one fun family outing.

we hit the road after ellie’s first nap and arrived to what was a surprisingly packed zoo. after we paid $22 + $6 in parking (!) to enter, we headed for the first exhibit, a fan favorite: monkeys. recently, ellie learned what sound a monkey makes (“oooo-oooo-AH-AH” she says), so we figured she’d really like this part. what we forgot, or at least i did, is how little zoo animals perform for spectators. this was no marine world. they mostly just sit there, but, hey, it was still cool to see some red butts. sick!

after checking out the monkeys for a few, we went to see the lions and, boy, were they lame. this marked the first exhibit of four to not have any animals visible in it. it was quite awesome. mommy was sad and ellie didn’t seem to mind much, she was just thirsty.

while the lions slept, presumably, we went to see some far more interesting animals: giraffes and assorted plains animals. we even got some decent pictures!

surprisingly, i think the big winners of the trip were the elephants, or “elliephants” as we call them. she loved them.

after a short pitstop for lunch, we headed out again down the backside of the zoo.

on our way out we saw a bunch of other animals, like more monkeys, parrots, alligators, otters, and barnyard animals at a small petting zoo they had there. i think ellie really like the petting zoo, except for the part where she almost got stampeded by a small group of goats.

all in all, it was a great day. i just can’t wait until she knows what everything is and can point them out.

next up, the aquarium!