Zoolights!

I cannot believe we have had our zoo membership a year already! We got it the same time we went to the lights last year and now here we are. We used that membership a ton- until I got hugely prego, then not so much. But I am excited for the cooler weather and once Boston is a little older we will be zoo bound again.

We dropped Boss off with Aunt Jill and took Jaci with us instead. We thought she'd like the lights better than the baby. Following tradition we went to Chic-fil-A first and then to the zoo with the Robison family. There were lines when we got there, but we were able to buy tickets at the members window and not wait at all!

Just like last year the kids were a little disappointed they couldn't see all the animals.  And they got a little confused at first when we would say, "Look! There's a gecko!" because they would be looking for a tiny lizard, not the 6 foot long light display.  By the end they figured it out.  We did see the otters swimming and the kimono dragons, so they were happy about that.

On our  way in they passed out these glasses. At first you thought they were 3D, but they were so much cooler! As long as you weren't trying to walk while looking, it made lights look like the picture above. The top is just regular lights, and the bottom with the glasses.  We kept having to hold the kids hands because they wanted to keep the glasses on, but they couldn't walk straight with them. It was pretty funny.

When we left the lines were outrageous! I would never wait in those lines. I mean the lights were cool, but to wait double the time it takes to see the lights does not for a fun night make! Thanks for the outing Robison family!

(Hey Addi, I need the picture of all of us with our glasses on-k?)

Zoo fun with Friends...

I haven't felt up to braving the heat or crowds of the zoo lately, but when the kids had Friday off before Easter we decided to go, get there early (members can get in an hour before opening) see the newest Orangutan exhibit that just opened, let the kids play in the water and leave.

The Orangutan have been off exhibit for a long time while they built this massive new home for them. It really is huge. You can see them from lots of different angles- it reminded me of San Diego Zoo. That being said, we only have 4 in there and I bet like a dozen could be in there comfy, so I wonder if we are getting more?

After we checked out the Orangutans new home, we went to the Caverns and let the boys play. I think it is so fun that the zoo has these cool down areas. The kids ran around the splash pad, down the slide and under the waterfalls. The water was super cold but it was a hot day so they kids loved it. Thanks Max, Jack, Gus, Crew and Remington for coming to the zoo with us!

We were there under two hours and left right a the crowds were getting bad. Perfect!

Back to the Zoo...

With the Christmas rush over we looked for things to do to keep the boys entertained.  One thing we knew we would do was go back to the zoo. Rusty hasn't gone with the kids (other than Zoolights) so it was really his first time there too! Brenner was content just to let me push him around, and Braden and Berk loved looking at all the animals. We even got to see the orangutans who are off display while a new home is being built. I love that you can walk the whole zoo in just a few hours.

Zoolights!!!

This upcoming year I am going to start seeming a bit more cultured. You see, a month or so ago Rusty was playing in a charity golf tourny for work and won a raffle that had all kinds of tickets in it! So starting in January we have tickets to the Phoenix Opera, Phoenix Theater Company, Phoenix Symphony, Gammage, and a few other venues like that. But the one I was most excited about was a year membership to the Phoenix Zoo. I have taken the kids to the zoo a few times before, but last time we went Brenner was 4 months old! I am slacking no longer! Now I have no excuse!

So, we had the great idea to activate our memberships at Zoolights! We have had so much fun since the Robisons have moved to town. We love having friends close by that we can do things with. Between us there are 8 boys (including our hubbies) so Addi and I are way outnumbered!

We started off with dinner at Chic-Fil-A. The Robisons may have a new favorite place to eat, if you ask me! Then we caravaned down to Phoenix. Let me start by saying I should have prepped the kids better, because A) They were disappointed that they couldn't see the animals. B) there was no way I was spending $3.50 on hot chocolate or $6 on kettle corn And C) the animal shaped light displays disappointed them time and again when we would cry "Look a skunk!"- and it was not a real skunk... Luckily, I have a membership now, so we promised to take them back real soon in the day to see the animals.

My camera was on a weird shutter speed, so out big group shot was funky. But still, I had to include it!

 Rusty and Blake were champs carrying one and sometimes two kids around the zoo.

 I loved these purple lights the best I think. And the zebra under the purple light tree was cool too.

Here is a perfect example- "Mom, those aren't flamingos!"

I am pretty sure when we left the animals sighed in relief, because the noise level had to have gone down significantly! Thanks Blake & Addi, we had a blast!