Trip to the zoo

Yesterday I took Ben and Elizabeth to the Kansas City Zoo. It was very busy because it was spring break for most of the local schools and the weather was gorgeous. But one of our Christmas gifts from Jerry and Herb was a family membership to the zoo for the year (thank you again!), so we got to skip all of the insane ticket lines which filled the sidewalk and go right in. It is also nice because we can take several short trips and take our time at each exhibit without feeling pressured to rush and see everything in one day.  We ended up having lunch there and staying about 2 1/2 hours, which was probably a little long for Ben's little legs, but he did remarkably well. He did see other kids in wagons and ask me if I could go back for his, which was at home. Today he says his favorite part was the tiger "snoozing for pictures." Elizabeth spent most of the time napping in the Moby wrap.

We had fun watching the big orangutan slide down the ropes and the baby swing around, pass a stick out of the cage to a visitor and then take it back again. The zoo is planning to redo the old tiger and orangutan habitats over the next few years; the sketches looked impressive.
                 

I had forgotten how big emus are! Ben declined to call to it with the sound that his daddy has taught him that emus make, which is "e-mooooooo!"

The kangaroo exhibit is an open one and most of the animals were sunning themselves on some grass. This mommy & joey decided to hop over and try to get through this fence, beyond which was an enclosed area with some other kangaroos or wallabies. She hopped down the sidewalk about three feet away from us! We saw the joey's ears pop out of the pouch very briefly but didn't get a good look.

We made it through the Tiger Trail/Asia and most of the Australian area before backtracking so Ben could play on the playground. 

After lunch we stopped and watched the sea lion and polar bear before heading home. Ben also says he liked watching the sea lion "splash back in the water." He is excited to go back again and ride on the train and possibly the animal carousel.