A day at the zoo

Tony, Keller and I took a break from our usual Wednesday routine to spend the day w/Kase and his classmates at the Dallas Zoo.

It was also Keller's first trip to the zoo so it was a very exciting day for him. Kase enjoyed seeing all of the animals and reading the signs about each one.

At times, I felt like I had my own personal tour guide b/c Kase was the one telling us the name of the animal as well as the diet and habitat of each. I now know more than I ever cared to know about the zoo; including the name for an animal that looks like a black horse w/zebra stripes on the legs...OKAPI. Bet you didn't know what that was? I bet you also didn't know that lizards gave "piggy back rides".

Thank you Kase for teaching us some very interesting things!

Keller, on the other hand, was only interested in seeing the elephant, monkey and snakes.

Once that part was over, he was ready to get out of the stroller so he could look for trash, dirt, and bugs

and be "Batman" on the concrete steps.

He didn't really care too much about seeing anything else! Well, I take that back, he was excited to see a "big huge ball" in the tiger pen.

Thank goodness there was a glass wall between us b/c he was dying to get his hands on that ball!

I might also add that while at the zoo, someone broke the golden rule, "DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS" and it wasn't me. Daddy thought the meerkats looked hungry so he and Keller shared a few animal crackers with them. Aren't they so generous?

Kase and I being the rule followers that we are didn't want to get caught on tape so we walked on to our next stop, the gorilla research center. It was the one dreaded stop of my trip. Kase couldn't wait to get inside. I, on the other hand, was a tiny bit nervous b/c I still remember listening to the news and reading the story about one getting lose and attacking a lady. I know, what are the odds but the slim possibility still exists. Fortunately for me and many others, they've remodeled and there is no way they can get out now...unless they break the glass and in that case, we would've been in trouble since Keller was face to face w/one of them. Wild man meets wild animal...perfect playmates!

Kase settled for a picture w/the statue instead.

I'm so glad we were able to take the day off and spend it w/Kase. He experienced his first school bus ride and loved every minute of it. I managed to survive that experience also knowing he was riding w/out a car seat and I didn't even follow the bus. I did pray the entire way there but the prayer also included the safety of our trip. OK...and I did pray that I wouldn't get attacked by a gorilla. God was good to us b/c we had a great time and made it home safely. We are now anxiously awaiting our trip to Sea World in June. As for now, we're busy trying to figure out what this animal is.

Keller thinks it's a "hook em horns", Kase thinks it's a "longhorn cow" and Tony and I have no earthly idea what it is. Any helpful hints?