We surprised the kids with a field trip day to the St. Louis Zoo last Thursday. Even though the drive is long, it's really a lovely zoo - the walking is manageable and there is so much to see. We were there for 6 hours, and because the weather was actually a little chilly the animals were all out and visible.
Our day was kind of an uphill battle to begin with. I've often heard that Satan will "attack" when you plan something that might bring glory to the name of God - in this case a family day with limited social media and just our focus on each other (and a little education).
Zayden began our morning at 1:45 - for no real reason, but he was just up. This did not set the best tone for the morning, but we decided to make the best of it and hold fast with our plans. Mike and I were up at 4 and we pulled out of the drive with the van loaded at 5.
As life would have it we hit a deer and while Mike was checking for damage with a flashlight (no damage!) he saw that our tire had a screw in it. We checked the tire frequently and it was holding pressure fine...it was the wee hours of the morning, so we mosied on carefully and prayerfully.
As we drew near to STL, I googled (thank you smart phones!) and called a tire place that was close to the zoo and Mike and I devised an alternate plan. He ended up dropping the kids and I off at the zoo to begin our day and he went to get the tire fixed. Shout out to Coates Brothers near the STL zoo - they got Mike in and fixed us up quickly!
We didn't want to see too much of the cool stuff while Mike was gone, so I took the kids to the carousel first - it's free the first open hour of the day so this was our window for extra fun!
Zayden did NOT want to ride the carousel, but since I was by myself and Ameliya had to have a parental escort he didn't really have a choice. The first time around we sat on the bench and he tolerated it...
After Mia had done the bench once, and seen how it all worked, she wanted to ride. I tried to set Zayden on an animal and he was having no part of it. I stood beside Mia with him on my hip and he basically cried for the next two rides.
After the 3rd time, I told the kids we were done - Zayden had done all he could be made to do.
After the carousel we had morning snack. The kids had just had granola bars in the van for "breakfast" and were ready for more. I'd brought PB&J along for this...
While we ate the kids poured over their maps and planned and plotted the day. The morning air was misty but we chose to just ignore it. Ha!
Carousel riding and snack took up about an hour. Next we had a potty break and headed to the Insectarium. Ameliya wanted to see the butterflies! The kids and I had just finished a unit study with some friends on insects, so touring the insectarium was the perfect way to finish up using the time before daddy returned.
The kids actually really enjoyed testing their knowledge on bug vs insect and seeing all the different bugs in the building.
Zayden, of course, found the buttons that made all the different bug noises. He loves buttons.
We learned about leafcutter ants in our rain forest unit last year - this was an awesome exhibit to see - leafcutter ants doing their thing!
After the insect exhibits we walked through the butterfly garden. Simply beautiful.
Now that daddy was back with the van all fixed up we could start seeing allll the things!
Pretty much everything we wanted to see was up and active - the cool weather benefited us in that way!
Lions,
and tigers,
and bears, {oh my!}
The new grizzly bear exhibit was very nice!
Kali, the polar bear, is a show-off!
Zebras and camels...
We caught the giraffes at snack time! The ostriches hang out with the giraffes.
The sea lion sound is a huge hit with our crew, as are the penguins! We were bummed that the indoor penguin enclosure was closed for cleaning when we were there.
The sea lions are so sweet. They'll come up and "touch" you through the glass and follow your hand.
Sea lion sound was easily Zayden's favorite exhibit.
He loved "petting" this penguin.
Gorillas and monkeys...
Zayden wasn't a fan.
Birds...
Hippos and Rhino...
The elephants were particularly photogenic this visit!
Mama and baby...so sweet.
The elephants were the last leg of our visit and we were bushed with tired feet! We played at the entrance for a few minutes before making our way to our van.
I have my own monkeys and my own zoo, right here...
As we were coming away from this statue Natalee read the sign that said "don't sit on any portion of this..." We fail - but since we'd already done it the pictures are too cute to not post.
My people, and oh how I love them...
After the zoo we went to Five and Below and got everyone a new treat (activity book) to play in the car...however they all had some ice cream and passed out for quite awhile...
This was a beautiful day. It was exhausting and spending the night would have made it a little more sane, but it was still just full of sweetness in spending time with one another. We're thankful for these memories and divine provision as we traveled.
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