Blank Park Zoo Field Trip

The field trips keep coming and we keep jumping on the opportunities!

Several weeks ago I planned a field trip for our co-op to the Blank Park Zoo.  The forecasted temperature of high of 42 degrees with wind made us feel a little hesitant about going forward, but ultimately the co-op is full of fun spirited folks who are troopers and we charged forth.  Mike took at PTO day and came with us.  I'm so thankful he values these opportunities as a family and enjoys seeing us with our co-op friends.

We dressed our kids in two layers on bottom, three layers on top, winter coats, hats & gloves and I threw blankets in the wagon.  No one complained of being cold! 

Also, mid autumn Jenn was thanking late spring Jenn for those clearance coats I snagged for the four oldest kiddos.  We weren't scrambling for heavy coats last night when we were prepping for the day and I was thankful.

Thankfully inside the zoo we were mostly protected from the wind and we had a wonderful morning! 

Evalynn latched on to Miss Crystal and was so happy to have her attention for the first part of our tour.

We caught penguin feeding time!

When they were done feeding, one of the employees came over and answered questions for the kids.

Mia stretching her body out on the rock wall in the kids play zone.  We took the time to pause and let the kids run and play in both the playground/petting zoo area and the natural playground area.

Zayden and Clinton buddied up most of the day.  So sweet to see our children with their friends.

Evalynn carried Honey all through the zoo.  Not once would she take her out of the dolly Ergo and take a break.  She also talked to her baby about all the animals and made sure she could see them.  Sweet lil mama.

The big cats were all out and the tiger was pacing back and forth!  

Girlies taking a break!

The baby giraffe never came around to see us, but the rhinos were right up close.

This is a smaller zoo, and only took us about 2 1/2 hours to walk through, but it was the perfect way to spend a morning with our co-op friends.

We saw sea lions and seals, tortoises, a black swan, giraffes, rhinos, goats, lions, tigers, Japanese macques, flamingos, tamarins, and more, and we got to do it with friends!

We were originally going to picnic for lunch but we all decided against it with the wind outside the zoo.  A few of us went to McDonald's and had lunch before parting ways.