We had sooo much fun yesterday at Boo At The Zoo! The kids dressed up in the Halloween costumes and we met Grandpa there. First, we went to the Fragile Desert, which was one of our favorites for the day. Then we saw the lion who walked right toward us and was staring us down. He let out a great roar and Katie quickly roared back in her lioness costume. What a beautiful creature of the Lord! We saw the bears, other big cats, and then off to the Fragile Rainforest. The python was of course another big hit. We also saw the sea lions, walruses, seals, and dolphins.

Next was lunch time. After the kids ate, Grandpa took them to play on the playground and then they went to watch the magician. Next, we all went to the beginning of the parade. The kids and I walked in the parade but halfway through, Nathan saw the children's museum and asked if we could ditch the parade to go play. We hung out at the children's play zoo for a while where Nathan checked out the Nature Swap and Katie went missing. Thankfully we quickly recovered the roaming lion.

Next, we stopped for ice cream sandwiches and popcorn. Just what we needed in the 48 degree weather! Next off to the Living Coast to see the penguins, vampire bats, fish, sharks, and the great wave which frightened Katie out of her wits! At this point, Nathan was getting a little wild and I had to punish him. Finally, he calmed down and we saw Ibex mountain and Baboon mountain.

We were starting to slow down a bit. Katie was getting tired and we were a bit frustrated with Nathan's earlier behavior. Then we went to the Pachyderm house which turned out to be another hit. We saw quite a few hippos and rhinos. The zookeepers were bringing them inside to clean the outside area. I think we spent 30 minutes just looking at the 8 or so animals in this house. The big hit was the 51 year old Nile Hippo, although he smelled horrible.  While we were there, a lady asked to take Nathan's picture with her one year old son. This boy was dressed up like Jack Jack, the Incredibles baby boy. Nathan was Dash, the older son from the Incredibles. They looked so cute together! I took a picture too.

After that, we saw the kangaroos, wild boars, and emus. Then the boys went to the Austrailia house while Katie and I bought a ticket to ride the carousel. The boys made it back in time for Nathan to ride also. The kids were reenergized, but Grandpa and I were ready to leave. We took the kids to McDonalds to eat and rid themselves of any remaining energy. Then we headed home. It was a wonderful day. I'm looking forward to going back in Novemeber for their tree trimming. Different organizations can sign up to trim a tree for their "Holiday Magic." I found an organization to join called Homeschoolers for Jesus. Let's pray that the weather is not too nasty for this activity.