The Monkeys at the Zoo

Today we took the boys to the zoo in Madison. I have not been there since I was in the first grade (and I don't remember the actual zoo, just that I was in the giraffe group) so it was pretty much new to all of us. The boys great-grandma sent them some money for a treat, so this was it! The zoo itself was free, but there are always some things that cost money at any zoo and we wanted to be prepared to give them the full experience.

We did not tell them where we were going until this morning. We might have wanted to hold off until we got there, because Matthew was very excited! Thankfully, he did not spend the hour drive asking, "Are we there yet?" I think that's still a few years off. He sat back and enjoyed the Little Einstein's CD we found at the library. Thanks to Google Earth directions, we were there in no time with no problems. (Every time we Map Quest, we get lost.)

The first thing we experienced at the zoo ended up being Matthew's favorite. The lion roared! We could hear him from the parking lot and Matthew thought that was pretty cool. I think the boys saw the lions three times while we were there. The male lion roared quite often at everything and everyone. I think he even roared back at Matthew once!

The zoo is pretty neat. It feels spread out, but it's actually quite compact. There are plenty of big animals, so you don't feel like you're going to a tiny zoo. (For those who live in Cali, it beats Happy Hollow by a long shot.) They are building a new children's area and an arcitc zone, so it will be fun to visit when they are finished.

Ben was not too impressed with much of anything. He did like the prairie dogs (because they were active), lunch, sparrows hopping around, and anything with water. All he wanted to do was play in the water, but I don't think the seals would have appreciated that. He also enjoyed the carousel (as did Matthew.) He rode a tiger and Matthew had a cabybara. That was one of the neatest carousels I've ever seen simply because of the wide variety of animals on it.

Zoo patrons are allowed to bring in food, but we opted to buy lunch. It was surprisingly cheap for a zoo. We fed the whole family for $10! And it was actually pretty good. We also got the boys each a little souvenior. Ben got a rubber ducky with a giraffe pattern on it (they are trying to get giraffes there) and Matthew got a lion mask. He now runs around the house roaring at everything!

I will post some pics of the zoo when I download them. Rob and I got some great shots of the animals, including a grizzly bear in it's pool which Rob will title "Grandpa F. in the pool." It does vaguely resemble my dad..... I liked the flamigos and the overactive badger. (Badger? Badger? We don't need no stinking badger! Name that movie for a special prize.) Rob loved the polar bear, always his favorite, but was disappointed that there were no otters out today. He has always wanted to adopt one and keep it in the tub. Oh, and Matthew thinks that the Tapirs are pigs.

If I figure out how to add video, I'll put up the clip of the boys feeding the goats. Rob put food on Ben's stroller tray and they ate off it (and licked it clean.) Ben wasn't too sure about them, but at least he didn't sample the food!

And that's our day at the zoo!