Birmingham Zoo

Tuesday we went to the zoo with Toby, Beverly, and their nephew Noah.  What a fun day!

No one noticed the 

"DO NOT TOUCH THE TORTOISES.  THEY MIGHT BITE." sign 

til after this photo!  :)

Chase is just at the age where he REALLY enjoyed the zoo!

Johnny and Chase and Emelie

It was hard to get him off this tractor!

His favorite were the monkeys....but he

 thought the swans were pretty fascinating too!

The whole clan....our 6 plus Noah.

Can you see the huge green snake up on the vine?

Chase had some uncanny attachment to this bunny - and cried when he had to leave it.  

Looking back at the picture now, I wonder if his little legs were just tired, 

and the rabbit made a good resting place!

This was a small "mine".

Feeding the lorikeets is always so much fun.  They come right to you when they see you've been suckered into buying a teeny-tiny cup of "nectar" for $1.50 for their benefit.  

Oh well, we do it every year!

It's worth the joy and smiles it brings!

Jessie finally became brave enough to feed them as long as they didn't land on HER!

The train was a welcome break from walking!

The train ride.  One of Jessica's 3 favorite parts of the zoo.  :)

Hanna with the goats in the petting zoo.

Johnny and Chase digging for dinosaur bones.

Emelie and Noah waiting...

At the end of the day, the kids get to play in a water-park area, and this year, they also had a bubble-making machine.   Chase loved it.  

The water was Jessie's 2nd "best part of the zoo"!

(The 3rd "best part" was a rock play area with a rope bridge and crevices for hiding, etc.)

Notice that none of her favorite attractions had anything to do with animals!!!

Oh well!

They'd try to get covered w/ bubbles and then run over to the fountains of water to get all washed off.  It looked very refreshing!  

And then it was time to head home.  

Jessie, in a quiet moment, watching the fish.

And Chase was all worn out.  

I just love that little boy!