Zoo Trip Fun

Xavier is growing fast and has come down with an acute case of "I'm A Big Kid Too!"-itis. Everything Loyd and Bekah do he has to be part of too. He will not be left out. He is a happy participant in story time with all the other kids, he studiously colors and looks at books during Sacrament meeting with his older siblings, and he follows Bekah and Loyd around like they are rock stars. He doesn't want to miss a single moment of the excitement.

One such activity Xavier has decided he is old enough to participate in is playing board games. The other morning Loyd was very nice and let Xavier play "Connect 4" with him - after some persistence on Xavier's part. It was so much fun to see my two boys playing so nicely together and being occupied in such a nice, non-destructive, quiet, contained, motor skill building way. Oh, if only all activities could be like this one. :)

In our ever present quest to find fun activities to keep the kids busy and happy a friend of ours invited us on a zoo trip this last week. We happily accepted and embarked on a morning of exploration and discovery at the Houston Zoo with 2 mommies, 1 kindergartener, 2 preschoolers, 1 toddler, and 1 infant. Some might call us brave. Some might call us crazy. Either way, you are probably right.

I'm not quite sure who is more elusive to catch, wild animals or the children at the zoo looking at the wild animals. They certainly are wiggly little things. :)

Every once in a while we would spot an interesting animal and they would magically stand still long enough to get a group shot.

But you have to be quick. One never knows when the spell will break and the kids will revert to their natural state once more. :)

We had such a fun time at the zoo. Xavier could hardly run (that right, I brought the stroller, but he preferred to run like the big kids) from one exhibit to the next fast enough. He was also my number one helper to keep everyone together. If Loyd or Bjorn started to lag behind he would run to them beckoning with his hand to follow the mommies. If they didn't come fast enough he would take their hand in a friendly sort of way and lead them back to the group. He is such a funny kid.

Loyd loved the reptile house and was the fastest at spotting the frogs, lizards and snakes in their habitats. He was fascinated with how the snakes moved so seamlessly without any arms or legs. He was also very good to listen and mostly stay by me as we explored the giant Houston Zoo.

Bekah kept us on task and made sure we didn't forget to take a ride on her beloved Carousel. When I asked her what the highlight of the trip was for her it wasn't the monkeys or the pretty blue frogs. It wasn't the baby elephants or the tall giraffes. No, it was the common grey squirrel who helped us clean up after lunch and her ride on the Carousel. I'm so glad you can only find squirrels at the zoo....... ;>D