Trip to the Zoo

The kids and I took a trip to the Alaska Zoo last week on my day off. We went for story time. I didn't have any preconceived notions about what to expect, but it was so much fun. Each week they pick a different animal that lives at the zoo. Then two books are read to the kids. Mats are set out and a big blanket for the kids to sit on. The tiger was the animal of the week. We read two cute books: The Tigress and Augustus and His Smile. Eleanor actually sat and listened to the stories!

After the book is read, a tour behind the scenes of the animals' habitat occurs. So we packed up our stuff and walked to the tiger exhibit. There are two Amur tigers at the Alaska Zoo. We walked behind the tiger enclosure and saw one of the tigers. Stephen thought it was fun and cool to go behind the exhibit. The thing that really caught both kid's eyes though was the wolf exhibit! The wolfs at the zoo have been raised since they were little pups by the zookeepers. They are used for education, take walks around the zoo after hours, and enjoy interacting with humans from behind the fence. This wolf had fun following my kids along the fence. I told Stephen that the wolf knew that Stephen's last name was Wolf. Stephen looked at me amazed.

Eleanor wanted a closer look at the wolf . . .

Stephen was Mr. Independent that day. He wanted to lead us everywhere. I thought this picture of him leading us, but also playing was so much fun.

Getting both kids together for a picture is always trying, and this picture particularly difficult. It was worth the effort though.

On the way home from the zoo, we had a moose exhibit in the middle of the road. I know the picture isn't great. But you can see the moose calf along the sidewalk and the mama is up above the road in the brush if you look closely. The mama stopped in my lane and waited for her calf to catch up. I sat there long enough I should have had a better picture, but had to suffice with a last minute windshield shot. After that Stephen had to call everyone he could come up with to tell them about the moose. My child loves seeing moose and talking on the phone!