Zoo & Park

Wasn't Saturday the most gorgeous weather day ever?!?!

How could we not spend it outside?

Once again, we cancelled our reservation for the egg hunt at Country Lane Tree Farm. I spoke to the owner in the morning and they were planning to hold the hunt in the straw maze barn again (as they did last weekend) due to wind and rain puddles. I just can't justify spending money on an indoor egg hunt... especially on a day as beautiful as this!

Plan B: a zoo trip.

Will was psyched that we were heading straight for the carousel. Sophie was not so sure...

This is how she spent her carousel ride. ;)

Roar! Polar bear den.

We brought the wagon but both kids walked most of the time.

The Sloth Bears were really showing off today! :)

Penguins are always a favorite.

I love to remind Will of things he did and said "when he was little". He loves it too and always gets a huge, silly grin at his own funny anecdotes. On this day, I told him about when he was just 13 months old on his first trip to the zoo and he waved hello to every animal. Especially the penguins.

The lions were stretching after a nap.

Our wagon was filled with our shed layers of clothing as the weather warmed up.

Sophie spent much of the visit helping daddy push the wagon instead of riding in it. This actually worked out well because she never tried to wander off, taking her pushing duties very seriously.

It's always fun to watch the elephants eat. We loved watching them break open and eat pumpkins last fall. And today we passed by just as they were being fed some hay.

Cheetahs.

I packed a lunch and we ate in the shade outside the cafe...

...and then headed out.

After we crossed the bridge that goes over the road, both kids decided they would be okay with hopping in and being pulled. Ha! We may just skip the wagon next time. :)

We didn't head straight home even though it was getting close to nap time. My cousin Molly's family was supposed to meet us that morning for the egg hunt and they cancelled too. So Molly asked if we'd want to meet up at the park in Genoa for the Kiwanis (?) kids egg hunt that has been held every year since I was a kid. It's free and open to everyone with no registration, so we decided to check it out... mostly just so we could see Cora & Lincoln. It's been awhile!

We arrived just as they'd finished up Sophie's age group. Boo. But she didn't know or care, so Will just went with his age group briefly, got two eggs and shared one with Soph.

Aww... such a nice backdrop... my kids standing in front of caution tape. Haha!

Will & Cora

Mr. Lincoln was still in his stroller. He's such a happy and contented baby.

EVERYONE was at the playground today because of the festivities.

So we just played a short time and went home for nap.

Such a beautiful day!