A Day at the Zoo

Over the past few weeks I've tried to be much more intentional about carving out extra time for fun family activities for the three of us to enjoy together.  Though I can't explain it, I've been feeling MUCH better and my energy seems to have returned somewhat.  I'm taking full advantage of this by cramming in as much as I can, because I have no idea how long it will last or why it's even happening.  But, you won't hear me complaining!  I'm thankful for the opportunity to get back to the things I love, including weekend adventures with my two loves.

Last April, just after moving to Tennessee, we bought yearly passes to the Memphis Zoo.  I just knew we would use them over and over again and make frequent day trips over there.  Guess how many times we've used them since they were purchased? ZERO.  With my surgery last summer and then the bitterly cold winter, there just hasn't been a chance to really enjoy them.  Yesterday was the perfect day, with temperatures in the mid 60's and not a cloud in the sky!  

 Kyndall was our navigator for the day

Our first stop at the zoo was at the cafe for some lunch, where we dined with the monkeys!  Kyndall got a kick out of this and we all enjoyed watching them while we ate.  They are so FUNNY!!

How pitiful is this little face??  If I could've given him some of my waffle fries, I definitely would have!

After lunch, it was off to see the animals........

How cute is the red tailed panda??  He looked like a stuffed animal!

Kyndall and I both LOVE the meerkats!!!!  They're so much fun to watch and they are fascinating to learn about!  These meerkats were acting exceptionally lazy yesterday and didn't do anything adorable.  They were happily soaking up the warm sunshine instead of running around like they usually do.  (Does anyone remember the show on Animal Planet called Meerkat Manor??  I may or may not have been obsessed with that series!)

Even more than I love the meerkats, I am completely FASCINATED with penguins!!!  They're by far my favorite animal and I could watch them for hours and hours.  Many of their instinctive behaviors are so much like humans.  Did you know that penguins mate for life?  Ever seen the documentary called March of the Penguins??  Ok, ok I'm a dork but I just LOVE these little guys!!  If it was legal (and cold enough) to have one as a pet, I totally would!!!

In my happy place!!

Look at those three behind me posing for the picture!  See, they're smart too!

We can't go to the zoo without spending an arm and a leg to ride the train.  Kyndall insisted on it from the time we walked in, so we went ahead and got this out of the way early on in the day to avoid the constant whining and begging!

I love these next few shots of Kyndall and her Daddy......

Wondering what they were so intently looking at??  THIS......

Another of my favorites!

Matthew's favorites, but NOT for the same reasons as mine!  =(

Another of Matthew's favs, of course

Take a close look at these monkeys who were sunning themselves.....TOO FUNNY!

This NEVER NEVER NEVER happens!!!!

We ended the day in the best possible way, with some free time on the playground and.......

ICEES, of course!!!!

Daddy shared his Dippin' Dots and Kyndall shared her cherry Icee

We closed the park down at 5:00 and headed back to Jackson!

Back home with her new "pet" snake

It was a fun day and just exactly what we needed!  I'm glad we took advantage of the nice weather because currently as I'm typing this, we are experiencing yet another "winter storm".  Schools are already closing and our yard is covered in a thick layer of ICE, and more is still falling.  It's supposed to be pretty bad...."for real this time".  I guess we'll see!  So strange how it changed so quickly!

Hope everyone has a great week!  Stay warm and safe, Tennessee friends!