Long Overdue Pictures from the Zoo!

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago, I am not really sure why the pictures never got posted? I guess they were waiting for me to play with them and work some new magic! You can read more on that magic below, but for now, a little bit about our trip to the zoo as a family!

We started out in the new part of the World Wildlife Zoo - the Aquarium, so beautiful, but BIG mistake! Lola freaked out (big surprise I know - HA!), this will be one of her many freakouts of the day! She was so scared and I can't really tell what it really was, other than I had to calm her down in all three buildings that we went in! She wanted to see the penguins being fed, but it was in one of the aquariums, so it took a lot of mommy coaxing to get her in there!

After we were finished, we boarded the train and took a family ride! Both of the kids were so in love with every second they spent on that puppy! In fact, freak out #2 from Lola followed as soon as we got off of it and headed to the next thing. A HUGE, DRAMATIC fit was thrown and once she was finished, we moved on! Yes, I let my kid freak out in public! It is not something that I encourage by any means, but I do not give into what she wants, I let her get it all out and then we move on.

And move on we did, to the petting zoo! Here, both kids made fast friends with the goats - especially Lola! She was amazed by them and I was pretty surprised at how brave she was around them! I am sure that they animals were pretty surprised by her too! Kyan was more timid, but got in there every once in a while to pet one of them!

From there, we did more walking and saw many more animals! Lola loved the birdies, where Kyan loved the indoor exhibits I think! Maybe that was because he knew it was just him and daddy in there from the time we left the aquarium? Lola wasn't about to step foot in another one! Instead, she called Grandma Julie and told her about her visit to the zoo!

An attempt was made to feed the giraffes, Kyan managed to stretch his arms to feed them a couple of times. Lola on the other hand, decided to have yet another meltdown right on top of the giraffe feeding platform! Time to head home...soon.

Last thing on the agenda, the thing Kyan had been dying for from the moment we stepped foot into the zoo - THE SKYRIDE! Usually this is something that him and his daddy do, but after talking in the car, I somehow talked myself into being brave enough to handle it today?!? What was I thinking? I am not really sure, but went for it! I would definitely say that I have a slight fear of heights, mostly straight up and down or falling off the side of the mountain type of heights, but there is a fear! Kyan, not so much! He loves this skyride! He even braved the one at Sea World this past summer! Well, the entire time we were up in the air, Kyan comforted me and made sure that I was doing ok! I think I was gripping the handle so hard and holding on so tight that he must have noticed, despite my efforts to try and show him that I wasn't afraid! I guess I didn't fool him! It was really cool to see the zoo from up above, but I am pretty sure that will be one of my last skyrides that I take, I think daddy can stick to that duty forever! Once our feet hit the ground it was time to go!

We had a great day as a family at the zoo! We look forward to the next trip back!


A little side note~
For those that have asked and for those that are curious to know...
I have had fun playing in with a website called Picnik, where I created these collages to display more pictures together, instead of viewing them one after another after another after another (ok, you get my point!). Yes, it is free! I use them all the time to add words to my photos (like you see in our header for example). However, to get these great collage layouts that are super easy to use, you do have to pay a small fee per month or year (whichever you decide) to upgrade! I have never ever paid the fee until today and I am so happy that I did! I plan on showing you pictures like this from now on!!! I am thinking of getting rid of my background, still debating, to display the collages on a larger scale. I know many that do this to their blogs, but it is work, so for now, if you would like to see them bigger, you just need to click-or double click-on the collage that you want to see in better detail!

Lots of you have also been asking how I did my sidebar frames and the fancy frame from a post or two ago - Megan, of Shabby Blogs, offers tons of free stuff on her website and gives tutorials that are super easy to use! I love all of her backgrounds (that is why I am hesitant to get rid of mine just yet) and freebies that she offers to make our blogs look beautiful! If you haven't checked out her site, you should! I love it when she has new goodies to offer!