Out of Africa

Our adventures started off today around 7:45! We were locked and loaded in daddy's car and headed to Out of Africa for an unforgettable day!

The drive took almost two hours and I don't know if Chad and I were more excited to get out of the car because of how noisy the ride was OR if Kyan and Lola were more excited to be finally be there!

The first thing we did was go on the African Bush Safari. I knew Kyan LOVED this part of the day, but was a little nervous as to how Lola would act. She LOVED it just as much as him and was all about feeding Kibo, the giraffe, that met us at the gate for his carrots! By the time Kyan was brave enough to feed Kibo, he wasn't hungry for carrots anymore, just our guides cookies in her bucket!

However, he did get a chance to feed the camel! Lola got my carrot and fed him too! Another neat experience while on the safari was the ostrich egg that we got to hold! The guide said it was the equivalent to two dozen regular eggs that we eat!

Waiting for the tram to take us to the top where the big cats were and all of the shows!

Chad spotted the secret feeding spot to two beautiful deer and the four of us got to spend time with them while no one else was around! It was nice for the kids to have all of their attention!

Just some of the animals that we got to get up close and personal with!

Waiting for the show to start. I love this picture of the two of them from the moment that I saw Lola perched on Chad's back like this.

The first show was the Creature Feature, where the kids met Chadrack and Thumper! This is one of the shows where they are allowed to go in and touch/feel the animals as they crawl around! Lola was very sad to leave the tortoise (what you don't see is the picture of her crying after she said goodbye)!

After lunch, we headed to the Tiger Splash show! It was AMAZING! If you get a chance, watch the video of the tigers and their trainers splashing and playing around!

And what Kyan had been waiting for since from the second that we shipped out this morning, The Giant Snake Show! It was the last show of the day (before the feedings), but was worth the wait for him!

He had no problems going right up to the front of the snake! It was like they were best friends that hadn't seen each other in over two and a half years, maybe three (that is how long it has been since we were there last)! I told him that we could print a big picture for him of the picture below and we would hang it in his room! When I got on the computer to blog tonight, he didn't let me forget it either and asked if I was getting his picture for him!

And finally, the last thing we did before we left was board that tram one last time and watch the trainers feed all of the animals at the park! This only happens three times a week (Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) and we were lucky enough to watch today! It was hard to see them all from the tram but were lucky enough to get close to the "meat man", as I like to call him and to watch a few of them snag the food that was thrown over to the animals. The coolest part was to hear the male lion ROAR before they fed him! Watch the video if you get a chance (it is funny, you hear Lola crying, as it scared her, and Chad saying something about him sounding like grandpa)!

The kids each got a souvenir stuffed animal before we left. Kyan chose Thumper, the tortoise and Lola chose Kibo, the giraffe. Both were the names of actually animals that they got to interact with this afternoon. It took them all of five minutes to fall asleep snuggling up to them, where they stayed asleep the entire way home!

If you have never been to Out of Africa, I highly recommend that you do. It is worth every penny that you will spend!

If you have been there, what was your favorite part(s)?

Mine were the endless smiles I saw plastered on the kiddos faces all day long!
We had an amazing day as a family!