Doug and I have never really been into the Black Friday rush. I'm a bargain shopper, but I don't really love shopping, so the whole rush of the Black Friday shopping is definitely not my thing!
We decided to use this day to have some quality family time. After a wild weather night (wind, sleet, rain), it was thankfully a crisp, relatively clear day. The high was only to be about 35, but we decided to bundle up the boys and go to the zoo!
It was such a good decision. Koen was in much better spirits than yesterday (ah, relief!) and Tavin was agreeable as usual. We packed some snacks, hot cocoa and dressed super warm and we were all super comfortable on our walk through the zoo. There was barely anyone there which was perfect. The animals were very active and interesting today.
Tavin did awesome. He just snuggled in his car seat in the stroller and slept through two-thirds of our time there. Here he is before his zoo nap... 
Koen loves to get a zoo map and chart the course through the zoo. It's hard to get him started sometimes he is so into his map. I seriously think we could just sit at home with a map and he would be almost as happy as actually getting to go to the zoo.
Probably our favorite animal encounter today was the tiger pacing up and down his habitat. He kept coming close to the glass window. Look at how close he got to us! It was amazing! We were an inch or two away at times. Koen loved it. 
We always enjoy the elephants and they were all inside today, so that was fun to see them eating and working with their trainers. Then we went to the monkey house and Koen got to see some of his favorite orangutans.
We went through the aquarium pretty quickly and came out the other side to see the Polar Bears (one of our favorites!) right near the glass as well. It is so fun to watch them swim, but they were drenched when we got out there, so they must have gotten out just before that, so we missed seeing them swim today). 
We walked down through the rest of the outdoor sea animals ending at the seals (another family fav) and then Koen enjoyed the slides for a few minutes before we left the zoo.
It was a great morning. Exactly what we all needed. Time together, but in the comfort of fresh air and exerted energy! We came home and had lunch and then later got the boys to nap (after some awesome playtime with Aunt Abbie in the playroom - Koen wanted to play Thanksgiving, it was adorable!). Doug got some house stuff done this afternoon and Ab and I did the Christmas decorating (yay!!). Doug and the kids and I went to our neighbors' house for dinner - great company and delicious dinner! It was a fabulous day!
Koen loves to get a zoo map and chart the course through the zoo. It's hard to get him started sometimes he is so into his map. I seriously think we could just sit at home with a map and he would be almost as happy as actually getting to go to the zoo.
Probably our favorite animal encounter today was the tiger pacing up and down his habitat. He kept coming close to the glass window. Look at how close he got to us! It was amazing! We were an inch or two away at times. Koen loved it. 
We always enjoy the elephants and they were all inside today, so that was fun to see them eating and working with their trainers. Then we went to the monkey house and Koen got to see some of his favorite orangutans.Koen needed a hot cocoa pit-stop after the gorillas, so we found a nice rock in the sun. Do you see something behind him in the bushes? There were two peacocks hanging out there. Koen and the peaccoks co-existed for about 15 mins. Doesn't Koen look awesome in his hat and sunglasses? Priceless!
We went through the aquarium pretty quickly and came out the other side to see the Polar Bears (one of our favorites!) right near the glass as well. It is so fun to watch them swim, but they were drenched when we got out there, so they must have gotten out just before that, so we missed seeing them swim today). 
We walked down through the rest of the outdoor sea animals ending at the seals (another family fav) and then Koen enjoyed the slides for a few minutes before we left the zoo.
It was a great morning. Exactly what we all needed. Time together, but in the comfort of fresh air and exerted energy! We came home and had lunch and then later got the boys to nap (after some awesome playtime with Aunt Abbie in the playroom - Koen wanted to play Thanksgiving, it was adorable!). Doug got some house stuff done this afternoon and Ab and I did the Christmas decorating (yay!!). Doug and the kids and I went to our neighbors' house for dinner - great company and delicious dinner! It was a fabulous day!
No comments:
Post a Comment