lions & cheetahs & flamingos, Oh My!!

I know the saying is really "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my!" but we didn't get a picture of the tiger and we didn't see a bear!!

Anyways......

When I saw that the highs this week were only in the high 80's and low 90's, I promptly texted my sister in law to see if she wanted to take the kiddos to the zoo!!  We could not have picked a more perfect day to go to the zoo.  The weather was absolutely perfect yesterday!!

Carson and Olivia had both been to the zoo before, but this was Pearson's first time to go. Can you tell that he was excited? He was ready for the "Sue".

 We dressed the boys in their matching baseball shirts and Olivia wore her cute July 4th outfit.  Our goal was to get a cute picture of them together but that didn't quite work out.  

 This sweet cousin hug was the best we got.  

 I honestly don't remember the last time I went to the Dallas Zoo.  It might have been my 1st Grade field trip!!  I went to the Tyler Zoo alot as a kid because my grandma lived there, but even still, it's been a long time since I've been to a zoo at all.  I was excited to see all the animals with Pearson!!

 Our first stop was to take some pictures with the elephant statues.  

 I thought that when Pearson saw Carson climb on the elephants that he would want to do it to.  Not so much.  He is just not a fan of climbing on things. 

 I finally got him to calm down and take a picture with me. 

 After pictures we were ready for a fun day at the zoo!!

 My favorite exhibit was definitely the giraffes.  They are such neat creatures.

 We were really able to get up close and personal with them. 

 I really liked seeing the zebras but we couldn't get very close to see them. 

I loved seeing this lion.  The lion keeper was just finishing up a demonstration or something with the lion so he was hanging out really close to the window.  We got to see him really well!!

 Matt's favorite animal is the cheetah so we definitely had to stop by to see him.  He was right by the window just taking a little nap.

 When we left Pearson said "Bye Bye Chee-Tah"!!

 I can't remember what this little guy was called, but he was so funny.  As soon as we pulled out our cameras, he popped up and started posing for us.  

 Flamingos!!  

 Even though it wasn't that hot, it was nice to stroll through the reptiles and amphibians building for a little while.  

 Ashley does't like snakes so I talked to Carson about each one as we walked by.  

 After we looked at each snake he asked, "Is it poisonous? Can it bite me? and Where does it live?".

For lunch we found a perfect shady spot under some trees to picnic.  I love how you can bring your own food into the zoo.  It really makes for an inexpensive day!  I really can't say enough how perfect the weather was for a trip to the zoo.  We didn't even break a sweat.  And that's rare in July in Texas.

 Now that Pearson is two he can finally have a peanut butter sandwich.  I can't believe we went that long without having peanut butter.  He loves a PB&J!!

 He thought he was hot stuff walking around the park with his PB&J.

After lunch we finished up our day at the little kid playground and water park.  

The boys had fun playing together but Olivia didn't care for the water too much.

 She was just happy to hang out with us girls while we watched the boys play. 

 Pearson loved chasing his big cousin around in the water.  He just adores Carson and I'm pretty sure Carson adores Pearson too. 

Ashley sent me a picture of her camera roll on her phone and apparently Carson was just snapping away at Pearson while we were at the zoo.  See.......he loves his little cousin.

 Before we left, we tried one more time to get a picture of all three kiddos, but failed once again.  Maybe someday we'll be able to get a picture with all of them looking at the camera and smiling!!

 Thanks for driving us to the zoo Ashley!!