Summer Kickoff at the Zoo

I will begin this with a disclaimer:  we've been to 2 zoos 2 times this summer already....and this is the first.  It was the first weekend in May, right before I had my surgery and we decided to head to the Burnet Park Zoo in Syracuse.  We got kind of a late start and it was lunch time, so on the way there, we stopped at one of my favorite weekend jaunts.  Five Guys Burgers.  Yeah, I know super healthy.  But the burgers are just SO good!  The kids like it, too.  I grabbed an outside shot of the one in Camillus.  This is the ONLY burger Adam will eat at all.   You can't even get Abbey to try as she knows there are fries in the bag and she'll destroy the table until we give her some.

 This was our third year in a row to head to the zoo, so we've gotten kind of familiar with it.  Started through the indoor part.  Adam, of course, loved looking at all the animals.  Abbey showed interest hear and there, like at this exhibit.  It was a snake or lizard, I think.

 Adam was THRILLED to see an "Abbey-gator".  Though it's really something else, a cousin to the alligator.  He also loved "Nemo" and the snakes.

 Next stop was the aviary.  As I was downloading this picture, Adam said "Master Uguay!".  That's a character on Kung Fu Panda.  I took the picture at the time because I thought how neat it was how he just lives there with all the birds, hanging out.

 Love the pink birds.  Hanging out with an Orrie bird.  After the bird room is the nocturnal room, which I have no photos of.  Needless to say, the sloth, aka "Sid" from Ice Age, was a huge hit for Adam.  He also liked the desert cats.  KITTY MEOW MEOW he kept trying to talk to them.

 After that are the lions.  Kids loved seeing the Daddy and Mama lions (yeah, he gets two chicks).

 Trying to see the lions!

 What a funny face from Abbey as she watches the lions... :)

 Monkeys were a big hit after that, though I didn't get photos.  But in that same area are the lemurs, aka "King Julian" from Madagascar.  Adam was thrilled.  I think this photo.  Wish I'd had a telephoto lens for this.

 It's a FOOSA!!! A real animal I had never heard of until watching Madagascar.

 Outside, the kids were fascinated by the duck pond and the farm animals, but we noticed the elephants were missing.  We headed around the outdoor path.  The black bear was pretty active.

 And then we found the elephants.  To be honest, we got to the indoor part first and couldn't see them well through the windows and were disapointed when we thought THAT was the new exhibit.  But we kept walking and there they were.  Beautiful.  MANNY ELLIE Adam said.  Ice Age again.  So my kid gets his zoology from movies, what can I say?  The baby was so cute.

 At this point, Abbey was ready to get out and Adam actually wanted IN the stroller.  That's why I took this photo.  That never happens.  Last year, he refused to sit and was DRAGGING himself at the end.

 Abbey walking with Mama and noticing her shadow.  I took our shadow picture.

 Didn't get a great look at the tigers.  Adam was most interested in this tiger artifact on the table.  DINOSAUR MOM.

 Wanted photo of the kids on this tiger sculpture.  Todd took the photos while I tried to convince them to look at the camera.  Believe it or not, Adam loved it, he just was a bit nervous of his precarious position.

 Petting the tiger. :)

 Miss Abbey girl.  Oh how I wish her eyes were open I actually kind of like this picture!  She loved it.

 So Adam started reading the map and telling us what to look for.  Smart kid.  He'd take it out look and fold it back up and put it in the stroller.

 Penguins weren't really swimming that day, though Adam enjoyed seeing them on the rocks.

 Abbey was trying to break in to go swimming.  Seriously.  After this, when we passed the duck pond again, she tried to jump into that, too.

 Why do I have a photo of Adam on his hands and knees?  Because he saw some little girls, dropped to the ground and starting roaring like a tiger :)  Those girls didn't know WHAT to do!

 Abbey was asleep five minutes after we left.  It was a fun afternoon.  Poor Adam did NOT want to go.  It was clear he loves animals and zoos.  Abbey liked people watching the most, I think, though she has gotten more into the animals lately.  Ah, sweet princess.  They both actually behaved really well.   It was a nice day, especially when I was so nervous about the upcoming surgery.  One of those days I used to dream about when I'd fantasize about having kids.