Grant's First Field Trip

We were fortunate enough to get to go on Grant's first field trip to the Jacksonville Zoo this past week.  Stephen took the day off and joined us for this little adventure and I am so glad that he was able to come. 

Once we were inside the zoo most every one went their own way.  So, we ended up being by ourselves the majority of the time.  The weather was fabulous!  Stephen was worried before we left that morning that the zoo would be crowded.  It really wasn't too bad!  (He said when he worked at the Jax Zoo March-May was packed during the week with tons of kids on field trips.  We were lucky that there only seemed to be three or four different schools there that day.)

Erin swinging on the Elephant's Trunk

Camryn's turn

Checking out the fountain at the Range of the Jaguar

Grant standing like the bird.

Giant Otters!!!!  We have been waiting so long for these guys to arrive.  They were supposed to be on exhibit when the Range of the Jaguar opened, but weren't here until recently!  They are so much fun to watch.  I could have stood there all day!  One of the curators told us that they are six feet long.  

Our attempt at a family photo.

The gorilla made a beeline for Erin.

He walked right up to the window and sat down.  Erin, instinctively, backed away!!!  I think he scared her a bit!

She liked this gorilla!

Grant and Erin rode the carousel.  This is the first time Grant had ever ridden one.  Erin had several times, but Grant was always afraid of them.

This is Erin being silly.  She was NOT going to smile for me.  

Grant had been trying to avoid having his picture made.  I took this one of the two of them without Grant realizing it.

Then he turned around.  Shot me this look and quickly jumped up and away from the camera.

At the end of the day, we rode the train, which is always a favorite for Grant.  He LOVES trains.  Then, we went to the playground.  Grant had been asking to go to the playground the entire time we were at the zoo.  We always save it for the end of the trip.  They played hard and then it was time to go.  We headed back to main camp and got a snack.  While the kids finished their ice cream I went on the the car to feed Camryn.  When they were finished, he took the kids in the gift shop to visit one of his friends that still works at the zoo.  While they were chatting, the kids picked out a souvenir from their trip to the zoo.  Grant chose a set of river animals that he plays in the bath tub with.  I am sure he chose this set solely for the cool Jeep "River Wagon" that came with the animals.  Erin chose a pink flamingo stuffed animal which she promptly named Erin.  It's very soft and she has been sleeping with it ever since.  

Over all, I have to say that this was our best excursion ever with the kiddos!  We throughly enjoyed the day.  There was very little whining or complaining.  The kids were old enough that we didn't have to worry about potty breaks or accidents.  Camryn was perfect!  She is such an easy baby.  Stephen and I kept saying to each other, "So this is what it is like to have a "regular" baby!"  She rode around in her stroller, took her nap, woke up and had some lunch while we ate and was very pleasant the rest of the day.  (Grant was what we considered "high maintenance"  Erin was "high maintenance to the extreme! The girl never let me put her down, and you could forget about her napping in her stroller!  Ha!  I used to envy those mamas who could stick there kid in the stroller shop and go anywhere.  It just was impossible for me.  I have a a big double stroller that is practically new because it was hardly used!)  I guess we deserve a beak the third time around!