Utah! Day 8

Day 8: Zoo day.

Going to the zoo has become a highlight of our trips to Utah.  We have a membership to a zoo in Michigan, but it is very small.  Very, very small.  A good portion of the animals are barnyard animals.  Woo!  Some chickens!  It's great for small children, in that you get to see everything you want each time you go.  But it doesn't have some of the big exciting animals that most people associate with a zoo.  I know my kids (well, let's be honest, Julia) really looked forward to seeing elephants! and giraffes! and bears!  So going to the zoo was one of the first things we blocked off when planning our trip.

And this trip did not disappoint.  We absolutely love that we have our own Suzanne (Clark's sister) to take us around and show us the animals.  She is extremely knowledgeable.  About everything, really, but about animals in particular.  And she works at the zoo, so she knows all the ins and outs of the place.  We had the added bonus that the new Rocky Shores Exhibit was open.  I could have spent an hour looking at the seals and polar bear alone, they were incredible!

Anyway, we got to see a whole bunch of fun and exciting animals.  Kim and Michelle came along for the adventure (and a welcome addition they were, I might add).  We saw the bird show, the girls got to ride the carousel, and we had a picnic lunch to top it all off.

I, of course, have no pictures of this event.  That is sad.  I've resolved to take more pictures this summer, and I've done fairly well, but I made this resolution after the Utah trip.  So you've got a bit of a wait before you see pictures.  Just imagine lots of animals, and a couple of blonde girls peering through the fences, having a fabulous time. 

After the adventures of the zoo, we went to Great-Grandma Meme's house for a quick visit.  It wasn't terribly long, and the girls were tired, but we couldn't go to Utah without sampling some of her jellybeans and playing with her old toys.  Meme is a delight to visit with.  I'm glad we made the time to take the girls to her house.

And then we packed up our stuff and headed to the Andersons house.  With the wedding over and the happy couple on their way, they were able to be our hosts for a few days.  We basically crashed on Thursday evening, and I think everyone was ok with that.  The girls got to play with their awesome toys, the grown ups got to have a quiet evening in, and everyone was happy.