St Louis Zoo

Monday--May 13th.  We headed for the St Louis Zoo.  Grandma stayed home with Aunt Gale and Great-Grandma. They missed quite a show!

It is the third-largest zoo in the nation and has over 700 different kinds of animals to see.  And today, you could see TEN different Eiberts'! 

 Can you tell which one takes after Grandpa?

After we went through the entrance, we picked up the tram to see the sights.

The first stop was the camels.  They were starting to lose their winter coats and even had some babies with them. 

These camels had two humps, and contrary to common belief...they store fat in the humps, and not water.

There were loads of zebras out today.  The shade was a good place to be because it was definitely warming up into the 80s this morning, and heading for the 90s!

I don't know what it is--but the carousel is always a hit--young and "older"!

I asked Jessica if she wanted to get a little closer to the boys for the ride.  She said no because she liked the animal that she was riding.  We saw some real ones in the park and it was a new creature--even for mom!

It's an Okapi--it looks like a cross between a giraffe and a zebra.  Then there were some animals that interested the kids more than others. 

  A lot of the animals were sleepy when we went through...like Mr Tiger, here.

 

We wandered down the path to see who was awake. I think that these fat asses were more exciting for the boys then, let's say, the giraffes, leopards, or monkeys put together.  The heckles and interest was strictly about their name, no less! 

Yep.  The zoo requested that you use their proper name.  But they are quite chunky, aren't they!

It was the first real day of what felt like "summer" heat, and as long as everyone had a drink bottle, we were set to keep going.

Jessica saw some ostrich and then we went into the aviary.  She now has 25+ different birds on her list, instead of the mere 5, her teacher requested. (Over-achievers ROCK!!) 

And speaking of over-achievers!  We found out while we were in St Louis that Jessica was admitted into the Gifted program at NTPS and will be attending a new school next year!  She passed the written and computer tests with an accumulative score of 97%.  She's definitely one to watch in the future for great things to happen!!

But the real crowd-pleaser for the day was being able to touch the sting-rays and baby sharks!  Everyone had to wash their hands before they went into the pool area. 

You could only put your arm in the water up to your elbow and then wait for the rays to circle around.  Then you take your finger and run it down their backs. 

It was quite a show just watching the creatures circle over and over.

 

We were here the longest.......because it was a bit more exciting to touch the animals then walk in the sun.

The tram was a great way to make it around the zoo.  I know.  I was the crazy lady taking pictures when they called "All aboard!"  But it was worth the glaring looks! 

 

It was back to Gale's and Grandma's for another birthday celebration and GREAT barbecue!!