Holladay Happenings: Winter at the Zoo

Zoo Bound Brothers

Due to sick friends, today's playdate was canceled so I decided to take the boys to the Minnesota Zoo which is open year round. After all, the forecast promised a very balmy high of around 40 today - I can't even remember when we last saw temps this warm! We started off in the tropics part of the zoo, which was indoors and nice, toasty and humid. Zooing with Noah means that you get a very brief view of most animals - he's curious to see what the next animal will be, but once he finds it, he doesn't want to hang out for long to look at it but wants to find out what's next. At least, it is good exercise for me to chase after him from exhibit to exhibit - and it is quite a sprawling zoo with large enclosures for many of the animals. Next, we did the Minnesota Trail, which is partially covered / partially outdoors. Noah was fascinated by the lynx so we did get to stop there for a while and catch our breaths. Time for lunch - by now, Kai was napping snugly in the stroller. Noah gulped down some unhealthy fast food fare - a rare treat which he of course thouroughly enjoyed. Then it was off again. We did a huge loop outside and saw grizzly bears, wolves, moose, caribou, tigers, camels, snow leopards and a bunch of other animals. Except for going from the parking lot to the zoo entrance, Noah walked/ran the whole time. I was hoping this would mean a nap on the 40 minute car ride home, but no such luck, as Noah was too busy talking. I asked what his favorite thing was that he saw at the zoo, and he said, "Percy, Thomas, James and Henry...and Emily and Neville and Edward....." I asked him where in the world he had seen all of those trains since I had only seen animals at the zoo, and he said, "They were in the jungle." Hmmm......