Fort Worth Zoo

Mom has mentioned wanting to go check out the Fort Worth Zoo for a while now. We woke up to a beautiful crisp day, packed up the kids and just went! It was great! There's a lot more foliage and covering than the Dallas Zoo, so it made for a more natural feel, I think. Love the Dallas Zoo, too though. Derek was so independent today. He wanted to give his ticket to the ticket lady by himself, go through the gate by himself, push the stroller by himself (he couldn't push it with Bryce in it, little chunk), and even walk with his cousins "by myself." Uh-huh. The zoo wasn't really crowded, so we were able to give him some greater freedom than we usually do in public places. Bryce was pretty chilly so he was content to sit in the stroller with blankets packed around him and watch from the lap of luxury, haha! Clara was a doll. She wanted to see everything, but ended up sleeping most of the time in her carseat that we snapped into the double stroller. Speaking of the double stroller, we ordered that thing at the last minute and it was a perfect choice! Thank heaven it arrived the night before we left or we wouldn't have had such an easy time carting Clara's carseat and Bryce around the zoo. It was an awesome trip and I wish the Fort Worth Zoo wasn't so far away. We can't wait to go back though!

 Derek wanted to give the lady his ticket all by himself. He's growing up so fast!

 We were greeted by an African Bongo

 The flamingos are always magnificient

 The boys jumped at any photo opportunity. They thought this was a super cool elephant.

 An incredibly rare black rhino

 Andrew and Derek watching cheetahs prowling the enclosure

 Two other cheetahs played nearby

 Nathan contemplated the cheetahs

 Katelyn is so cute!

 Isaac was so excited!

 Loves from Uncle Colton

 Derek, Andrew and I went ahead of the group and spotted them in an observation deck behind us.

 Derek and Andrew are such good friends... and good troublemakers in Primary, but that's another story.

 This massive silverback Western gorilla was incredible

 It's always an experience to look into the eyes of one of the great apes.

 This massive Indian elephant was only 20 feet from us.

 Derek insisted on hugging this baby elephant statue

 The kids were petting and baby-talking the baby elephant statue, haha!

 Bryce-sicle! He was kind of cold.

 Still working on taking turns :S

 and still not sharing. Who knew the penny presser was such an amazing, irresistable machine?

 Greater One-Horned Rhinos - I love that they look like they're wearing armor

 Gorgeous white tiger! The kids were really excited about being able to press themselves up against the glass and be, literally, inches from a real, live tiger.

 Bengal tiger sunning itself. 

 Gracie did great the whole time in the front pack

 Emeri was pointing to all the animals and talking about them, but she refused to take the binkie out, haha!

 Clara needed a feeding while we were watching the lions. Mitchell called dibbs. :)

 These Black-necked Swan cygnets were ADORABLE!

 My little cygnet is cuter, though. :)

 Derek, Isaac and Andrew rode the Komodo Dragon off into the sunset

 Ah, to have the carefree, kickback life of a kangaroo

 Derek was in an exceptionally hugging mood today. He also tried to climb onto the back of the kangaroo, but that didn't work so well.

 And, the train, of course. Derek is obsessed with trains and made sure I took a picture. :)

 Here's one for Grandpa Bazemore. Derek was a natural.

 Kisses from Grandma Wade! Don't let these faces fool you - they like it. 

 Derek found the awesome Wells Fargo wagon!

 Everyone wanted to jump on the wagon! Haha!

What it's like to stand inside a tornado. Derek wasn't fazed but the other kids pretty much enjoyed it for about three seconds. I certainly enjoyed watching Colton trapped in a little tube trying to calm down what ended up being four upset kids and an oblivious Derek. Hahaha!