Treasure hunt notes:

I forgot to add this picture to the Harry Potter party pics. These were our treasure hunt clues- they turned out pretty awesome, is all.

Trip to the Zoo

Every year the Hogle Zoo has free zoo days in the winter. Every year I say "Everyone should go to free zoo day!" and every year everyone says "No, it's too cold, too crowded, etc..." and so I just go anyway and have a fabulous time at the not very crowded zoo for free in the not too cold weather. And, we love it! This year, my mom and Robby came with us and we met Elizabeth and her kids there for some good time, of course. Note: I gave Weston the little camera and he took most of these lovely pictures... just so you know. First up, the elephants!

USUALLY, it's too cold for the baby elephant but this winter was so warm and the day was so nice the zoo keepers let her out for a snack. I just loved to watch her because she acted so much like a little kid. For example, some very loud Canadian geese came flying down into the elephants pool flapping and honking. As soon as they landed, the baby elephant come running (like in the picture above) with her ears flapped out trying to get those darn geese. But, the water is too cold, she trips on a rock and falls to her knees, then slides in the mud and still can't reach the geese. Then she'd run back to her mom until the geese would start honking again and start the whole routine over... Adorable.

Just like Afton.

Avery, Weston and Josiah were a party this trip and I think they had fun! It was great for Weston to have Avery there- his age, one on one, and the two oldest kids in the group. Lately it's been Hyrum and Bryson, Hyrum and Jordan and.... Weston. He kind of gets the shaft being the only kid his age of the cousins. Anyway, we were glad Turleys came!

These lemurs were better than TV. When we first walked in, this guy was doing a little yoga or sun worshiping- you pick. Pretty soon, though, they were all playing "Hey, look what I can do- I bet you can't do THIS" and one would jump from branch to branch and bounce off the wall 2 times. The next one would bounce 3 times, the next one only once... One little guy grabbed the window divider and climbed down until it was almost level with Avery and Weston. Another was squishing his face up against the window. We stayed there for quite a while and Weston said "I could watch these guys for ever!"

We were at the zoo just after 1:00 which was awesome because all the animals were out and most were just being fed. The tortoises were being trained to move (because they are too heavy to just pick up and move) by giving them a treat when they stepped toward a ball.

(Remember, Weston took these pics!) Obviously, we are looking at the bird in the tree- not the strangers...

Another of my favorites: the Sand cat. It looks just like a normal house cat... but it's a wild animal. They had just introduced a female Sand cat into the pen so maybe they'll have kittens next time we go- so cute!

Weston's favorite animals: Giraffes! They were also training a giraffe while we were there- you can see the girl behind Weston's head touching the giraffe with ball on a pole. She would touch it in different spots and then give it a treat, touch, treat, touch, treat... She said it was to help it be used to human touch- interesting.

Here the kids sitting on the cats- someday, I will have a tiger for a pet. Remember that when you need to get me a birthday present.

Weston and Robby measuring their monkey arms!

Weston and Afton on the giant elephant trunk. After seeing all the animals, we headed over to the park to see the bats ( I also love the bats and could watch them all day as well) and feed the ducks. We also were feeding Josiah- crackers, cookies, fishies... and a little duck food Elizabeth gave him to feed the ducks. It also went into to his mouth but was quickly spit out. I laughed awhile though he didn't think it was too funny. :)Afton LOVED the ducks and was quacking for days after that. She can say "ducky, quack quack." Once again, it was a fabulous trip to the zoo! I'm telling you all, do it! You'll like it!