ZOO!

From Karli's point of view: When Mom was a toddler, her mom always took her to Reid Park
Zoo in Tuscon to entertain her while her dad was in medical school. So, going to the zoo often is something I've grown up with too. In fact, I've probably been to the Phoenix Zoo more than anyone else my age. And today, being Columbus Day, Dad had the day off work, so Mom and Dad decided to load up the 7-seater mini-van with all 8 of us (painful? yes) and go to the zoo. It was so packed that we had to park in the separate parking lot up the hill, and getting out of the car took 15 minutes with lunch packing, getting kids in the stroller, sunscreening babies, and then making sure we were armed with absolutely everything necessary for spending all day at the zoo. One thing about our family (well, my dad mostly) is we can't ever go at a normal pace. We have to run to everything to make sure we get to all of it. Disneyland, zoo, museums, D.C...running. By the way, it doesn't really work when both ankles are wrapped in Ace bandages, so I caught up to my family at the entrance. I think this was Tressie's first time to the zoo. She started yelling to be carried instead of in the stroller so she could see everything, and soon, she started pointing and Wow-ing at everything (whether animal or plant). The kids' favorite part was probably the petting zoo. Smelly? yes. Unsanitary? definitely. But it's all part of the zoo experience in my opinion. Also, Layton decided that the zoo has enough little turtles in the ponds and lakes and probably wouldn't notice if one little turtle went missing. The boys spent lunch trying to catch the turtles, but of course they put them back. Speaking of turtles, they also have these ginormous Galapagos Tortises. Apparently, when my mom was little, they used to give rides on these things! They're probably the exact same ones. Anyway, by 2:30 Tressie was asleep and the rest of us were just as exhausted. But we did it! We made it all the way through the zoo in just 4 hours!