The zoo!

After learning about elephants all week long, Heath and I decided that it would be fun to take the boys down to the Nashville Zoo so they could see an elephant. I had been wanting to visit the zoo with Heath and the boys. I have been several times with the third graders at McNeill, but neither the boys or Heath had ever been.

So last Thursday after lunch, I packed up some snacks, a friends' double stroller, and the boys and drove down to Heath's work in Nashville. He had a meeting that would finish around 2:00, so we planned to pick him up and leave from there. The boys napped on the way down and were super excited to see Heath when we got there. He hopped in and we headed to see the animals.

Here's Heath and the boys ready for a fun afternoon at the zoo. It was absolutely the perfect weather - warm and sunny!

Although Cash's face doesn't look like it, they loved this stroller. We have a double stroller that sits front to back, but they hate it. They loved this one so much, actually, that I'm putting our old one up for sale and going to purchase one of these! It was wonderful not to have to pack them around or plead with them to stay in the stroller.

Here I am pushing the boys. Cash was pointing to the carousel that we were getting ready to ride.

Here's B and Heath checking out the giraffes. See them in the background? They were getting fed.

This is as close as the elephants got. They were also being fed. I wonder why they don't feed them closer to the fence. It would have been nice to get a closer look, but the boys were excited enough.

Here's a shot of our two monkeys looking at the gibbons (monkeys).

These are one of my favorites - the black-tailed meerkats. Can you see the one on top of that rock? They're just like Timon on the Lion King.

The boys loved this! You can crawl through a short tunnel and stand up inside the meerkat habitat. Fun! (See the one digging to the right of the glass?)

There's a new train at the zoo, and of course when Cash spotted it, he HAD to take a ride. B enjoyed it, too, but was sleepy.

It was a pretty cool train. The driver played the harmonica and took us around the loop twice. You can see some of the undeveloped land on the outside of the loop.

Yay for the zoo! 

Yes. This is my husband sticking his fingers in the water so the koi could nibble on them.

And this is our fearless Baylen trying to do the same.

Last on our trip around the zoo (I didn't take near enough pictures!) was the petting zoo. The boys' favorite (including Heath) was the goats. 

Cash was cautious, as always, but B got right in there and petted them even though most were taller than he was. He even got a little head-but once, but just laughed it off.

Overall, it was a wonderful day. My love language (if you're familiar with love languages) is quality time, so you can imagine that these kinds of days are my favorite. I love being with my boys and Heath. It's such a blessing to me to be able to watch them explore and learn as they grow.