A day at the Zoo!

Grammie Bean came to visit! Yay! Calvin's favorite adventure with her was our trip to the

  Phoenix Zoo.

On the morning of, we met up at my brother Chris's apartment to eat breakfast and depart from there to the zoo. However, I forgot to pack SHOES for Calvin (strike 1). But I remembered sunscreen, snacks, lunch, a change of clothes, diapers, wipes, water bottles, toys, books, his favorite blanket, Hobbes...doesn't that matter? Nope. I still failed.  So, because of my lapse of judgment, we made a quick stop at a nearby Walmart for some Calvin size sandals.

We arrived at the zoo and I realized that I didn't pack Calvin's STROLLER (strike 2). I panicked. But my Mom reassured me that the zoo probably has strollers we can rent for the day. She is so wise. 

Calvin had the BEST time running around the zoo (not really using the stroller after all) and looking at all sorts of animals. 

And I had fun playing with my Christmas present: Canon EFS 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II Telephoto Zoom Lens

When I opened this present on Christmas day, Jake said something like, "Now you can take awesome photos of soccer games!" I haven't had the chance to use the lens for sports yet, but the Zoo was a great opportunity to practice.

I am super impressed with how much I could zoom in while maintaining the integrity of the shot. I'm in love with this lens.

Back to the zoo. First we visited the birds.

Calvin LOVED watching the fresh water otters swim and wrestle...

...He thought these otters were giving kisses.

One of Calvin's favorite words to say right now is "turtle." When we spotted these REAL LIFE turtles, he was so excited that he literally jumped for joy. As for me, they were the most boring animal we encountered. They literally looked like statues instead of real turtles.

Calvin got antsy to see the BIG animals. So off we went to see the giraffe!

Calvin was in awe at how big the animals were compared to his toys. He pretty much gazed at each animal like this until we pulled him to the next animal. If we didn't move him along, we would've been at the zoo for a week!

Then we got to see the BIG CATS!

Once he saw the sleepy lion, he was getting pretty sleepy, as well.

But then he heard that we were going to see the monkeys next, and he was up and ready!

This colorful monkey came right up to Calvin's face SUPER close. He LOVED it.

This monkey's face looks so odd to me. What an odd shape, right?

Calvin's favorite animal to see in person was the Orangutan. Calvin intently observed the orangutan:

swing from ropes, 

climb the walls, 

walk on all four limbs, 

pick at the bugs on his arm, 

and lick the bugs off the floor.

As we left the orangutan area, Calvin decided that he wanted to BE an orangutan. He crawled on all four limbs, tried to climb the walls, picked at his arms looking for bugs, and licked the pavement...all just like the orangutan. We tried to get him to walk, but he refused. He kept saying, "Monkey!"...he just wanted to be a monkey.

Eventually, Calvin became a real boy again and we were ready to go home. We wish we could have stayed to see the rest of the Zoo (all 125 acres) but Calvin was way too tired....as evidence by this photo below.

Overall, we had a great day! Thanks for coming down to visit, Grammie!