Zoobly Zoo.

We drive past Earl May Garden Center and the store sign says 'Red Dot Sale.'  Mae looks quite seriously at me and says, "Mom, why would anybody want to buy red dots?"  I couldn't help but picture a store filled with people browsing assorted sizes of red dots.  Two women in the far corner are fighting over a certain red dot that they've both had their eyes on for months.  As I laugh to myself at this whole scenario, I catch Mae giving me her most evil staredown.  It's as if she can see my thoughts and knows that I am mocking something she said, but she's so funny all the time and there's nothing she or I can do about that.  Except laugh.  But that just gets me in trouble.  Red dots.  Who ever thought of such a thing?

We finally made it to the ZOO yesterday!!!

I got to see a real-live kinkajou.  It was a happy moment, except in the back of my mind, I just kept wondering why I didn't think to bring a glass-cutter with me.  My purse is the perfect size to smuggle a kinkajou home in; just no way to get my hands on the cuddly little guy.  Next time.  I did, however, meet the worlds' funniest meerkat.  This little guy was staring directly at the wall in a complete daze for a very long time.  In one strange moment, he snapped out of it and looked at me, then shrugged his shoulders and went right back into his daze.  It was as if we were conjoined at the soul.  Here he is:

        
The kids talked me into riding the Skyfari, which is basically a ski lift that takes you over the zoo and back.  Pretty cool, except I'm terrified of heights.  The kids were so sweet and helpful by first telling me, "Don't worry Mom, if we fall right now, we'll just land in water."  And then a few seconds later..."Don't worry Mom, if we fall right now, we'll just  land on the hard cement.  And DIE."  I got them back by pretending that my flip flop fell off.  This is us on the Skyfari ride (me, fearful and Mae trying to calm me down).

After that, we visited the Gorillas.  There was an exhibit of different skeletons.  Gorillas, orangutans, humans, etc.  Oddly enough, there was one skeleton that exactly fit Kyler's bone structure.

We walked in the hot, hot, HOT weather for nearly six hours.  Mae found a way to keep cool, as usual.

We finally ended the trip by touring the Lied Jungle, then taking a train ride.  We got to see two rhinos fighting, which is really not much different than watching Kyler and Mae fight but at least I wasn't expected to jump in the middle of it.

We'll mark this trip as good.