Thursday, July 5, 2012

Colorado 2012: Zoo Trip and The Bee!

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I couldn’t wait to document every moment of our fabulous zoo trip on the fancy camera. Of course, the moment I pulled it out to take our first pic upon entering the place, I realized I’d left the battery plugged in at the house. Nooooooo!!!

After a short pause to pout, I bucked up and pulled out the trusty iPhone, hoping it could do the job. Not too shabby, old friend!

First stop – the largest giraffe herd in North America! Easily my all-time favorite animal attraction anywhere. Certainly feeding the giraffes is a MUST. Soon we would realize that all the animals in the park were ready to eat, too!

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I’ve seen zoo clubs at the Dallas and Fort Worth Zoos, but it was absolutely adorable to see one in action. These zoo helpers were so knowledgeable and patient, ta boot! What a great experience for a young person, and a wonderful way to teach the importance of responsibility. Should I add this to Bridget’s bucket list? Me thinks YES.

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Love all the statues!

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We walked into the monkey house to find half of it temporarily roped off. It’s because the keepers were transporting the fuzzy, funny tiny monkeys from their outside pen to their indoor home for dinner. They just let them run over these vines all the way to the door. It was amazing!!!

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Next up were the bears. Um, this little guy on the left made a pretty obscene move about a millisecond after I snapped this shot. Any guesses what he did??

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Finally, the moment for a personal dream come true had arrived! I have been giddy about the idea of Bridget’s first pony ride, as I started horseback riding lessons at the age of 4 and spent much of the next 10 years in a stable…and loved every minute!!! The anxiety the comes with your child having a “first” that you truly hope they love (because you love it!), is indescribable. I would not have been heartbroken (too much) if she hadn’t been interested, but I REALLY hoped she was. Time to take the leap!

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The minute she hopped on Sunny, a smile broke out as big as any we’ve seen from her. I might as well have put an M&M/Popsicle/IceCream cupcake in front of her and said “go”. She definitely didn’t need me to walk next to her, but since I was there already…Smile

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I was sooooo happy. My heart must have nearly melted right then and there. Too bad I had to give the camera to Jonathan, knowing full well that he wouldn’t think to capture all the moments I like to get. This meant we missed Sunny’s special trick at the end of the ride. He “smiled” right at Bridget! Next up, it was Abby’s turn. She was a little less sure of the ride, but stuck it through like a champ and got an even bigger smile from Sunny. Your pout can’t fool me, Abby!

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Some cool and exotic furry friends were next on the trail…

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Followed by the mountain lions – one of the neatest habitats in the whole place. I just LOVE seeing these amazing felines up close (with some think, protective glass between us!).

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A reminder of a previous trip to the mountain lion habitat…one of my favorite old zoo pics (even though I look as big as a moose!):

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Thank goodness we brought the strollers, because I always forget how hilly this zoo is…it’s a true workout to navigate the whole place! We zipped up the elevator and headed over to the grizzly bears. They were HUNGRY, which apparently translates into entertaining. The zoo keepers were at the back of this pen feeding the bald eagle, so the bears knew they were next. This big guy started swimming, which was super cool in itself, but then he look a real liking to this little boy and wanted to “play”. I love this pic of what would be the ATTACK in the wild…scary!

 

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Since the seeing the bears requires a trip to the high boardwalk, a family has to do the obligatory group pic with a view of the city in the background!

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Our girls doing what they do best, being hopelessly precious!

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The zoo was near closing time, so on the way out we stopped by the play area (the awesome kids zone, “My Big Backyard”, was already closed – boo!).

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While the girls played, Ryan noticed that something (or someone?!) was out of place:

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We wandered over to check him out through the air conditioners and he turned to show off, like all awesome peacocks do:

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Amazing!!! I’m pretty sure he loved having his picture taken!!!

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And me, always the kid at heart:

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Such a memorable trip this time! Every time I head to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, something unforgettable happens that leaves me saying, “this was my favorite trip ever!”…but I do think it was true this time!

Though we were all pretty tired, we knew for sure these little ladies needed some food – and we all needed a trip to the Golden Bee! I was a little concerned that there would be a wait since we were getting there around 6pm, but a welcome empty parking lot put a smile on my face. Phew!

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Yards of beer were required for the McCauley’s first Bee trip:

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And when the sticky bees came buzzing by our table, B and Abby were officially occupied:

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Hilarious jumping Abby:

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Goober:

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So sweet!

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Must be about time to go home…

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What a fabulous day! We are all so lucky for all the gifts we’ve been given. Ahhh…

Up next: our last morning together as a group + the Adamos last day of the trip

1 comment:

  1. YEA...I'm now even more excited about the zoo and the obscene bear. :-) I've also been waiting for the Golden Bee to make a post. Looks like a success once again. Oh...Doug & Jonathan are like-minded with the camera - happy to oblige our request to snap pics but not as mindful of those Kodak moments. Still love 'em!

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