We did not exactly pick the best day for the zoo. But it was the most convenient, in order to spend some time with my sister, who was in town with her baby, and the whole family. So, we spent a ridiculous amount of money on rain ponchos. The kids looked like little minions. Abby wasn't a happy camper at first, as she suddenly had to look just like everyone else. I tried to tie fringes on her poncho hem so hers could be unique. What a character she is! Ry was having a great time running behind statues, bushes and trash cans pretending he was being chased by a "bad guy," while we waited in the rain for the family to join us.
While this wasn't a homeschool field trip, it fit perfectly into our study of creation. We got to think about Adam naming the animals and Noah putting them on the ark two-by-two. The timing couldn't have been better!
Our first stop was the children's zoo, which has an indoor area. We marveled at the jellyfish, which according to the science of evolution date back to 500 million years ago. One of Abby's library books on inventions recently indicated that man existed 1.4 million years before "inventing" fire. I really had to laugh out loud at that concept. But I suppose if you buy into the idea that we evolve from brain-less jellyfish, it might have taken us 1.4 million years to figure out how to make a fire. Personally, it's absolutely crazy to think that a brain would be evolving for that long to figure out something so primitive. I cannot imagine survival as a species in this "state" of evolution.
The kids pet guinea pigs, watched the naked mole rats and played "I spy" with animals in some of the enclosures. This guy was way at the top of his enclosure and hard to spot!
This trip to St. Louis Zoo was our first chance to see the new Sea Lion Experience. We were VERY EXCITED to check this out, and it proved pretty fascinating and worthwhile!
It appeared that the sea lions couldn't swim in the space above the tunnel, so we were surprised when they were suddenly above us.
We were also surprised to learn that they swim with their eyes closed, even around all the obstacles/rocks in the water. They never appeared to open their eyes!
Naturally the highlight was a fun day spent with family, enjoying each other's company and getting on one another's nerves with the unrelenting jabs. The grandparents got to spend Grandparents Day with all five of their grandchildren. The best part was squeezing Reese. The worst was our good-bye. :-(
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