What animals

The kids and I went to the zoo Sunday. We checked out the lions, tigers and kangaroos - none of which seemed all too interested in posing for a picture. They all were too busy dozing in the sun. As we came to a fork in the path, I gave the kids the option of checking out the polar bear or the grizzly. And what did they choose?

"Let's ride the train!"

The train ride took us passed the petting zoo and near the monkey house. When our ride came to an end, I suggested we walk back to those places and see the animals up close.

"I want to climb on the snake!"

"Who wants to go see the little goats and llama?" I asked a few minutes later.

"Mommy, ride with me!"

In other words, in the first half hour of our visit, I had exactly zero photos of the kids looking at animals. Finally, we made our way to the petting zoo. Miraculously, I actually had two quarters with me, enough to plug into what I'm sure was a gumball dispenser in a previous life, and buy two handfuls of what looked suspiciously like dog food.

AJ was almost as excited as the goats.

Sydney, on the other hand, was feeling less than brave. She first attempted to set the tiny pellets on the white ledge just inside the fence. When that didn't work particularly well, she happily handed over the remaining pieces to her brother.

And then, because I'm sure there was some meteorological force plotting to make sure I didn't get too many pictures with animals, it started to rain. That made it the perfect time to tour the indoor nocturnal exhibit.

Thankfully, the rain didn't last. By the time we came back outside, the rain had stopped. Giving AJ yet another opportunity to play with a fake animal.