A day at the zoo

It’s been 25 years since I stepped foot in the Dickerson Park Zoo. As a child, I had the place memorized. I took classes there over the summer and every chance I got, I was there, memorizing every nuance and fact about the animals. When I was about 8, I was pretty sure that if I didn’t grow up to be an actress, I’d work at the Dickerson Park Zoo. (Come to think of it, the menagerie on my farm isn’t that far off…)

Last Friday, after a really long, hard week of building fences, I’d promised my kids I’d take them to the zoo. My children have been raised on the St. Louis Zoo, one of the best in the country, so I was worried they’d turn their noses up at the beloved zoo from my childhood. I should have known my kiddos better than that.

We had an amazing day. Maybe our new zoo is smaller in size, but it more than makes up for it in the beauty of its park-like setting and the nearness of the animals. We were able to interact with the wildlife, and that’s something my kids and I love.

I took 352 pictures in our 4 hours there. (Maybe I went a little crazy.) Promise I won’t share them all, just my favorites!

Of my 352 pictures, a lot were of peacocks. They pose when you walk by; I couldn’t help myself.

My oldest, Dylan, and my youngest, Chris. Chris was taking a picture of me while I took a picture of them.

Feeding the swans was definitely a highlight for us.

Elephants are one of my all-time favorite animals, so watching them get their daily bath was a huge treat for me! This girl is smiling because she found the orange her keeper threw for her.

We all kind of giggled at how excited Chris got over the goats. Too bad we don’t have any of those at home or anything…

Our favorite part of the entire trip was feeding the giraffes. This particular giraffe had a ginormous tongue, which he used to grab food out of people’s hands.