Zoo Boise

A few weeks ago Weston's brother Daron and family came for a visit.  On one of those days we went to Zoo Boise.  It's a great not-too-big zoo, with lots of trees.  The kids had a blast.  For one, they were with cousins, and for two, we were at the zoo.

They were so excited, in fact, that this is how we did most of the zoo: 

We were on the "Sprint Tour".

It was quite the challenge for me to keep up with them at 35 weeks pregnant.  We got a lot of stares because sometimes it would be big fat prego me with 7 other kids running around like crazy.

My niece Olivia was so beside herself when she found out there were bats there.

It was really cute.

Ezra really wanted a picture of him with the red panda.  He loves pandas and this was as close as one gets to one in Boise, Idaho.

Carter the tortoise: 

And now Carter the gymnast going down the slide in the splits!  OUCH!

I love spider monkeys.

This tiger was seriously huge.

He freaked everyone out (especially Ezra and Brigham) when he looked right at them on the other side of the glass.

Ummm...

Those would be Jiles's choice of footwear for the day abandoned on the path.  He got in the car that morning and we assumed he had shoes on.  He only had one boot, but his church shoes were in there, but he didn't want to wear both of them.  So this was the pair all that day.

"Mom take a picture of me getting dragged by the tiger!"

Whoops.  I promise we didn't see this little sign until after the above pictures were taken.

Starting to change.

Little Jacob and a little giraffe.

Just before we went into the place where the jelly fish were, I called all of my children around me, with Weston.  I could not take any more of this sprint tour and they all needed to walk to keep me from going into labor right there at the zoo (I didn't phrase it that way.  I  said it nicely, yet firmly).  It is just soooo hard to juust walk when there is SO MUCH TO SEE AT ONE TIME,  was the message I got from their faces.

Giraffes are my favorite.  

I used to get to let them out and put them up everyday when I worked at Weston's uncles's zoo, so I would be right next to them.  Loved it.  Did I ever tell you about the time I helped birth a baby giraffe and almost got kicked when we were standing behind her trying to help pull the calf out because the mama (Christy was her name) was having complications?  She kicked the wall right next to me.  It is quite the story (of which I will not tell right now).

We did not get very close to them because you had to wait in a line to pay $3 to feed them a piece of lettuce.  Lame.

Beautiful (both above and below).

And here we are at the end when I was about to fall over of exhaustion and I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions like crazy.  We had a lot of fun, though, and it was definitely worth it.  

35 weeks along and 35 years old.

We went to Chuck E. Cheese's afterward, and I REALLY think that will hold me over for the rest of my life.  C.E.C. is really not my favorite.  I do like being with family, however.  And I do like the picture booth.  :)