Lions and Tigers and Bears...Meow!

Yes, we are crazy, but Lee and I (along with half of the tri-state area) decided to take the kids to the zoo on Saturday...that is, Memorial Day weekend Saturday. We arrived very close to opening time and were able to park in the back of the regular parking lot. By the time we left, they were parking people in Overton Park...crazy amount of people there, but all in all, not too bad for us!

This was Ella's third visit to a zoo, second to the Memphis zoo and Virginia's first! V thoroughly enjoyed the view from her car seat and smiled ever so sweetly every time you would look down at her. She doesn't care where she is or what she is doing, as long as there is someone to smile at!

For the ride down to Memphis, Ella did great in the car. We are taking a road trip at the end of June to Orange Beach and I am a little nervous about how the long car ride will go, but hopefully this will be an indication of how it will be. (I can dream, right?)

When we arrived, Ella was very excited just over the big stone animals at the entrance, as she should be. Who isn't? Once we got inside, her excitement expanded and the first thing she said when she saw the Tiger in Cat Country was "Meow"! She did make roaring sounds at the bears and "ooh, ooh, ah, ah" at the monkekys, but "meows" were abundant! This is vast improvement from our last trip to the zoo where everything was a "dog"!

I was super excited that the pandas were on the move that day. Everytime I have ever visited the pandas, they are sleeping and very, very still. That day, however, something must have been up, because they were both circling their dayrooms and would stop every so often and pose for a picture. I love the glass walls, where you can get right up next to them. Ella liked them and especially liked the glass between her and the pandas. "Roar".

Here is little V waiting patiently. You can see LeLe, the panda in the background.

And here is a little view of the past from Ella's first trip to the zoo when she was 2 months old. Same shot, same car seat, different baby, different panda...

Ella with YaYa in the background

Here is Miss Priss taking her stroll through the zoo. At her own discretion, she had pig tails, a big beaded necklace, and pink "ga-gas" glasses! Such a diva!

My littlest sweet girl!

Here is a try at a girls' picture, but unfortunately there was an airplane flying over at the moment and Ella doesn't really like those right now. Do you know how many airplanes fly over the zoo in a 3 hour time span? Just stick with us and you will notice them all!!