Labor Day Zoo Trip

For Labor Day this year we went to the zoo. My membership was about to expire so I thought we could fit in one final visit. I really enjoy Zoo Atlanta and will probably renew my membership next year. It's not too big and has an excellent children's section. 

Here we are about to depart on our train ride through the children's section. We lucked out and got the very back seat.

We also went for a ride on the carousel.

And hit up the splash pad. 

It's always fun to have a chance to get out with the family.

Fall Break

Zara had fall break this week which meant a whole week off of school even though they just started. Makes sense to me! In any case, we decided to make this fall break fun so Zara and I sat down last Sunday and made a list of all the things we wanted to do for the week and I'm happy to report that we checked off a huge portion of our list. With my pregnancy and Benjamin's arrival, we haven't gotten to get out and do much lately so I really wanted to take the opportunity to enjoy the very last vestiges of summer and welcome in autumn. So here's a rundown of our week's adventures: 

Monday

Monday was a beautiful day. Warm, but not too hot, overcast but with hints of sun and no signs of rain. We packed a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and enjoyed a picnic at the park and then played for several hours. 

Tuesday

Tuesday was a low-key day which saw us enjoying a play date at a friend's house. My friend (who has three children of very similar ages to my three) was even kind enough to let me leave the girls at her house for an hour so I could run to the grocery store with just Benjamin. If you've ever shopped with three kids, you know what a luxury this is. My kids do a pretty good job when shopping. I just hate how long it takes to get in and out of all the car seats, especially if I need to make more than one stop. 

Wednesday

I needed a lot of time to prepare myself for Wednesday's planned outing: the zoo. It was supposed to be a sunny day, the hottest of the week which I thought would be best for our zoo day. Zoo Atlanta is not terribly big so it's easy to see most of the animals pretty quickly. The real highlight is the kid zone which features a splash pad, playground, petting zoo, and rides. I was quite happy to discover that my new double jogging stroller just barely fits into the trunk of my Accord. Without it, I don't think I could have survived the zoo with three kids by myself. 

After visiting most of the animals we wanted to see (the big attraction are the pandas), we went to the kid's area to eat our packed lunch. Zara was distraught to see that the splash pad was not on. Suddenly, the whole day was ruined (Oh, the emotional rollercoaster of being 5.) Thankfully, as we were eating our lunch, a zoo worker came and turned the water on.

Adelaide and Zara had a blast running through the splash pad. It was hard to get them to leave. But then poor Adelaide scraped her toe and knee and that was the end of that. We then peaked in on a few more animals and then headed home before downtown traffic got too bad. 

I wore those girls right out. They both fell asleep on their way home. But we had a great time and now I have a zoo membership so we can go back anytime we want. 

Thursday

I was pretty worn out on Thursday from all the zoo excitement so Thursday was going to be another low key day. I woke up late and had to rush to get us all packed into the stroller to take a walk to the local library where we enjoyed their preschool storytime. 

After reading books about fall, they broke out the parachute (always a big hit) and then did a fall craft. We came home for lunch and naps and then watched Cars. 

Friday

Friday we went to Champion Kids, a gymnastics center, that holds open play time on the weekdays to play on their trampolines, ropes, and bouncing equipment. I've never been able to take Zara since they don't do open time on Saturdays so I wanted to let the kids play. They had a pretty good time although Zara definitely enjoyed it more than Adelaide. 

On our way home, we stopped at Gigi's Cupcakes for a cupcake treat. I've been trying to find a good cupcake place and have tried several okay places but I think Gigi's is my new favorite. We came home for lunch and then we all took naps. Zara doesn't like to nap so this was a big deal. Part of the reason could be because Zara came home with a fever. Delightful. 

After our naps, we did our own art projects. Zara loves to create and paint and she's gotten very good with her art supplies. Adelaide, on the other hand, just makes big blobs of paint. But they both enjoyed themselves. 

Saturday we went to the High Museum of Art but since I took lots of photos, I'll make that it's own post. In any case, we had a great week but I'm looking forward to school starting again on Monday. I need a break from our fall break. 

Seoul Zoo

In high school, when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my response was always that I either wanted to major in American history and work in a museum or that I'd major in zoology and work in a zoo. Obviously, I went with option #1. History, writing papers, reading, etc. has always come easily and naturally to me. And I enjoy it immensely. While I really like the sciences (no really, I do) it simply does not come easily to me. I have to work very hard to understand even basic scientific principles though zoology/anatomy are much easier for me. Still, I chose the path that I loved and knew I could excel at, rather than the path that I loved and knew I would struggle at. But there are brief moments when I wish I'd picked the harder path. Generally, that feeling most frequently rears its head when I visit a zoo, go to the vet's office, or see a sick or stray animal wandering around. I love animals (okay, so insects and spiders aren't high on my list) but I have a great amount of love and compassion for most of God's creatures. Growing up, we always had memberships to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park and I've always loved going to zoos. (And no zoo I've been to has ever come close to matching San Diego's.)

Wednesday, I went to the Seoul Zoo with some friends. A women in our ward issued an open invitation to visit the Seoul Zoo on Wednesday, so I made plans to go with my friend and her two children. I thought a few other women with their kids might show up but it actually turned out to be a huge group of women, all with multiple children and their strollers. We were quite a sight. Korean people tend to freak out over foreign children, especially if they have blonde hair and we got quite a few stares.

This tiger greeted us at the entrance of the zoo. The zoo is part of what is called Seoul Grand Park which includes several other attractions including a museum, rose garden, and an amusement park. Admission into the zoo was ridiculously cheap (only 3,000 won or less than $3) and we paid an extra 2,000 won to see the dolphin and sea lion show. I wasn't expecting much from the zoo but it was actually a rather decent-sized zoo though some of their enclosures could use a little expanding and updating. Luckily, the zoo was pretty empty so we didn't have to compete with a lot of other people to see the animals.

Ostriches are such socially awkward, funny looking birds. I think that may be why I feel a certain bit of kinship to them. Sometimes you just have to love the ugly animals as much as you love the cute ones.

Like baboons. Sure they look all cute and furry but then they turn around. Seriously, what is up with their butts?

The younger baboons were just as fascinated by the children as the children were with them. It was really fun to watch the baboons jump at and stare at all the kids as if they were the attractions.

I can't remember what kind of monkey this is, but look at the little baby monkey! So cute. There was also a nursery where some zookeepers were feeding baby gorillas bananas with a spoon. I'd love that job. (Though if I had become a zookeeper, I'd definitely be working with the big cats...shocking, I know.)

Seriously, how can you not love cats of all sizes? I love just watching them sleep....they seem to get just enjoyment out of it. Look at the smile on the male's face. Pure bliss.

I interrupt the cat photos to bring you a common sight in Korea: the artistic use of kimchi pots. They do make a great fountain. I'd rather they were used this way rather than storing vile, frementing cabbage. But that's just me.....


So back to the cats. How about this snow leopard? So beautiful. I just think that cats are such graceful creatures. Unfortunately, too many zoos (and Seoul Zoo was no exception) stick their cats (and many other animals) in enclosures that are just way too small. The lions and tigers often get better accomodations, but still no where large enough for such active, powerful beasts. It always makes me sad. Even Suyom has more space to run around and play in than some of these beasts who are 20 times her size. (That's why I love the San Diego Wild Animal Park....most of the animals are given wide open spaces to roam around in which more closely mirror their natural habitats.)

This beautiful white tiger was quite entertaining. He kept straddling this tree branch and rubbing his face all over the bark. When you've got an itch....

Most of the cats were sleeping (since it is what they do best and it was insanely hot out....I don't blame them for wanting to just sleep through that). A friend asked which animal we'd prefer to come upon in the wild: a bear, a lion, or a tiger. She meant which animal we'd feel would be easier to escape from and most people were very logical in their responses and chose the bear because they believed bears were easier to scare away and run away from. But my rationality escapes me when comfronted with either lions or tigers. I'd totally forget to run. I'd probably just want to call them a pretty kitty and pet them, completely forgetting the fact that they could rip my face off.

After two or so hours of walking around the zoo, we went to the dolphin and sea lion show. It seemed a little weird for there to be such entertainment at a zoo in a city 30 miles away from the ocean (since I associate dolphin shows with places like Sea World and aquariums) but it was an amusing diversion, though nothing terribly spectacular. Plus it was all in Korean so I didn't really get anything educational out of the program. It only re-confirmed to me that Koreans have very different entertainment standards than Americans.

We decided to head home after the dolphin show because it was just too hot and humid to continue to spend much more time in the sun. On our way out, we passed the Stork Village and of course, I couldn't resist getting a picture taken. Where did we ever get the notion that storks deliver babies? From a fairy tale? I wonder if Asians have the same myths.

We also passed some meerkats on our way out. There's just no helping it....these creatures are just adorable and hilarious to watch.

And we passed the majestic giraffes. I loved how their necks were all intertwined as they reach around each other for food.

The Seoul Zoo was definitely worth a visit but I'm glad we left when we did. Not only did it start to rain just as we reached the car, but I was exhausted and had to sit on the couch for the rest of the day. I always seem to forget that my body has very different limitations now and just doesn't want to move as much as it used to. Baby, however, enjoys kicking and twirling and bumping into me every chance it gets. I am quite afraid that with our combined genetics and history of being very active children, David and I will have a little monkey on our hands in no time.

Well, I did always want to work in a zoo. I guess this is my chance. :-)