We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo . . .

. . . actually we already went and it was a fabulous day. A day at the Toronto Zoo was the Back to School trip for our homeschooling group. Kevin and I had been before, but were of course more than willing to go back and Kade was excited to see things for the first time. Jonathan was planning on joining us, but work got too busy, so we invited Kate and Anna to take his place. We arose from our beds at some dark hour, travelled at a fine clip for an hour or so, braved very slow Toronto traffic for an hour, got nervous that we would be late (since we had to enter as a group), but made it there just in the nick of time - actually 4 minutes late - but whose counting when everyone else got stuck in the same traffic.

This was our first stop - and though it may appear to be a moose and a polar bear - it was actually the washrooms:)

But we thought we'd hug the animals while we were there.

We were very happy to have this stroller - though these girls were in and out and in and out all day - but I don't blame them. Anytime something interesting came up, they wanted to jump out to get a better view. An exhibit that is new to the zoo - for this year only- was Stingray Bay. You had to pay extra to get in but it was worth it (especially since with our group rate it was only $1/person). I'm guessing there were at least 20 stingrays in this "pool" plus some smaller sharks etc. We were instructed to wash our arms up to our elbows before entering - so that we could pet the stingrays. They felt really cool! And they liked being petted. It reminded me of a cat - once you pet it once, it would circle around and come back to you for more. We got to feed fish to them too. We were supposed to stick the fish between our fingers and then hold it there for the stingray to grab as it swam over our hand. I chickened out - somehow the thought of a stingray mouth coming at my hand . . . he got the fish anyhow. The stingrays also like to splash - except Kate found out the hard way. She got pretty soaked, but it was pretty funny.

Kate and I -photo courtesy of Kevin.

Some of the animals we got to see . . .

We visited the kids zoo near the beginning of the day and really loved it so we came at the end of the day again so we could rest our legs. The great thing about the kids zoo was the exhibits were close together, plus they had a slide, ladder, and sandbox which was where they ended up at the end so Kate and I could sit on a bench and rest.

My bunnies.

Kade trying on a snake skin.

Some more of our viewings . . . .

Anna and Kylie

Hugs and Kisses

Kevin the turtle . . . (except now that I think of it, we probably should have put Kade in that one:)

Our favourite - the monkeys. The one on the left is eating an apple that Kade through near the fence (despite warnings NOT to feed the animals lest they fight) This baboon reached and reached till he got it and then after a tiny squirmish was left alone - He didn't seem overly impressed with the sour apple:)

Kate, Kevin and I - photo courtesy of Kade

"Look!!"

Another favorite . . .

Kade and Kevin near the giraffes.

Kade chased this peacock to try and pet it and is now fleeing.

The monster toad.

All the kids - just seconds before the girls hopped down and Kade fell backwards onto the wrong side of the fence. He was fine after a few tears.

Nearing the end of the day . . .

They found out at the very end of the day that it would be fun to run and hold hands.

And it was cute too:)

That ends our wonderful day at the zoo. Traffic on the way home was pretty much the same story as on the way there, but we made it home safe and sound and everybody had a marvelous sleep last night.