The Jackson Zoo

The week before Christmas we had some unseasonably warm days. I tried to take advantage of it by doing several outdoor things with the boys. On one of those days my mom and I took the boys to the Jackson Zoo. I have many fond memories of going there as a child and I love being able to take my kids there now. Even though the zoo is not what it used to be the kids still had a blast.

a photo at the zoo entrance

Mimi and the boys

We got there right after it opened so we were able to see them feed many of the animals.  Here are the boys inside the bird cage.  They are playing with the crickets before the zookeeper fed them to the birds.

She would throw a cricket into the air and the birds would swoop down and grab them.  It was very cool to watch.

me, my mom, Ben, and Cruz

 Cruz watching the tigers.  This was his favorite thing of all.

They got to ride on the carousel.  Cruz chose to ride the tiger.

Ben picked the lion.

Here's my sweet boy laughing out loud!  He loved it.

The zoo had a 4 week old gibbon monkey.  We were able to watch them bottle feed it through the glass at the zoo hospital.  It was fun to watch.

sweet baby monkey

The boys both loved the petting zoo.  Ben especially liked the chickens.

here chicken...

They spent some time on the playland while Mimi shopped in the giftstore.  She bought them a few surprises and my favorite was this book-

It's such a cute book!

We all rode the train before leaving.  It's a zoo tradition.  I've been riding that train since I was a baby.

my boys ready to ride the train

Mimi, Ben, me, and Cruz

Just for fun I thought I would add this photo that was taken on our last visit to the Jackson Zoo.  It's Cruz and my mom back in March 2011.  Cruz was just 9 months old.  Oh how I miss him being so small!!!

After our train ride we ended our visit with a picnic lunch.   It was a beautiful day for being outside and a picnic was a perfect way to enjoy it.  What a fun day it was!