Jacob became sick last Friday and we were home the entire weekend and beginning of the week (no church, MOPs, or school). He had an upper respiratory virus, but a high fever that spiked at 105 on Friday night! He spent the beginning of the week like this:
Wednesday was a big day, Daddy turned the big 3-0!!!! Jacob was feeling much better and we decided to celebrate this momentus birthday at the Dallas Zoo. We arrived around 10am to find absolutely no lines or school groups (which I was expecting several of!). Unfortunately, along with a quiet zoo came a rain storm! Luckily for us, the carousel is right through the zoo gates and we were able to take refuge there until the rain let up and we were able to walk around. We were so happy that the rain did indeed let up, we were afraid it was going to be the most expensive carousel ride ever and that we'd have to go home afterwards!
Jacob and Daddy riding the carousel, out of the rain!When the weather let up, we had a wonderful time exploring the quiet zoo and seeing the many animals that were out and about! Jacob absolutely loooooves animals and he's just the right age to enjoy seeing them do silly things.
Jacob loves giraffes, so that was one of our first stops. Unfortunately, only one giraffe decided to come out and play after the rain, but we were happy for that! Nathan and I joked that Jacob was the "animal whisperer" because he'd say "Come!" and the giraffe actually came closer. Now, we think this was just coincidence, but Jacob was convinced the giraffe listened to him!!
We next ventured into the reptile and bird building, usually one of my least favorite parts of the zoo. Jacob, however, disagreed. He loved get up close and personal with the birds and reptiles and had a wonderful time exploring!
The first time we passed by the elephants, they were both inside and out of sight. On our way from the reptiles to the Wilds of Africa, the elephants came out for a bit! What a treat!
Our morning at the zoo was absolutely fantastic and memorable, even for Jacob. The next day at school he even told his friends and teachers about it! We look forward to going back to the zoo more often, especially when they open the new area that will house the lions (who weren't out on Wednesday), elephants, giraffes, and other animals found in the Savanna.
