Family Vacation, Day 3: Hogle Zoo

We weren't in a big hurry to end our vacation so we all slept in again, enjoyed breakfast at Kellie's, took our time showering, getting ready and packing and by late morning we were headed to Hogle Zoo.

Though the zoo is provided to see live animals, mine seemed just as interested in the statues, child size eagle's nest,
Lego animals and of course, the lion drinking fountain.

The two main highlights of the day were the elephant show and the bird show.

The elephants were so entertaining to watch!  There were large ice blocks with fruit in them that were hanging on the fence and dangling in the air. We laughed as we watched them stretch up high with their trunks to break the ice and get to the fruit. These animals are quite clever and their trunks are much stronger than I would have thought.

The baby elephant drew most of our attention.  He acted so young and carefree compared to the two old elephants.  One of the big elephants did break a huge ice block in half and pushed it over for the baby elephant to stand on.  What an adorable (and wrinkly) family.

We were in awe at the bird show.  Those beautiful flying creatures were swooping right above our heads, so close that we could feel their wing tips on our heads and the breeze as they flew by.  It was surprising to watch the crow that picked up a water bottle to put in the recycling bin and to see the hawks begin from a perch several hundred yards away come diving down into the crowd and land exactly where he was supposed to.  The parrots spoke so clearly that we knew exactly what they were saying and were actually even physically entertaining as they danced to the music or stared down the announcer. After the show we were invited down to see the birds up close.  Wow!  They were so big, alert, and beautiful.

Daymia fell in love with the owl.  Seriously, we had to practically drag her away before she kidnapped him.

After the zoo we split up again.  LeRoy, Vivien, Nathan, Hyrum and I headed home while the others all went to find an aquatic center.  It was so good to get home at a decent time, shower the boys (and myself) and get them to bed before the teen party got home.  We all had so much fun together!