Minnesota Zoo

Wednesday we went to the big Minnesota Zoo with Leah, Cal, Isaac and our new friends Laura, Madeleine, and Elias. We decided to become members since I only need to pay for myself this year (kids under 3 are free) and Leah & Laura are members so visits will be that much more fun. It was a pretty cold day so we spent most of our morning inside. Atticus had so much fun and was a very good boy for the 5 hours we were there.

The indoor jungle exhibit

A kimodo dragon

One of my favorites -- the Gibbons

The scuba-diver aquarium show

That's Cal, Isaac, Atticus, Leah, and Laura in the middle of the picture

Elias. Cal, Madeleine, and Atticus

Happy 3rd Birthday, Madeleine!
(It was her actual birthday (-:)

Atticus playing with Madeleine's binoculars -- so sweet for her to share!

I adore these guys -- Weedy Sea Dragons

"The weedy sea dragon or common sea dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) is a marine fish related to the seahorse. It is the only member of the genus Phyllopteryx. It is found in water 3 to 50 m deep around the southern coastline of Australia, approximately between Port Stephens, New South Wales and Geraldton, Western Australia, as well as around Tasmania. Weedy sea dragons are named for the weed-like projections on their bodies that camouflage them as they move among the seaweed beds where they are usually found. Weedy sea dragons can reach 45 cm in length. They feed on tiny crustaceans and other zooplankton, which are sucked into the end of their tube-like snout.
A more cryptic relative of the weedy sea dragon is the leafy sea dragon. In the November 2006 issue of National Geographic magazine, marine biologist Greg Rouse is reported as investigating the DNA variation of the two sea dragon species across their ranges. The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California and Melbourne Aquarium in Australia are the only facilities in the world to have successfully bred weedy sea dragons in captivity." -- Wikipedia

And because I don't think my photos did these fantastic creatures justice here are two internet photos for you. The one above is the weedy sea dragon. The one below is the leafy sea dragon.

The dolphin show -- actually a training session. They jumped high out of the water, played catch with a ball and a trainer and did other fun tricks. I was nursing Dietrich so Laura is "containing" Atticus who kept wanting to crawl down the amphitheater seats and go explore. When he finally saw the dolphins he ended up getting into the spirit of things and kept laughing and clapping.

After the dolphin show our friends headed home for naps. I decided to let Atticus stay later just for fun and because I wanted him to see the baby farm animals. The Zoo Farm was truly "in the back 40" as they say. I was so glad I had the double stroller with me, especially since Atticus had finally run out of steam.

Crying from falling four times in 5 minutes because he was cold and so tired. His poor knees are still very sad looking -- black and blue and cut up. And, yes, I was wondering if I my decision to prolong our visit and brave the outdoors was adding to Atticus' pleasure and wealth of experiences or just torturing him. )-:

But he really did love the baby goats and pigs.

A pretty litter of Duroc-Mix piglets

There was a shiny new John Deere tractor parked alongside the path (used to pull the visitors' seated-wagons) before we reached the farm but I wasn't sure if they would let kids sit in it. So I compromised and let him get up on the riding lawn mowers -- there weren't any signs that said to stay off and, I mean, look at that grin in the last photo (-: