Last night before I headed to bed, I snapped this sweet shot...
Izzy had been saying she was "a little
nervous" to go to bed, and Cooper kept assuring her if she needed, he would come over and snuggle with her. Well, little did I know, she would end up next to him for the night. And as I type this post, guess where she is once again?!?
It's the simple things that melt my heart the most :)
On to the Day #4 update...
This morning, we got up and at 'em to head out on a little adventure day to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. We discovered our MN Zoo membership granted us 50% off admission, so that sealed the deal for us! The kids were thrilled, and they LOVED the zoo. It was a really great place, so different than the MN Zoo--it was almost like the Como Zoo on steroids. They had lots of exotic animals we don't have in MN, rides that were included in the price of admission, and all the animal enclosures were natural-looking. We felt like we were walking through the jungle almost the whole time. Crocs, gators, manatees, stingrays, macaws, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, a hippo, zebras, a panther, and a lot of snakes were among the highlights.
"Wait wait wait guys! I think we have to go, let me see, this way!" Izzy loved using the map to be our tour guide.
The kids got to feed the stingrays. It sucked the food right out of their little hands. Cooper got soaked when one stingray decided to 'wave' to him :)
The carousel was free to ride! Of course the kids loved it!
Emperor and King penguins, in the house!
"Mom!!! Some elephants haven't been killed yet!" Izzy was so serious when we came upon the elephants, because just beforehand, a zookeeper had showed the kids a tusk and explained that elephants are being hunted for their ivory. 85 elephants are killed each day, mostly for their tusks (who knew??). The kids were very concerned little citizens.
"Hode on tight! Hode on tight!" is Carson's new phrase whenever he wants to be held... We have heard it a lot over the last few days!
The zoo also had a splash pad! That was perfect, because it was 87 degrees and sunny today!
Why do all little boys feel the need to do this!?!?!
By this point in the day, the kids were starting to get pretty tired and a little whiny, but we only had one section left to go... And we're glad we did! The big kids got to feed the Lorakeets. Cooper had a special place in his heart for that one on the left with the grey feathers. (It is still a young one who didn't get its full color yet).
Cooper kept trying to get one to come into his hand, but he only got one foot. The birds were a bit aggressive and nipped if your fingers got too close!
The kids were excited to see a Komodo dragon right next to the glass. They could see its claws and tongue really well. And they also loved climbing on this dude.
All three of them pressed out a penny, and they were so proud to show them off!
I love Izzy's pose here with it held to her cheek :)
After a little rest time and supper, we headed out to the beach to play and catch another sunset.
The boys and I built a castle.
Videos catch the feel so much better than photos!!
Izzy the mermaid (again) blowing kisses
This weirdo loved getting wet and then rolling in the sand.
Cooper started a water fight... Poor boy hasn't realized yet his mom doesn't like to lose at anything.
Here, a 'hurricane' was destroying the castle :). Carson just tried to keep up the whole time. He was not nervous about the sand or the water today. I love that "ocean," "waves," "pool," "swimmin," and "sea shells" are now words in Carson's vocabulary. He is loving vacation too!
I tried...
And tried...
And tried...
And then I got a pretty good one :)
I know we're in a tough stage for perfect posed pics, but I figure if I keep trying, I'll eventually get THE photo :)
The big kids were being crazy wackos splashing and jumping in the waves saying goodbye to the sun as it sunk into the water before we headed just up the beach for the night.
Bedtime snack consisted of ice cream and extra licorice for the big kids cooperating for pics on the beach :). Carson went to bed early... He's been a little cranky with another tooth coming in!
Cooper said today while we were getting ready for bed, "Mom, I just love vacation." His favorite part of the day was,"well, a lot of things were my favorite things today." He loved seeing the Komodo dragon up close, "I could really see his claws nice and close!" He said he also loved seeing the crocs and gators. "One thing I did NOT like was that stingray splashing me!"
Izzy loved the same things, of course, and she also had, "a lot of favorite things, too!" She made a wish for a pink unicorn last night, but sadly that wish didn't come true :). She really liked feeding the birds.
It was another memorable day, and we have a pretty quiet little condo tonight.
Shout out to our friends back home who get to have one more day of work and school and then enjoy a four-day weekend!
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