Como Zoo

This past Saturday, Mommy put on her brave face and piled all five of our children in the van and headed down to the Como Zoo. "Why is this so brave?" you may be asking yourselves. Well, I decided to do this solo...without Daddy...since he was busy giving insulin injections and taking vital stats! Well...I guess I wasn't completely alone, the Peterson family decided to make the trip with us which made it even more exciting!!! Plus, it didn't hurt that I had good ole uncle Brett there to help the little girls cross Como Avenue! The kids were all so excited to go, it has been a long time since we've been to the "big city!" However, when we got closer to the zoo, Fearless said "ah Mom, this looks just like Sauk Rapids...they aren't any big buildings anywhere!" We finally drove past the St. Paul city sign so I could prove that we really were in the capital city, just not by the big buildings.
The first thing we did was head into the butterfly gardens. THIS WAS AWESOME! Little Louie was so mesmerized by all the beautiful butterflies, it really was quite a sight. It was particularly cool for my children since they have been studying and capturing these winged creatures all summer long. I told them that they could think of this as a field trip for their summer school....ahh, come on Mom!!!
We continued on to see the Polar Bears (Little T loved these!), the monkeys, giraffes, zebras, bison, lions and tigers. All the kids had a great time and were so well behaved. I have to admit that I was nervous about taking them by myself, but there was no reason to be. The boys were great helpers, Little T and Louie pretty much just hung out in the stroller and enjoyed the scenery. The only one that I had to worry about at all was Sunshine. She tends to be our "la-tea-da" girl and can wander a bit...gotta love her!
After the zoo, Auntie and Uncle Brett graciously bought each of the older kids a ride at the amusement park. What a great way to end a great day!!!
The kids are already asking to go back, I think we'll let Daddy join us this next time:)

The kids in the rainforest....at least Little T was smiling!

Lou and Little T...so sweet and pretty!

Sunshine and Skater Boy checking out the fish....this was a fav for Fearless!

Sunshine and a Blue Morpho butterfly...yes I know what it's called. I live with two boys obsessed with them!

Skater Boy, Little T and Charlie checking out some butterflies!

Beautiful Little T

Sunshine in the Flying Trapeze

Fearless ready to take flight

Skater Boy ready for some Bumper car action

Mommy and her sweet little Lou...does she have the most beautiful blue eyes or what?? Oh...she's just so precious I can hardly stand it!