We took our friends, the Copelands, for their first visit to the San Diego Zoo.
The koalas are always a favorite first stop because they're so cute and cuddly. They need a koala petting zoo.
Next stop, the camels. WATCH OUT! THEY SPIT!
All the kids were having a blast.
The zoo has a new exhibit called The Elephant Odyssey, exploring animals from the ice age and their descendants.
This was a recreation of the La Brea Tar pits.
The daddy mammoth statue was so large it was difficult to get the whole thing in the picture.
The mommy and baby mammoth were easier to climb on.
The prehistoric leopard was Aleya's favorite.
The boys preferred the power machinery. I thought this was a giant pooper scooper, but it is apparently used at bones digging sites.
The hippos seem so graceful underwater.
The pandas were sleeping . . . again. In fact, most of the animals seemed to be napping as we viewed them.
We decided to ride the bus near the end of the day, hoping the animals would finally wake up so we could see them better.
The lions were finally awake, but we were on the wrong side of the fence. This would've been an awesome photo opportunity.
Amara particpated in the hoola hoop contest and WON! Who knew she could hoola hoop so well? She even had to walk and jump while hoola hooping ( in order to determine the winner). That's pretty cool!
At the end of the day, we enjoyed an exotic bird show. I even got to participate in the show and have a large owl swoop down over my head (while I was filming it). The photos came out terrible, but it was a cool experience.
Several of the kids with us liked the snow leopard the best. He was quite active later that evening. This was a nice ending to an entertaining and educational day.
We went to my aunt's home in San Clemente for our annual family swim there (we go and enjoy their fantastic pool and waterslide).
Amara's face says it all.
Careful boys! Sometimes they throw caution to the wind, but wind up injured.
Aleya finally learned to swim independently (of mom) in their jacuzzi. In just a short while she was swimming all over their pool (with the swimming pads).
Orrin was showing off with a backflip.
We had a terrific time, until the sun went down. We stopped off at the Dollar Store to get treats on our way home. Wish we could go visit my aunt more often!
