Holland Hall Zoo Field Trip

Today was William's much anticipated field trip to the Tulsa Zoo.  His class has been studying amphibians and the rain forest, and the zoo has excellent exhibits highlighting both.  I was excited for this field trip because this was our first trip to the Tulsa zoo as well as Adeline's first time to see live animals in person.  

 I dropped William off at school and waited behind the school bus so I could follow the class to the zoo.  Adeline took a good morning nap in the car, so she was ready to rock and roll when we arrived.  Once I got her situated in the stroller and loaded all our gear, we met William and his buddies at the zoo entrance.


Mrs. Overcash told us we could take the kids anywhere in the zoo, but at 11:10 am we were all going to be meet at the rain forest exhibit.  So, William, Adeline and I set out to explore the zoo with William's buddies - Jake and Matthew and Jake's mom, Kim.  The boys were fired up!  I don't think they stopped running for one second.  Kim takes her kids to the zoo all the time, so she was the perfect person to tag along with.  She had us zipping around the zoo with plenty of time to see all the "big ticket" animals before our 11am deadline.
When we got to the elephants, I just knew Adeline would freak out.  Elephants and ducks are her very favorite animals.  And, the excitement for me was just watching her face the first time she recognized a real animal in person.  Oh my goodness, her eyes got huge and she gasped, "WOOOOOOWWWW!"  It was "WOW" plain as day (a new word for the list!).  She squealed with pure delight when she saw the elephant raise his trunk and make a noise.  She laughed and laughed.  I knew her enjoyment was real because weeks ago, I taught her to raise her hand up in the air and make a shrieking noise when asked, "what does the elephant say?"  And for her to see the elephant actually raise his trunk and squeal -well that was the icing on the cake for this cutie!


Here she is doing her elephant impersonation:
Aside from the elephants, Adeline really did have a great time seeing the animals in person.  She watched the giraffes for a good 5 minutes without making a peep, and she got a kick out of the prairie dogs.  


William and his buds liked the Cheetah, tigers, lions and monkeys.  We stopped by a turtle statue and got a cute picture of the boys, but I didn't chance taking Adeline out of her stroller for her own photo.  She loves to get out of  the stroller, but hates getting back in....
Just as we rounded the corner from the giraffes, William noticed the sea lion show was about to start.  So, we all grabbed seats and watched the trainers introduce the sea lions and show a few tricks.  It was very cute and really fun to watch.
After we met up with his class for the rain forest exhibit, it was time for a quick lunch.  The kids brought sack lunches and sat with their chaperons.  William insisted on eating with Adeline so the three of us found a shady spot under a tree and feasted on our grub.  The kids were SO hungry they didn't move off the blanket until every last morsel of food was gone.  
The class got the chance to play on the zoo playground before calling it a day.  6 hours at the Tulsa zoo was plenty - probably more than enough:)  It was really fun to watch William race around with his friends and listen to their funny conversations.  I can tell my boy is gaining independence and leaving me in the dust.


But then I hear him say, "Mom, thanks for coming to the zoo.  I would miss you if  you were not here."  And I begin to think I might just have a few more moments like these before he's embarrassed to be seen with me! ha!