It's a Zoo Around Here

Last weekend, for the 4th of July, we made a little excursion to Salt Lake. My aunt and uncle (and some of his family) that live in Tennessee and Florida came out for their first grandbaby's blessing. Since so much family that we don't get to see very often was so close we decided to go see everybody. Our first stop, however, was Hogle Zoo.

Penguins make a sound kinda like Chewbacca. You learn new things everyday...

Brothers... ugh. =]

We got there around 3pm or so... and got in for FREE! I love FREE. It's my favorite price. They have a Military Appreciation event at the zoo every year around the weekend of the 4th and military personnel and their immediate families get in for... FREE. Ok, I'm done, promise.

AJ had never been to Hogle Zoo (in fact, I think that was the third zoo he's ever been to in his whole life), but we both have enjoyed both of the zoos we've been to together so far. And he's married to me... there are definitely more zoo visits in our future.

We got some pretty fabulous pictures. AJ's always so good at that and I had no problem letting him carry the camera. Especially since he carried it around his neck, the safest place for it not to get dropped and such. And for me to carry it around my neck... well, it sat in front of my belly... which was a little humorous, as it looked like our baby was taking pictures at the zoo, but my stomach sticks out plenty on it's own... we didn't need to add another 6 inches with the camera.

We didn't get to see quite everything. It's a big zoo and we only had like 3 hours to see everything. And a 9-months pregnant woman can only walk so far and smell so many different animals before she needs to sit for a minute. Especially in 90 degree weather.

My favorites were the monkeys. They are so much fun to watch. So silly, but you can almost always tell what they are thinking and the reasoning behind their actions. It's cool to see how they interact in their little families.

After we left the zoo, we met up with everyone else at the hotel (my aunt and uncle, and aunt and grandma came down as well). We went and ate and the Florida/Tennessee family came and met us at Arby's. My grandma got to meet her newest great-grandson. AJ and I ran a few errands. He didn't have any clean clothes when we started packing sooo we had to go get him a few shirts to wear. Long story and a miscommunication on both our parts... it was a little funny.

We went to a picnic the next day with all the family. We didn't eat though, because I kidnapped my husband and he took me on what will probably be our last pre-baby date. We went and ate lunch at Tucano's. Absolutely delicious, as always. And we only had to pay for his meal... I got mine FREE. Yay for birthdays. =] It was yummy and I enjoyed being able to just sit and relax and talk with him. We don't get many of those moments anymore, and I have a feeling they won't be soon to return. After I'd eaten my weight (which is considerable) in grilled pineapple, we went back to the hotel to get my mom and sisters. We had a trip to IKEA planned... We went looking for a closet for our baby, but came home with a new coffee table instead. Babies don't really need closets, right? Actually, we already had something else that had closet possibilities and what we saw didn't suit our fancy... we aren't going to hang the baby's clothes over the shower rod or anything. I love IKEA... I could spend a million dollars there, if I really tried hard enough. AJ and I took my sisters swimming that night. The water was a little cold and there were some obnoxious people, so we didn't stay super long, but it was fun nonetheless.

Sunday, my cousins blessed their little boy and we had lunch at their house. It was nice to sit around and just enjoy each other's company. AJ and I had to come home that night... AJ had to work the next morning. We had another adventure picking up a truck for some friends, but that's a long story and this post is plenty in length. We did see some pretty awesome lightning on our way back. And it was nice to sleep on our comfy memory foam mattress. But it was a fun vacation too.