Fieldtrip to the Zoo.

I do not know if you know this about me, but I love zoos.

I really do.

No, really, I do.

So, when Elisabeth's teacher asked for chaperones for the class field trip to the zoo, I was all kinds of excited. Of course, the day we went (which was last Friday...April 30th...) there was snow in the forecast. (I know, snow in April is still hard for me to digest. Nevermind we had snow yesterday on May 2nd.)

One thing that I do love about being a stay-at-home-mom is that I can go on field trips with Elisabeth. She's always excited when I can chaperone and I like seeing her interact with her classmates. I was in charge of Elisabeth and two other little girls, both of which were fantastically well behaved the entire day.
Because it is technically spring, I was thrilled to get to take pictures of the flowering trees at the zoo. I would make the girls stop while I tried to get the shots I wanted. While snapping this picture, I overheard Elisabeth say, "Yeah, my mom does this a lot. She just really likes flowers."
I also really like animals. I get very excited and squeally when at the zoo. I guarantee you I was more excited about seeing the animals than the three 7 year olds I was in charge of.

Look at this peacock! How gorgeous is he?!

Yeah...more flowers.
The girls had to make tally marks for different things they saw the animals doing. This is the tiger exhibit and he was sleeping. Last time we went, the tigers were playing and they jumped at this window that had about a dozen kids looking through it. The kids all screamed and ran away. I swear that tiger was laughing at them.
And then there were the bears! They were done hibernating, so we actually got to see them. This guy threw the stick he was playing with at the window and Elisabeth thought it was hilarious.

The otters.

The porcupine snacking on a carrot.

I have to tell you something about Elisabeth. The girl LOVES wolves. Big time. It all started when she was about 2 or so and was watching the Disney cartoon "Beauty and the Beast" with my sister, Terra. The wolf part came (you know, where they chase Belle and try to eat her) and Terra said that Elisabeth seemed scared. When Terra asked her if she was scared of the wolves, Elisabeth responded, "No. Because the wolves would save me." And that's kind of how it started. Instead of seeing them as a scary animal, she deemed them her saviors and friends. Wolves are her favorite part of any zoo.

If you ask her about a trip we made to Wild Life Prarie Park in Peoria, Illinois, she will tell you how a wolf smiled at her. She's serious.

Brookfield Zoo in Chicago has wolves.
And when we saw "Beauty and the Beast" the musical at a local community theater in Illinois, Elisabeth was thrilled to get her picture taken with the girl who played the wolf. (Also, that girl was so excited that someone wanted their picture taken with her. The girl's grandma told us that she'd never been asked to have a picture taken with a kid because they're usually scared of her costume.)
But, sadly, even though we have been to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo here in Co. Springs many times now, we have never actually seen the wolves in their exhibit. Elisabeth is always so disappointed.

Until last Friday...
There were three wolves running around in there.
I wish you could have seen Elisabeth's face. Or the way she whispered, "Oh, Mom, they're here!" Or how she smiled at them. She kept talking about them the rest of the trip.
I love getting to go on field trips with Elisabeth.