Omaha Zoo

Wednesday we went to the zoo and we had a great time!  The weather was awesome - 83, sunny and a breeze - just gorgeous!  We got there right when it opened, walked up to pay to get in - no line, everything was going great, until Parker decided to take a fall, just as we entered the park!

Parker was trying to walk right and I was trying to get him to walk straight and he just went face forward and hit his forehead.  It was like he was in slow-motion falling and I was in slow-motion trying to catch him.  We were very lucky that he didn't hit his nose or his teeth - that would have been something.  Poor little guy!  After a few seconds of crying and some water, he was all better.

Here's the close up of the battle wound.  He had a nice little knot that came up on his forehead, but we had an ice pack, so I put that on it for a few minutes and that really helped it to go down. 

Our first stop were the giraffes.  They were unbelievable to see!  These 2 were in an enclosed area, so you were super close to them and they were huge.  Usually, you see them out in the open areas, but seeing them so close really makes you aware of how big these animals are.  We all bent down to look at them so we could get Parker's advantage.

Parker was imitating the giraffes sticking their tongue out - pretty cute!

The penguins were next - there were super cute.  The handler was out feeding them and some were on the bank and some were in the water.

However, once she went in, they were all lined up on the bank, by the door, waiting for more food - it was pretty funny!

Seeing how tall Parker compared to the baby giraffe!

We went through the Garden of the Senses.  They had all different types of bushes, shrubs and flowers.  This was right up Brad's alley! 

Parker on the turtle - pretty fitting for him - hah!

We didn't see any elephants, so this was as close as we got - hah!

Taking a rest break at a little pond.

The rhino was pretty cool - he was huge!

The gorilla exhibit was the hit of the day.  They had quite a few and we got to see most of them up close!

Parker and Mr. Gorilla taking a look at each other.

They had these bubbles where the kids could climb into and get a "cool" view, so we put Parker in, but he was a little leery at first.

After a few seconds, he warmed up to it and climbed on in.

This was the view - pretty cool!

This was the gorilla we could see from the bubble.  He was hilarious laying on his back.  Then, he would have an itch and he would scratch his leg with his hand - it was just really cool to watch.  Brad and I both said this guy reminded us of Parker and Jake when they lay on their back - hah!

This was a momma gorilla with her baby - they were super cute!

After a few seconds, the momma gorilla laid down on her side, then the baby did too.  Is this not just like every mom out there??  The little baby wore momma out, so momma just wants to lay down.  Hilarious!

The black bears were a hit with Parker too.  He really enjoyed watching them walk around.

The polar bear was my favorite.  He would swim laps on his back, then hop up onto the rocks, then jump back into the water, roll on his back, and swim his lap again.  He probably did this about 10 times in a row.  It was really neat to watch. 

Parker was looking up at the sun bear.  It's hard to see in this picture, but he's in the tree to the left. 

The carousel was another favorite of Parker's.  Grandma Kleeman and Parker rode the ostrich and Parker enjoyed his carousel ride with Grandma!

This was at the entrance to the children's zoo area - hah!

Parker got to pet a little baby goat.  I'm not a big goat fan, but this little guy was super cute!

Then, we went outside and petted the mama goat - pretty cool!

We had to stop and see the llama, because one of Parker's favorite books is "Llama Llama Red Pajama."  If you look at the front of his mouth, it looks like his tongue is sticking out . . . that's actually his 2 bottom teeth.  Crazy, huh?

Parker and Dad checking out the pot-bellied pig.  Those guys are just plain cute!

We went into the dairy farm and studied up on all there is to know about dairy farming and milking a cow.  Grandma Kleeman was a great resource on this, because she grew up on a farm and milked cows quite often!  Parker was pretty fascinated by this cow!

When we were leaving, this big female lion stood up right by the fence so I could take her picture.  The picture doesn't do justice, but she was huge!

After we left the zoo, we ate lunch at Runza.  Since they don't have Chick-fil-A in Nebraska, Runza is the favorite where we always have to eat, at least once or twice, when we come here.  Omaha still needs to get a Chick-fil-A though!  A runza is like ground up hamburger meat with cheese and onions on a hoagie roll, heated and yummy.  They also have burgers too, which are good and they have the best crinkle fries ever!

Thanks Grandma Kleeman for a fun day at the zoo and for lunch.  We had an awesome time together!