Trip to the Dallas Zoo

At the end of October, we took the boys on an outing to the Dallas zoo.  We'd been waiting until the weather cooled off a bit to go.  It was still quite warm, but it was definitely bearable.  We try to go to the Dallas zoo or the Ft. Worth zoo at least once a year.  This year, we invited a young girl named Matilde to join us.  She is an Italian exchange student who is being hosted by one of Mario's coworkers.  It was a great opportunity to get to know her as well as for Mario to practice his Italian!  Although, I think she was enjoying practicing her English!  Haha!  I loved talking with her about cultural differences between our two countries.  It was so nice that the boys were older this year--we were just able to pull the wagon along instead of having a stroller, and they could hop in and out as they pleased.  We packed a picnic lunch too--it was a really fun day!

first stop--the penguins!!!

the boys checking under the water for swimming penguins

(notice the shades)  ;)

they loved the elephants...

also on display was some of the elephants' artwork.  one of the girl elephants stamps her foot into paint and creates colorful art on big paper!  sorry i forgot to get a pic of it...the art was actually for sale, though i'm sure it was a fundraiser!

chillin' in the wagon

one of my personal favorites--the giraffes!

they are so elegant

our attempt at a family photo with the cheetah

the boys "drove" a jeep

they also "rode" a vicious looking alligator!

pretty flamingos

me and matilde

her favorite animal is the koala.  we saw them, but i didn't get a good pic.

HUGE tortoises--

they moved faster than you might think!

i think this was a rhino...

the boys were laughing at his bottom!  ;)

we got to see a zookeeper feed a baby lynx some milk

this iguana was crawling fast--back and forth across his long enclosure.

the boys were crawling fast along the floor, attempting to keep up with him

(sanitary, i know!!!)

taking a little rest break

daddy practicing his italian with matilde

the boys checking out the bronze reptile sculptures in the rocks

my favorite pic of the day

The two Italians...

Thanks for joining us, Matilde!  We had such a fun day!!!