Wild Animal Adventures (Stanton, MO)
The 2 tigers were together in the pen, we got to see them interact, swim, play, and relax.
After the girls got out of Cub Creek camp in Missouri we went visited Wild Animal Adventures. It is outside of St. Louis in Stanton, Missouri. It was a smaller establishment, but the animals were well cared for. We went at busy time and their parking lot was full (they had a trailer blocking part of the parking lot which made it a little inconvenient) but after a few minutes we got a spot.
They have an indoor section with aquariums, touch tanks, birds, reptiles and more. Outside the have both farm and wild animals in different sections. The workers seemed to enjoy being there, interacted well with the animals and were happy to share stories about the animals.
Our girls did two extra interactions, playing with the foxes and the dingos. The dingos also known as “singing dogs” were tired so they were laying down and let the kids pet them. I was hoping to hear them “sing” but they were not into that while we were there. The workers allowed 4 people in at one time with the dingos. For the foxes they gave the kids “treats” aka cat food to feed to the foxes. Our two girls were the only ones other than the worker in the pen with the foxes. The foxes loved munching on the treats and were more energetic. The website lists the extra activities with a price range, however, at least one of the activities was more than their list price. They need to update their website if they are not still charging those rates.
Overall it was a fun stop for our family. The animals were fairly active and the employees were nice. If you are driving through the area it is a nice place to stop especially if you have kids that enjoy animals. We have included a sprinkling of photos from our trip to Wild Animal Adventures.
The llama had some personality.
Gorgeous colors
The kids were not interested in the pretty flowers, but I enjoyed them!
Their 3 legged white fox. He can still move quickly and nibbled up treats from the girls.
This one liked to interact and have conversations with you!
The llama was more interested in you if you had food!
Glad this one was in a cage and behind a window.
Beautiful white tiger!
Wild Animal Adventures
North Georgia Zoo & Farm (Cleveland, GA)
North Georgia Zoo & Farm is a great place to visit with your family, especially if your kids enjoy animals.
That turtle and zebra have familiar faces…. Thankful that the girls still occasionally “humor” me with the cheesy pictures!
Baby goats!
This porcupine has a fantastic breakfast, look at all those fruits & veggies!
The beaver is munching on his veggies too!
Beautiful animal!
Are you sure you don’t have another treat for me!?
Albino Kangaroo napping in the shade!
Singing dog, so wanted to hear it actually sing!!!
Brina loving all the animals!
Jake and Karlie waiting for the Animal Show to start
Soft….of course the girls wanted at least one when they found out that they sale them at this location
Fascinating to watch it run awhile!
A lot softer than we expected.
Travel & Vacation: Animals at the Denver Zoo (Denver, CO)
Elephant on the move
Our kids love animals. On one of our trips to Colorado we had an opportunity to go to the Denver Zoo with extended family. The kids had a blast. It was neat seeing all the different animals, going to show, learning about the zoo animals, activities, and so much more. Thankful for a chance to go to the Denver Zoo with the kids.
If your family enjoys Zoo’s and you are in the Denver, Coloardo area you should check this one out. They have a lot of animals to see. The shows and activities are fun and very educational for the kids.
Hanging around and watching all the people walking by
Decided to make a move and head the other direction
Two of them moving along the rope now
Rhino munching on its hay.
We watched the penguin demonstration. They were happy to get treats!
Found something tasty to eat1
Elephant Show, this elephant was only a few feet in front of us. I was just hoping it wasn’t going to spray us. If you are at the Denver Zoo I highly recommend the elephant show, it was really neat. Kids and adults really enjoyed it!
Getting ready for the next act!
Getting ready to bow for the audience!
Didn’t want to look at us.
What animal is this!?
If you guess “camel” in the picture above you are correct. Never saw a camel lay down like that before.
This camel is either all stretched out or doing it’s yoga for the day!
Pretty giraffe’s hanging out together in the shade.
Sea lions swimming around!
Beautiful white arctic fox hiding in the log
Capybara still wet from his swim
Big snake….no a big fan of snakes so thankful when they are behind glass.
Gorgeous zebras enjoying some treats!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Flashback Friday: First Trip to the Zoo
First trip to the Zoo
Today’s Flashback Friday was the girls first trip to the zoo with our Moms group back in August 2005. We went to the Greenville Zoo. The girls looked around, took a nap in the stroller, and hung out. They got some fresh air, vitamin D, and wore themselves out even though they did not get out of their stroller. Thankful for friends and a chance to hang out at the zoo for a few hours. We have had many trips to the zoo since this day!
Brina sleeping in the front. Karlie still looking around, but starting to suck her thumb so she’s not far behind Brina.
They were great on their first trip to the Greenville Zoo, however, the two critters I brought back home with me were very hungry and ready for lunch by the time we walked into the house. Once it was lunch time they were ready to eat and my happy babies were in tears if there happened to be a delay that day!
Travel & Vacation: Fernbank Museum of Natural History (Atlanta, GA)
We’re ready to explore the Fernbank Museum of Natural History
On one of our recent trips to Atlanta, Georgia we visited the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. We had never been to the Museum, but were looking for fun and educational activities to do with the kids before heading home. Since it appeared to have some great items we decided to give it a try.
The girls were very excited to check out this museum. They have a variety of activities and events that you can do as well. If you get hungry during your visit there is a cafe where you can grab a bite to eat. We had packed our sandwiches before leaving the hotel so when we got hungry we headed out to the van for a picnic lunch then went back inside to finish exploring the museum. We had a lot of fun and spent a lot more time going through it than we initially planned. The kids probably could have stayed longer, but they were closing for the day and we had to get back home.
For more information, directions, and other details about the museum you can visit their visit at Fernbank Museum of Natural History. If you happen to be in Atlanta and it’s a rainy day this would be a great place to take your family. Plus you might see and learn some new stuff along the way too.
They had this massive dinosaur in the lobby of the museum. Pretty neat!
Hey who let the turkey inside!?
Checking out the different regions of the area.
Brina and Karlie having fun.
Cute fox, made you want to pet it!
Oh dear Brina, there’s a deer behind you!
That’s one big dinosaur footprint. Brina was impressed.
Brina checking out the dinosaur. Not sure I would want it running at me though.
Jake and the girls checking out the different dinosaurs.
Always something interesting to read and learn about
Brina looks small next to this one
Relaxing and having fun
Looks like a cute kid on the tail of that dinosaur. Silly Brina!
Hammerhead shark
Our crew at the museum
Sweet Karlie loving her time at the museum (if you look closely there is a racoon right behind her too).
That’s some strange looking dinosaurs.
They had a section on “Poison” and a presentation that we went to while we were there. It was very interesting!
Our family learning about different types of poisons and how they are used
Jake and Brina checking it out
Daddy reminding Karlie of the saying….What was it again “Red and yellow kill a fellow….”
This was a really neat book / display. As you turned the pages different items would show up and it was interactive too. Pretty fascinating! Brina especially liked the information on goats!
Brina, Karlie, and Jake playing a game to see if they can figure out what poison the dog ate and save it! They all 3 won! Must have learned something today!
The Astronomy Picture of the Day was on Saturn. Karlie’s favorite planet.
Went to an animal show and demonstration (love their huge frog on the wall, neat and colorful).
Brina always wants to interact and learn more about any living creature.
Karlie saying “Hi”
We finished a level. Where are we off to now Brina?!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Cute Panda Bears and Wildlife Show at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Panda Bear content to relax and eat bamboo
The panda bears were one of the girls favorite animals to visit at the Atlanta Zoo. I think the big fascination was watching the twin panda cubs. It was a little harder to get a picture of both of them at the same time, but the kids loved watching them eat and play. The Wildlife Show on birds was pretty neat too. Of course the girls went up after the show to ask more questions about the birds. The zoo worker was really great with the kids and patient in answering all the questions. On the way out the girls wanted a picture with the gorilla. It was a great day at the zoo.
You can read more about our adventure at the Atlanta Zoo on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA), Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA), and Travel & Vacation: Orangutan Easter Egg Hunt at Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog posts.
Looking pretty cute!
Look out, showing some teeth this time. Watch out! They may look cute and adorable, but I think it would not be a good idea to pet them with teeth that size.
Someone found an Easter pinata
Loving the bamboo
Peeling the bamboo stick apart, eating some pieces, and putting the other pieces on his belly for later.
Crunchy, but delicious
Good stuff
Panada’s look so cute
Checking things out around the pen
Heading towards some more goodies
Twin panda’s in their cage. One sleeping on the log and the other one eating some bamboo
Relaxing and chewing on some bamboo
Bird Show in the Wildlife Theater at the Atlanta Zoo
Getting all their questions answered
Brina giving Willie B a hug
Karlie and Brina enjoyed the Atlanta Zoo
Karlie all smiles
Travel & Vacation: Orangutan Easter Egg Hunt at Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
He’s eying that cool looking pinata egg with sweet Easter treats inside it!
Another one of the neat events at the Atlanta Zoo was the Easter treats for the animals. We were able to get front row viewing at the Orangutan Easter egg hunt. It was super cute. There was a Mommy with a little one which the girls thought was adorable.
The Easter Eggs were made of jello and placed throughout the pen, pinata eggs full of special treats, leaf baskets with goodies, and cardboard cutouts with peanut like substance on the back for the orangutans to enjoy. They had a lot of fun finding and snacking on their treats. Even the baby found some. They had paper garland hanging up which the orangutans enjoyed moving and playing with as well.
You can read more about our adventure at the Atlanta Zoo on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) and Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog posts.
An edible Easter egg in the tree and one on the rock in the background….waiting to be found!
Swinging out to get the Easter garland
Oh yeah, this eggs mine!
Climbed up on top of the platform for this pinata treat
Enjoying the goodies inside the pinata Easter egg
Holding the cardboard cutout of the bunny rabbit and licking the treat off the back of it
Hanging out near the hammock picking up and eating eggs, delicious!
Look closely, he’s got a green jello egg in his mouth
Momma and baby
Sitting in the shade – Mom and Baby (the baby is not really little, but obviously still under its Mother’s care)
Mom and baby kisses
Licking the goodness off the back of the cardboard Easter egg decoration
Mom and baby looking for some more treats
The baby wasn’t too sure about everything at first so it stuck near its Mom at the beginning of the Easter Egg Hunt
The baby is getting brave. He is climbing the pole to get the Easter basket, with a little Chick, and goodies.
Made it, now to grab it and head back down.
The Mom watched the baby climb, get the treats, and bring them back down. Then she took the items from the baby and ate them herself, ha! The baby did get some treats, but Momma Orangutan got the first dibs!
Rearranging the Easter Garland in their pen.
Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Lioness pacing on her rock
We had a blast seeing all the animals on our recent trip to the Atlanta Zoo. We arrived just as the Zoo opened in the morning and stayed until closing. The kids loved seeing all the animals, the activities, and special events. It was a busy, packed, and fun day together. We walked all over the area of the zoo several times over. The morning was a little cooler, but it was very comfortable by mid-morning (not too cold or hot). You can read more about our adventure on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog post.
The two lionesses were playing and pouncing on each other while we were there. They were so fast we weren’t able to get a non-blurry picture of both of them together. It was neat to watch them playing around instead of just sleeping on their rock.
Better watch out….
Tiger giving himself a bath.
Out for a stroll
The seal was catching the fish they were throwing at them. You can see the fish right in front of him.
Karlie and Brina learning about snakes.
Karlie having fun
Learning more about this little turtle
Curled up and watching people as they go by his cage
Brina fascinated by all the animals
What’s in this one!?
Karlie and Mommy having fun at the Atlanta Zoo
Me and my girls! They are growing up so fast. Thankful for these little adventures together as a family!
Brina was always good a spotting the animals really quickly, not sure how she does it so fast!
The snake was following the heat from Karlie’s hand
Jake and his girls at the Atlanta Zoo
Jake is always so good about explaining and showing the girls different pieces of information about the animals. The snake is acting like it might try to strike Jake’s hand through the glass in this picture, but it never did.
The bear brought this branch with leaves on top of the platform so he could eat it by himself without the other one bothering him.
Fun times!
They loved learning about all the different wildlife.
Love my family! Grateful for the opportunity to hang out at the Atlanta Zoo for the day!
Such a rough life…. They look so cute and cuddly.
This is a “Tanuki” it is very timid and doesn’t come out very often per one of the zoo workers that we asked. We walked by its cage multiple times and never saw it out until almost the end of the day. It gets spooked easy so it is not visible very often.
How does your Mom carry you!? Silly girls – Brina and Karlie
Karlie loves brushing the farm animals. She is currently on her way to brush another one.
Brina talking with the zoo worker about goats and asking questions. He was really nice and pointed out several different types of goats and characteristics of the ones near her.
Brina and Karlie brushing one goat. Lots of TLC for this Mamma goat. They always love the interactive animal adventures.
The giraffe is eying us while the ostrich was too busy eating to give us any attention
Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Our family at the Atlanta Zoo!
We surprised the girls with a long weekend trip to Atlanta, Georgia over Easter weekend. They were very excited to go explore the Atlanta area. We are members of our local zoo so we were able to get into the Atlanta Zoo at a discount which was really nice. The kids love animals, learning more about various ones, interacting, and so much more.
Since it was Easter weekend at the Atlanta Zoo the animals were getting special treats to enjoy for the Holiday. The new Amphibian & Reptile Exhibit also opened the weekend we were there as well. There were a lot of people at the zoo, but it was so big we had plenty of time do see and do almost everything (some things the kids enjoyed it so much we did it again).
Pink Flamingos were hanging out peacefully near the entrance to the zoo
So excited….Karlie and Brina! They have their maps out and are ready to GO!
The birds were sleeping peacefully all together on one branch.
It was a little chilly when we first got there in the shade at opening, but no one was complaining!
Birds of all colors
Brina soaking it all in. She loves animals.
Playing around in the water puddles.
Karlie smiling as she quietly watches the birds and little kids.
Meerkat’s roaming around in their pen.
There is always one Meerkat on watch (or guard) for predators
They gave the Meerkats a pillow case stuffed full of hay, little bugs, and special treats. They were a little timid about it at first, but before long they were all taking turns going into the pillow case and digging out their special treats.
Are you done yet! Hurry up and get your bug so I can get my turn inside the Easter treat sack!!!
They look cute, but serious. Look at those claws on this meerkat! Yikes!
Rhino heading out into the sun after getting some sticky mud on itself to protect it from a sunburn.
This rhino was moving the stick around and chewing on it. Must of had something tasty on it.
They drew flowers, easter eggs, and bunny rabbits with chalk on the rocks in the Zebra’s pen.
The warthogs got hard boiled and colored Easter eggs for their special treat. They both found the first one about the same time.
Someone found the purple Easter egg!
The elephants had Easter eggs that had a jello consistency that they place in baskets made of leaves. This elephant just discovered the basket of leaves and is moving it out of the way so she can eat her jello Easter egg.
Whole lot of elephants! They had a huge pen and sometimes if you couldn’t see them on one side you had to go around to see them in a different section.
Jake and his girls exploring the Atlanta Zoo
Beautiful bird
Brina found Big Bird’s Nest!!! HA!
My two little chickies in the huge nest!
Karlie thought the nest was hilarious!
Fun at the Zoo!
Watching “Joy” the elephant play
We were able to squeeze in a fun trip to the Greenville Zoo with our cousins during summer vacation! A big thanks to our sweet cousin who shared zoo passes with us! Joy the elephant was playing with her tire while we were there. It was the last week Joy was at Greenville Zoo. A couple days later they were transporting her to a new zoo in Colorado.
Sweet girls!
Hanging out in the shade at the Giraffe exhibit. There were 3 giraffes in the pen and the Momma is expecting another one any day now! Great times with the cousins!
The turtles were very fascinating to watch!
A quick picture of the girls on the bear as we worked our way through the zoo!
We spent the morning at the zoo then headed to Cleveland Park to eat a picnic lunch and play on the playgrounds. It is always fun going on special trips with cousins. Thankful for a fun time together with family!
