whobody went to the K.C. Zoo?

 Our first morning in Kansas City....we got up bright and early (a couple of us didn't sleep well at all)...and got ready for our day.  Jason took the kids to breakfast in the hotel lobby by himself (brave man) while I laid every one's clothes out and got myself ready and headed out to find us a different place to stay.  I ended up finding a great hotel with adjoining rooms that we could check into right away (at 8:30 A.M!).  So, I went back to our current hotel where Jason had everyone dressed and ready....we packed everything up....checked out of the first hotel....and checked into the new hotel...all before 9 A.M.  Impressive, I think so.   Our new place to stay gave us a much more controlled area for Nash to roam.  There were no stairs, no sidewalks, no full kitchen...and most importantly, no 2nd story loft to try to dive off of.....

Shortly after we checked in, Evan and Julie met us at our NEW hotel to make the trip to the zoo! We love zoos! Of course, I know most kids do.... The kids had a blast exploring the different areas of the zoo and seeing all of the different animals. The two favorites were the polar bear (pictured below) and the kangaroos (which were actually just running free around us...with no gates or fences...it was crazy, but very, very cool).  Evan and Julie were LOTS of help. Managing Nash kept Jason and I busy, and then Evan and Julie took care of Keaton and Lola.  After this trip to the zoo, I decided that every family with 3 kids could totally use 2 sets of parents!  

I have to say that Keaton and Lola were EXCELLENT on this trip. They handled the heat well, walked a lot, ate at abnormal times, went to bed late, and were very patient with Nash.....and most of the time they did all of this without complaining. I will say, this pregnant Mama CANNOT handle the heat. Normally, I love it when it is hot...but I was struggling to "keep my cool" most of the time! Crazy.  It would be safe to say that Nash and I were the 2 most difficult ones to keep happy on this trip.... 

 

We really had a absolute blast! I loved this picture of Keaton and Lola in front of the elephant. By the way, I was VERY IMPRESSED with this zoo....we really were able to get up close and personal with the animals! It was great....

One Nash "funny".  Of course, he tried to climb up, on, or over anything he could while we were exploring the zoo....The most entertaining thing for Jason and I was that anytime he could get on the OTHER side of a fence or gate, he would go behind it, and then look out at us and say "Neh...Neh....Neighhhh!" as if he was a horse.  I think that he thought it would be pretty cool to live at the zoo!  He was going  full.speed.ahead. the whole time were were there...until....

After lunch, we headed to "Africa".  We confined Nash to the stroller and he really began to get relaxed.  (While in Africa, a gorilla was totally trying to body slam us through the glass, which was hilarious!).  The coolest thing that we did while at the zoo was right at the end of the day.  At the K.C. Zoo they have a ski lift that travels OVER the animals.  It was pretty cool....you are just hanging in the air above the giraffes....and other animals. Can't quite remember which ones right now...but it was awesome.  It gave us a nice relaxing way to get back to the beginning of "Africa", it was cool in the shade of the ski lift, and it was a neat way to see the animals (without walking...which was important to me).  Keaton went on the ski lift with his new best friend, Evan....Lola rode on it with her new BFF, Julie....and Jason and I rode on it with Nash.  See, it totally pays to have 2 sets of parents on vacations.  This ride completely relaxed Nash, which was exactly what we needed...

Above: Nash on the the ski lift ride.... Below: Nash getting "cozy" with his blankie and binkie...just looking at him was making me HOT! It was a very warm day...but he insisted upon cuddling his lovey blankie.

Not soon after getting his blankie and his binkie...he CRASHED....and was out for the rest of the walk back from Africa.  We totally needed this because Keaton and Lola wanted to ride the carousel in the worst way....and I didn't know how much more zoo the little guy could handle.

Now that guy is OUT!

Which meant that Lola got her long awaited ride on the carousel. She was very excited to find a flamingo to ride.  She wanted to see a flamingo at the zoo...but we either skipped it, or it wasn't there.  Lucky for us, the flamingo on the carousel totally counted for her.  Big thanks to Julie for helping Lola make the tough decisions on which animal to ride on the carousel.....

And Keaton, of course, being the brave soul that he is, as usual, chose to ride on the bench on the carousel.  I'm not quite sure what he is afraid of....the carousel is probably the most harmless ride on earth....oh well....at least he plays it safe!

One last picture of all 3 kids at the zoo! Aren't they stinkin' cute?

After the carousel ride, we headed out of the zoo and back to the hotel! Nash woke up on the transfer to the car, and he thought that the 20 min. nap was enough for him!  We got back to the hotel to relax for the afternoon....only 1 person in the whole family took a nap....and Jason had a very nice nap!  The rest of us....well, I guess we just relaxed. The zoo was way too exciting to take a nap after anyway!  We met Evan and Julie at the O.P. for pizza...and had a great night swimming at the hotel, again.   What a great time!!!