We had made plans for tonight to go to zoo lights with the Kristin and her family, including my niece Sophia. The thought was that by going on a weeknight we would avoid the horrendous crowds...but apparently we were not the only ones with that brilliant idea. After a long wait, we found a parking spot at the very end of the lot and swooped in to take it. It took Kristin a little longer to find a spot, so while we were waiting for them we got some hot chocolate and the kids schmoozed with Rudolph (Rowan was *really* smitten with him, and very excited to pose for this picture):
When everyone had arrived we headed down the path to the zoo. The walkway was decorated really nicely with colorful lights and this big huge wreath:
We saw a light up version of the zoo train:
And then we saw the real thing, which was much more impressive:
The line for train rides was ridiculously long, so we skipped right past it and headed down through the rest of the zoo. We stopped at the farm area and of course I just happened to find some chickens to take a picture of:
I also found a Cheshire cat:
And three cute little monkeys....
One of my favorite things about zoo lights is the lights that they wind around all the trees. They look so pretty, especially in some of the colors you don't see very often like blue and purple:
The kids found another costumed character to pose with, a cute little penguin. Killian announced that he was too old for pictures like this, but changed his mind at the last minute. I am glad he did, you are never to old for this sort of picture!
And finally we got to the lawn! Its my favorite area of zoo lights because it has so many moving light up animals and it just looks so darn cool:
I love this one of a nursing baby Zebra:
I guess I didn't get a good picture of it, but there is a really pretty blue river that runs through the center of the lawn. Its surrounded by hippo's and alligators:
They had these neat bamboo tree's over by the elephant area:
And a cool little gingerbread house on the other side of the lawn:
It was a lot of fun for the kids, they get such a big thrill out of all the moving light figures, and displays. Rowan was peeking up over the fence when I took this picture, I love the way the lights are reflecting on her face:
We walked through all the areas that had lights before stopping at this little train for a quick picture and a rest for the kids aching feet.
We were all exhausted by the time we got back up to the zoo gates, but we had really enjoyed the night. Its such a fun holiday tradition for us and the kids look forward to going every year. I am really glad that Mike was down here this year, and that Sophia and her family were able to join us. It made for a really fun night, and wonderful memories!
When everyone had arrived we headed down the path to the zoo. The walkway was decorated really nicely with colorful lights and this big huge wreath:
We saw a light up version of the zoo train:
And then we saw the real thing, which was much more impressive:
The line for train rides was ridiculously long, so we skipped right past it and headed down through the rest of the zoo. We stopped at the farm area and of course I just happened to find some chickens to take a picture of:
I also found a Cheshire cat:
And three cute little monkeys....
One of my favorite things about zoo lights is the lights that they wind around all the trees. They look so pretty, especially in some of the colors you don't see very often like blue and purple:
The kids found another costumed character to pose with, a cute little penguin. Killian announced that he was too old for pictures like this, but changed his mind at the last minute. I am glad he did, you are never to old for this sort of picture!
And finally we got to the lawn! Its my favorite area of zoo lights because it has so many moving light up animals and it just looks so darn cool:
I love this one of a nursing baby Zebra:
I guess I didn't get a good picture of it, but there is a really pretty blue river that runs through the center of the lawn. Its surrounded by hippo's and alligators:
They had these neat bamboo tree's over by the elephant area:
And a cool little gingerbread house on the other side of the lawn:
It was a lot of fun for the kids, they get such a big thrill out of all the moving light figures, and displays. Rowan was peeking up over the fence when I took this picture, I love the way the lights are reflecting on her face:
We walked through all the areas that had lights before stopping at this little train for a quick picture and a rest for the kids aching feet.
We were all exhausted by the time we got back up to the zoo gates, but we had really enjoyed the night. Its such a fun holiday tradition for us and the kids look forward to going every year. I am really glad that Mike was down here this year, and that Sophia and her family were able to join us. It made for a really fun night, and wonderful memories!