It's a Bit of a Zoo Around Here!

On a bit of a whim, Scott and I decided to pull Isaac out of school and Ian out of homeschool for a couple of days and make good use of these last weeks of unbelievably beautiful fall weather! So, the boys and I drove to Salt Lake City on Thursday to enjoy a long weekend with Grandpa and Grandma Shaw and Great Grandma Shaw! Ian had been asking just recently, "When are we going to see the red rocks and dirt again?" (which is what we drive through the closer we get to SLC).

Isaac, Ian and Colby were pretty excited to see both the Wasatch mountains and the Oquirrh Mountains!

Oquirrh!

On Friday, we went to lunch at the new Cottonwood Hospital facility. Their cafeteria is called "The View" for good reason...the view of the Wasatch mountains is fantastic! I was glad the boys and I were able to see where Grandpa spends some of his work days.

Grandpa and Ian

It was also fitting that after lunch, my boys, who were acting a bit (possibly more than a bit) like wild animals in all of their excitement, got to go to Hogle Zoo afterwards, where they could mingle with real wild animals! They've been wanting to go to the zoo for a long time!

Some "turkeys" watching some turkeys!

Ian and Isaac, on the Hogle Zoo train.

The insect exhibit was one of Isaac and Ian's favorites! Ian was pretty excited to see a beetle from Thailand, a country we've been studying recently.

The reptile house was another big hit!

We were sure glad we weren't meeting this (possibly very hungry) tiger in the jungle with no fencing option available!

I love the graceful giraffe!

Zane fell asleep on Colby's lap. He just couldn't be bothered with the sweet baby giraffe and ferocious, roaring tiger!


The boys got their choice of whatever animal they wanted to ride on, since the zoo was so uncrowded! They were thrilled! The zoo has graciously added this fine feature in order to a) provide deeper enjoyment of our zoo experience and/or b) reach deeper into our zoo-lined wallets!

Isaac has been so excited to come home and build up his "Zoo Tycoon" zoo to look just like Hogle Zoo! What a beautiful day to spend in SLC with Grandpa and Grandma!