I wanna see the elephant!

I had a great idea today. Okay, actually I kind of stole the idea from the ward's playgroup (sorry we didn't make it in time to go with you girls!) David got off school early (at 1:00) and even though he really needed to study we decided to kidnap him and take him to the funny farm. Okay actually it was the zoo, but still we had a great time. We bought a zoo pass (I know it is about time!) and took a picnic. Actually it worked out perfectly. We met the missionaries there minutes after we finished eating. It was P-day and they decided to go visit the zoo. We hung around with them almost the whole time we were there. It was so fun (except for the scary ruffed lemurs that yelled at Gracie and me). The zoo isn't open in the winter here, so it just barely opened again and the weather was a balmy 55 degrees and the sun was shining (mostly). I think because the zoo is closed all winter the animals actually might have gotten lonely because I have never been to a zoo where the animals actually came to the front of their cages so much! Gracie kept running from exhibit to exhibit looking for different animals. She kept asking where the elephants were (sadly there were none). I don't know, but I hope the missionaries had fun hanging out with us. I think going to the zoo is so much more fun with children because you get to see everything through their eyes. Like this HUGE daddy Orangutan that walked right up to the glass and pulled his blanket up over his head so only his face was showing. Gracie LOVED him. He kept putting his face against the glass on one side and she was putting hers against the glass on the other side. I don't know how many of you have seen great big daddy Orangutans, but this guy was HUGE. His face had these jowl-like things on it that were... the only word I can think of to describe them is HUGE!!!! (Sorry, I am still kicking myself for forgetting the camera). But it was so fun to see him kind of playing with Gracie. I am looking forward to many more trips to the zoo this year! Wish you all could have been there with us.