Zoo

We went to the St.  Louis zoo on Labor Day. It was 94 degrees when we got there and I thought for sure it was going to be a mistake - I tried in vain to get Sam to agree to the (indoor, airconditioned) science center instead, but he'd just taken the big kids to that not too long ago and of course we'd been talking up the zoo trip the whole weekend. The kids wore their swimsuits since James had his heart set on playing in the splash pad at the children's zoo.

The sea lions were active right when we got there.

The zoo really was not very crowded at all - since we went in the afternoon, I think we missed the first morning wave, and maybe some folks  had given up due to the heat. 

We were the only people at the keeper talk/animal show - James was not as happy as Amelie to wait for it to start.

I think the splash pad lived up to James's expectations :) A really nice feature was that it was cool and shady. 

Leah liked it, too. I brought a swim shirt, but didn't think she needed it due to the shade. She's just wearing an older diaper cover as a swim diaper. The (some only slightly) bigger kids playing got a kick out of her enjoying the sprinklers.

James is such a helpful big brother.

We saw the penguins, which was air conditioned. James got a big kick out of it  - he told one of the puffins, "I wish I could pick you up."

Leah enjoyed the penguins, too! I don't remember if she called them "dogs," but pretty much every other animal was a "Dog! Dog!"

And what zoo trip would be complete without an ice cream treat?

James also got his wish of Dippin Dots fulfilled.