Expanding Happiness: Phoenix Zoo

We went to the zoo today for our fun outing! We did not arrive as early as mom had wanted too! We just had some much fun yesterday that we were too tired to climb out of bed! We left home about 45 minutes later than planned, but we got a little extra rest while mom loaded the car.

We headed straight to the Giraffe exhibit and got in line to feed the giraffes!! A couple of them were waiting to be fed, and Kaelani was excited to be looking at them. I wasn't sure if she would be brave enough to feed one. Kaiya loves to feed them. We were first in line until a few people cut us! Oh well! A chance to learn patience, they must have been in a really, really big hurry I told Kaiya. She was very concerned about the fact they cut us. It was fun to just talk about how it was okay, no big deal if they got to feed a Giraffe first because we would get a turn. And, it must have been really important to them.

Under the tortoise shell

It was finally our turn, Kaiya went right up and held up a piece of lettuce. I asked Kaelani if she wanted to feed a girafffe, she shook her head and said, "ayes." So, we handed her a piece of lettuce, she held it out, and the giraffe ate it! She was so excited, and then got bashful! We missed the moment of feeding on the camera! Oh well!! Mom even got a chance to feed them because there were pellets left from Kaelani become bashful! It was mom and Kaelani's first time feeding the giraffe!

After Feeding the GIRAFFES!!

We went to the petting zoo at Harmony Farms in the zoo. The girls had lots of fun wandering around brushing the goats. I was proud that Kaelani did not shy away from them. She is getting so much more brave around animals! Still isn't so sure about dogs or cats . . . I guess we will do wild and farm animals instead!! LOL!!

Also while at Harmony Farm, the girls milked the pretend cow! I never realized it actually sprays water out!! LOL!! Kaiya and I talked a long time about cows, milk, and had mom ever milked a real cow! I had, my Uncle Jack had a dairy farm in Idaho growing up. I remember going to visit him, and going out to the milk barn. He let me milk a cow, then stuck my thumb into the robotic milker for a quick squeeze!! Told her how they do the milking now days! Showed her how to milk the correct way!

Gizzy having a turn milking!!

Too bad Uncle Jack sold the diary, you could get a job!

After Harmony Farms, we stopped by the elephant exhibit! No elephants were out, but we were right in time. The Elephant keeper was coming with a banana leaf and bananas. He led her right over where we could see her good! Then, he asked if we wanted to know anything!! Kaiya was extremely bashful. So, I asked if he had a college degree! Hee hee! I knew he did, more than likely! So, he told Kaiya he had a degree in zoology. I explained to Kaiya what zoology is and how much fun it is to study! I took two zoology classes as part of my elementary education degree! It was lots of fun!

Then, to get Kaiya interested, mom got gross!! LOL! I asked how much the elephant pooped in a day? Kaiya laughed! The zoo keeper told us that elephant pooped 200lbs a day!! Kaiya thinks it is much easier to clean a kitty liter box than 200 lbs of elephant poop. She asked how much the elephant weighed! The zoo keeper was excellent as explaining that he weigh close to 8,000 lbs, or the equivalent of 4 cars! She asked several more questions, and then our personal interview the zoo keeper was over because more guest showed up!

After all the walking, the girls were HOT!! So, we headed to the splash zone! Kaiya had fun running around, and so did Kaelani! Kaiya tried to get as wet as possible, while Kaelani just tried to catch water in her mouth!!