More vacation day trips: San Diego Zoo

The day after Christmas, we decided to go to the San Diego Zoo (we have annual passes this year to the Zoo and Safari Park [formerly Wild Animal Park]).  It's getting a lot easier to make these trips as the kids get older.  Dominik is walking more on his own (and roaring at all the animals...right now he thinks that's the sound all animals make), Natalie is walking a lot and also getting on and off the stroller easily by herself.  What more could we ask for?  Well, everyone out of diapers will be a huge milestone one day!  But I'm happy with where we are right now.

Natalie enjoyed saying hi to the orangutans.

Up close and personal with a bird...not a turkey, but perhaps the tropical version of one.  This bird didn't run away, so I was a little nervous about our kids getting too close.

The bronze gorillas are so fun to play with!

Konrad and Dominik are wrestling with the gorilla, but Natalie's going to take him out with the finger-in-the-nose move.  Haven't you always wanted to stick your finger in the nose of a gorilla?

 Tom and Dominik checking out the real thing.

More face-to-face time.

Natalie was very interested in seeing the hippo.  A few years ago we saw the hippo in the water, but this year he/she was on land.

Fourth children hanging together.  Dominik, Tom and me--we're all the fourth child.

Somehow, this is very comfortable for the female panda...but it's not my idea of a comfortable napping place!  The best part was that we got to see both pandas without waiting...we've waited in lines before to see them (maybe that's at feeding time?)

Even with all the times we've visited the San Diego Zoo, we still haven't walked every inch.  I don't remember ever seeing this climbing thing...but the boys were all over it, once Tom paid the pricey fee.  Maybe we won't see it again for a few years?  But the boys loved it!  Here's Konrad on the right side (easier climb) with Lukas on the moderate climb area on the left.  This is as high as Konrad got.

Lukas' turn for the easy side, then he enjoyed "falling" down.

Tom calls this the Siamese giraffes.

Someone passing by said, "Look, he's being a gorilla!"  Tom corrected him...he's working on something.

I took Natalie and Konrad on the gondola to see the polar bears (Lukas doesn't want to ride the gondola yet) and Tom caught us on the way back.  We saw polar bears!  They are huge!

After our zoo visit, we stopped by Point Loma, Cabrillo National Cemetery to see the final resting place of Tom's parents.  It was a beautiful day to visit and see that the marker is now there...thinking of them on our first Christmas since their passing.