Day Four and Our Last day in Tacoma

Time flew by so fast when we were in Tacoma.  But Cooper and Niki stayed home from school ONE more day to spend time with us (thank you, Tosha and Austen.)  Austen had to go to work, but the rest of us loaded up in two cars and headed north to the Woodland Park Zoo in northern Seattle.  They (and of course, we) had never been there so it was a new adventure to share.  Even getting there was a bit of an adventure as our GPS took us different directions and to different entrances of the zoo.  But we made it and had a great time checking out the animals.

I love zoo...not because I think animals should be in cages and not roaming free, but because zoos share the wonder of animals and their important place in our world.  It is good that zoos are doing more to have more appropriate habitats for their animals to stay in and that they are contributing to research and care for animals--wild and in captivity everywhere in the world.

I hope to see giraffes in Africa sometime, but if not, I appreciate the moments I have had watching them during visits to the zoo.

And watching grandkids loving animals is even better......

And Niki loved to climb on the rocks to get a better view of things.

Trying to get the posed picture is always a bit challenging...

cute idea to have these models to pose with

Animals of all kinds----they are just amazing to look at and to learn about.....

Bamboo grove

And Niki and Cooper liked the snakes just like James and Scarlett

Always "fun" to push a stroller when no kids want to ride in it...Ava and Cooper did ride from time to time and it did carry snacks and water bottles for the crew

Zoos are generally more educational as well and here are Jena and Ava learning about monkeys.

Tring again for that infamous "posed" photos

They are cute monkeys, anyway whether they will all look and smile at the same time.

When we first arrived, the kids identified the penguins as the one animal they didn't want to miss.  We all loved watching them swim and waddle in their enclosure.

The world is really an amazing place lived with such a variety of animals and birds......

Behind the chain link, there were such a variety of unusual shaped birds and ducks---so colorful!

Pretend nests for human children to try out

Jena is always willing to jump in and try things out with her niece and nephews.

Some posed pictures which actually turned out!

Niki, Ava, Jena, and Cooper

Then after making our way through early rush hour traffic, the kids still wanted to play outside and ride bikes and throw the baseball around.

We were mostly ready for a NAP!  But it was fun to watch them enjoy the outdoors.  Niki is pretty good at throwing a baseball and was giving me pointers (because I do not throw a baseball well.)

It was a good day of having a good day together!  Love those Russells!!