The Woodland Park Zoo

Yesterday Dad and I took the kids to the zoo.  I think it was easily Tommy's favorite activity since we arrived in Seattle.  We did the zoo in the order one is supposed to do it -- saw the African animals first and then moved over into Asia to see the elephants (Lulu's focus).  But, sometime before we got to the elephants, Tommy noticed a sign for the Raptors and became singularly focused on seeing them.  I made him wait until we'd seen the Asian animals but we got to the Raptors and there was a woman doing a demonstration with all the birds.  It was AMAZING.  We saw two types of owls, a raven, two types of hawks, a golden eagle and a turkey vulture (my personal favorite I think, because he walked out of his little house rather than fly).  Anyway, Tommy has been spending a fair amount of time since we got here with my parents' North American Bird Guide, so he was beside himself with excitement to see all these birds.  When the zookeeper said she was bringing out a Harris Hawk, he put his fist in the air and screamed, "YES!!"  And when the Golden Eagle came out, he leaned over to me and said, "that bird can kill mammals as big as small deer."  When we got home, he showed me where it says that in the book.

I think a surprising part of parenting is how much my kids teach me and not just about life -- but about actual stuff.  I now know more about dinosaurs than I ever thought possible, same with construction machinery.  I can tell you which insect can jump highest and I can identify some types of penguins (but I still think they smell horrible).

Of course, the kids were enamoured of the gorilla as well.  She picked her nose and then vomited into her hand and ate it.  Not kidding.

There's a vintage carousel at the zoo.  I said no, Grandpa said yes.  So here they are.

The Golden Eagle.  As big as Lulu, for sure.  It didn't fly because there is a bald eagle nest nearby and the zookeepers don't think the golden eagle should share their airspace.