What's More Springy Than a Trip to the Zoo?

Hiya folks!  Are you as excited about the Spring thaw as I am?  When I woke up this morning, the day's outlook was leisurely.  As I was getting ready for church, my wonderful Sister-In-Law called asking if we wanted to take an afternoon trip to the zoo. Well, I'll just say she needn't ask me twice!

HOLLA!!!

So, Kristy and Josh joined Rob, Caroline and me at The Birmingham Zoo.  I know there are waaaay better zoos out there.  As someone who loves to visit a zoo, I plan to see a couple of the "great ones" before I complete my bucket list.  But I am so proud to be a resident of the 'Ham (okay a ham-suburb) so I just love TBZ!

Apparently, so do the kiddos!

The Bham Zoo is proudly hyping up the upcoming grand opening of their new Trails of Africa exhibit.  It has been years since TBZ has had an elephant.  New waterfalls and wading ponds, as well as a 14-acre recreational area, will welcome the pachyderm.  For now you can just enjoy this:

Can I get a "What, What"?  Can I get a "Roll Tide"?

One of my favorite areas is the Social Animals (i.e. the Monkeys and Primates).  They did not disappoint us today.  In fact, the male gorilla was very active.  He was just walking back and forth, posing for pictures, etc.

At one point, I asked Rob to say "cheese".  This is the face I got instead:

I think he likes the monkeys, too!

Because the Zoo's layout doesn't exactly follow the layout of God's great earth, right across from the Savannah is the Middle East.  Once we saw this:

...we decided the boys simply had to do this:

Fun times!

The Zoo recently lost its beautiful white tiger.  It does still have lions and a Bengal tiger.  I'm a little worried about the tiger.  He looked so thin.  Someone throw that cat a nice steak!

Rob, who loves Madagascar, was super excited because first we saw Alex (the lion).  We had previously seen Gloria (an unphotographed hippopotamus) and Melman (the giraffe).  Once we rounded a corner, here was Marty!

Awesome! 

Have I mentioned how much fun Caroline was having? The day was almost done; however, no trip to the zoo would be complete without this:

Train Time!

On our way out, we passed a large gaggle of gorgeous flamingos.  Question: do they really, always prefer standing on one leg?  Looking back to my cheerleading days, they reminded me of bright pink liberty-performing gals.  Gosh, that standing leg must have a strong quadricep!

Okay, that's all for now.  I had a great time.  Hopefully you will take the time to support your local zoo.  They are great educational outlets.  Many of the species are endangered and are treated wonderfully so that our children's children will be able to observe them for years to come.