Magnolia Manor: The Zoo

Jeff's company sponsored an event that allowed him to volunteer at the ZOO on Friday, so the kids and I headed down to meet him after lunch. Our zoo got KOALA BEARS a few years ago, and I've tried (in vain) to go see them for quite some time. I was so excited when everyone said they were on board on Friday.

This was the first guy who greeted us, and Emma got all excited to see "Zaboomifoo". I realized pretty quick that I was going to be expected to take looooooots of pictures at the zoo....so get ready!

I was thinking Chrissy from Three's Company when I took this one. :-)

Those are flamingos in the background.

Hayden's favorite of the day.

I told the boys they each had to WILLINGLY pose for (at least) one picture with an animal. After I took this, Max tried to convince me he was done.

Wrong. :-)

This was Max's favorite of the day.

Sooooo creepy. It's an albino alligator, and they are very, very, very rare in the wild because they can't hide from predators. He was really gross. (Said the woman who was waiting for the koala bears.)

Yeeeeessssssssss.

Finally.

The reason for the day.

So stinking adorable.

This is what he was doing when we arrived.

This is what he was doing ten minutes later while I was still gawking at him.

This is what he was doing by the time the boys finally convinced me to move on.

Honestly, they are not super active. :-)

Or super awake, even. Ha!

There were two of them, and I didn't even bother taking pictures of the other one because he was curled up in a tight ball with his back to us. At least this guy was nice enough to snooze face forward.

I chose the koala enclosure for my picture op of the day. :-)

One more...........can't help myself!

After koala perfection, we headed to Lorikeet Landing to hand feed the birds.

I got these cute pictures right before one of them POOPED ON MY HEAD.

Bird poop. On my head. And running down the side of my face.

Hello. Embarrassing.

This one thought it was HILARIOUS.

I knew we never should have left the koalas. :-)

This was by far the coolest thing we saw. The giraffe enclosure has a little platform where you can reach out and pet them!!! You can also buy little crackers to feed them.

I've never seen a more graceful creature.

They are magnificent. And truthfully, a tad more entertaining than the sleeping koalas.

We rode the monorail system, and it gave Emma a chance to sit and study her map. She was an absolute NUT for this map. She carried it around all day long trying to keep up with the various exhibits. We brought it home with us, and it has been a continuing source of entertainment.

The chimpanzees used to always be my very favorites. I do still love them, but I never feel like they look very happy in the zoo and it makes me super sad. This little guy had an apple that he seemed to enjoy. They are such fascinating little creatures.

Emma and I visited a second bird enclosure in the children's zoo. On our way in she turned to me and asked if I could "please at least TRY not to get pooped on this time". It was as if the bird poop running down MY head was somehow imposing on HER ability to have a great time.

This is Murphy, an African Gray that stole my heart right away. Smart, clever, and an amazing talker. His voice sounded absolutely human. Loved him.