Daddy's Day Out with the Kiddos!

The kids got to go recently to the zoo with Jennifer and her family one weekend while I was working day shift, but it had been a while since I had been to the zoo so I got the great idea to take the kids up to Cincinnati. The only problem was that Jennifer had to work, so it meant that I would be taking them all by myself. I decided that it was possible to be done so I went ahead and made the little over an hour drive up to Cincinnati. We packed up the stroller with everything that I could imagine we might need and headed out on our adventure.

Our first stop was the elephants. They are one of our favorite animals and they were all pretty active because they had just put out some food for them.

Giraffes are the favorite animal of both Brinley and Landon. It just so happened that we were there during feeding time. Brinley asked if she could feed them and I just couldn't tell her no. It turned out to be great because instead of 2 pieces of lettuce they gave both kids a handful. We definitely got our money's worth that day.

The kids absolutely love riding the train. Since it was Halloween time the train had been converted into the Hogwarts Express. The ride had all kinds of Harry Potter themed decorations including this large snake head to represent the basilisk.

The last time they went to the zoo their Aunt Sarah got them some icee in souvenir cups. We took the cups back and got them an icee refill. They couldn't have been happier after getting these cups back all filled up.

The kids found this tree in the monkey area. They just had to get their picture made with it. I thought it was pretty cute.

We have only been in manatee springs once, but I decided that I wanted to check it out again today. The kids weren't amazed about the manatee, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Along with the train, it is not a trip to the zoo unless we take a couple rides on the carousel. Thankfully they are both covered in our membership package. We got a couple rides in before we called it quits.

The gorillas were all pretty active today too. This silver back posted up shop in the front and seemed to be showing off his dominance. There were a couple of mothers walking around with their young. The little one in the top picture wouldn't even let go of it's mother.

A few more of the exhibits that we made it to during our visit. Lions, bears, snakes and more monkeys.

The last stop of the day was the reptile building. They had a couple people outside with some animals that you could touch or hold. I decided to hold this rat snake. The worker said that "I should have nothing to fear. The snake was less harmful than my wife, that is unless my wife bites!" I braved my fears and held the snake. Brinley wanted to hold it but I wouldn't let her. She enjoyed touching it though. 

 While we were still in the area I decided to make a quick visit to the Newport Aquarium. We had just gone last week, but there were only a few more days left before the Weeki Wachee Mermaids left the aquarium. Brinley and Landon both really enjoyed seeing them swim around in the water so I wanted them to be able to see them again. We grabbed a quick lunch before heading in.

The mermaids were by far the biggest hit of the aquarium again. It is such a unique and fun experience. The kids both enjoyed giving high fives to the mermaids and they even flirted with Landon by trying to give him kisses through the glass.

One of my favorite exhibits at the aquarium is of Mighty Mike. He is a 14 foot 800 pound alligator and he is huge! We have visited the aquarium many times and I am not sure that I have ever seen him move. The only way I know he isn't just a fake is that his eyes blink on occasion.

The shark bridge is one of the newest attractions at the aquarium and the kids love it. I am not sure that they actually look at any of the sharks swimming below them while they are walking across. I think that they just enjoy the challenge.

After about 4 hours at the zoo and another hour at the aquarium I had a couple of worn out kids on my hands. 

My trip with the kiddos turned out to be very successful. I am not sure that I will take these adventures every week or anything, but I do know that I can do it. I am so lucky to be their dad and I enjoy every moment that I get to be with them. I can't wait to see what adventures we get into as they grow up! Thanks for reading and God bless!