Omaha Zoo 2015

Our first trip of 2015 was a success and a lot of fun!  My parents had wanted to take my nephew Eli and Annie to the Omaha zoo and earlier this month we were able to do so.  It worked out really well because my sister, Heather and her boyfriend Andrew were able to meet us from Colorado so not only did we all go to the zoo but it was a perfect get-together as we haven’t done a family vacation with my parents and siblings in years!   On Friday night we drove over and met up with my parents, my brother Cody and his son Elijah.  Mom and I enjoyed sitting the hotel lobby that afternoon drinking wine while Eli and Annie ran around.  It’s cute how Annie kept a watchful eye on what Eli was up to and how Eli kept a watchful but almost like ‘big brother-like’ eye on his little cousin Annie.  It’s the cutest to see them play together or when Eli reaches over and gives Annie a gentle hug.  Annie is pretty clingy to me but with Eli, she lets him come near her and loves his hugs and jumps right in to play.

While hanging out in the lobby, Heather and Andrew showed up, their flight was right on time which was great because we still had the whole evening yet.  We all grabbed dinner at a nearby restaurant and then hurried down the pool to get some swim time in before Annie’s bedtime.  Which we ended up letting her stay up later than normal, not sure if that was a good idea or not but it didn’t completely backfire on us.  It was the first time Annie was in a big pool and she was more intrigued in watching Eli jumping off the side of the pool.  

The next day we got to the zoo early, it started off to be a rainy morning but cleared up pretty quickly and really didn’t end up ruining our day at all.  Annie really loved the petting zoo, I think she could have petted the baby goat kids all day long.   She also loved the artic penguins and the train ride around the park.  We had a little trouble getting her to finally nap in the stroller but when she finally did, she was out for 3 solid hours.  Which we knew it was super important that she caught her nap but a bummer that she missed out on 3 hours of zoo time.  By the end of the day, we had walked 6 miles and seen just about everything there was to see except the Jungle, which at that point we decided we didn’t have it in us to walk thru that exhibit so we hit the souvenir shop and headed back to the hotel.

Speaking of the souvenir shop, I was really surprised, the prices were really good and not a total rip off like I was expecting.  Mom ended up getting Annie 2 animal books and a Lego set, all for $20!  And she loves it and plays/reads with them all the time.  

Back at the hotel, we ended up all ordering dinner in and spending our last evening together with some more pool time.  All in all, Annie really loved this trip to the zoo and we will definitely be hitting up the local zoo here in Des Moines this summer.  First trip of the year was a success and it was nice to get out of Des Moines, spend time with family and do something different for a change.