Santa at the Zoo

Last weekend we headed to the local zoo with Dave's parents (while he was home recovering from a minor surgery). It was great to see the animals that were out and about, and I think it made me appreciate some animals that normally aren't that interesting to me. We saw huge snowy owls, ducks with funny-looking mohawks and my favorite little monkeys. Teddy really enjoyed those guys!

There happened to be a scavenger hunt searching for monkeys dressed as elves, so AJ had a blast searching for those. In fact, we were nearly done walking through the entire zoo when he said that after we found all the monkeys that we'd have to go back to look at the animals. 

AJ's highlight was getting to see penguins up close and personal. They are one of his favorite animals (along with groundhogs and then cats for domesticated animals). He thought it was pretty cool to see them up close and hear the braying sounds they make. 

So close to his beloved penguins!

Teddy was pretty excited to see Santa. He's gotten braver with Santa through the years. He's always been fascinated by him but on his own terms. He's always so excited to see him that it's hard to get a picture with him looking at the camera rather than Santa. But we got a really good picture with me and the boys and a pretty good picture with the grandparents as well.

I swear I was crouching to hold Teddy. I'm taller than him still.

In Wisconsin, you have to embrace winter and still find the fun things to do to get fresh air. This was a great way!

All smiles, who cares if we're not all looking at the camera?