Free day at the zoo

I'll be honest, January has been boring for us. We were so busy during the holidays that doing nothing for awhile sounded amazing. In fact, Brooklyn was off track for 2 and a half weeks in January and we did absolutely nothing. Nothing too exciting at least.
So when I woke up on Wednesday, January 25th, I looked at the calendar and realized it was the last Wednesday of January. Then it hit me. It's always free day at the zoo on the last Wednesday of every month during the winter. I checked the weather forecast and since there was no moisture expected, I decided we should go.
Brooklyn was still at school when I asked Eliza if she wanted to go to the zoo. She was ecstatic! There was no changing my mind after I told her. :)
Brooklyn was equally as excited when Eliza told her our plans. She wanted to know who was coming with us, but it was going to be just us. Then I had to deal with two excited little girls for an hour or so until we ate lunch and got everything gathered. They were so crazy that where was a lot of yelling going on before we left. I almost changed my mind, but decided it would be harder to stay home with two crazy kids.
The girls were excited to see the elephants! Baby Zuri still isn't too big. This is the dark picture since we were under the cover.
This is the outside picture, but it was too bright so the girls couldn't look at me. When we came by on the way out of the zoo, the elephants were put away. I'm glad we got to see them!
The tigers are always the best to see when it's cold. In the summer they hide away in the shade and it's hard to find them. They were all sleeping on this day, but one was right up next to the window. It's amazing just how big they are!
One giraffe was being trained while we were there. I've seen this before, but my kids loved watching the giraffe "at school".
There was also a small giraffe and two cuddly ones on the other side. We had to leave rather fast though because they were getting a little too comfy, if you know what I mean. (wink, wink).
Brooklyn was more willing to pose for pictures. Eliza got a short nap on the ride up, but was in no mood for pictures.
Brooklyn wanted to sit on the elephant trunk. A nearly impossible feat in the summer with all the kids running around as it sprays water.
Eliza's main excitement of going to the zoo was so she could ride the train. She was sad to see the train closed for the winter. Brooklyn wanted to ride the carousel two times since the train wasn't open. I was willing to allow this since the zoo admittance was free. Eliza was nervous about the carousel today, but ended up being just fine as long as I stayed next to her.
Eliza first rode the giraffe.
Brooklyn rode the baby elephant and was completely fine not being next to me as long as she got the animal she wanted.
Next she rode the dolphin though she really wanted the penguin, but another girl was already on it. I'm glad she had a second choice because normally we have royal fits over not getting the right animal.
Eliza was happy with the peacock on her second ride.
We had a fun time riding together! Overall, the day was a little chili (high of 44 degrees), but nothing a little hat and gloves couldn't fix. It wasn't too busy either. It was a fun little adventure!