Spring Break- Zoo Adventure

We have had the zoo on our bucket list for a long time and we finally made it happen!  I knew the kids would love it; it is just a looong way from our house.  I recruited our best travel buddy (my mom) and we decided to take a quick overnight trip with the kids over spring break.  

Once we checked in to our hotel we walked over to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We rarely go with all the kids out to eat and it is always an adventure. 

We ordered two desserts to share and somehow Kate ended up with the majority of this one- she was THRILLED.  She and James are definitely our sweet tooth kids.  

We came back to the hotel and decided to go swimming but the water was SO cold.  

These two didn't last long 

My mom blessed me in a HUGE way by offering to have A and K in the room with her.  They somehow convinced her to let them sleep in the bed with her (instead of the sofa bed).  These pictures she got were hilarious- I don't think any of them got much sleep. 

These two may have not slept in my bed but they sure were up bright and early. 

We made it to the zoo!

James was our tour guide.  The kid is already better at reading a map than I am. 

Making bubbles 

Everyone loved the polar bear 

I get asked a lot about dressing the kids the same when we are out.  The main reason is that it is simply easier to keep track of everyone in a crowd when they all have on the same color; I am always fearful of losing someone.  It is also easier to pack and they complain less when everyone is the same. :) 

A and K LOVED this area where you could make mud pies. 

One thing I love so much about having twins is hearing their conversations with each other.  I'm not exactly sure why but it is different than the normal sibling talks.  These two were so funny talking as they played together. 

The sun came out and the line for the tram was long and Kate's face here sums up how she was feeling.  It was getting close to nap time and our window of happiness was quickly fading. 

Checking out the butterflies 

A sign that it's almost time to leave 

Ice cream always makes life better 

All day we had been trying to feed the giraffes and we finally were able to . We were the last people of the day to get to do it so they gave us tons of leaves for them- the kids LOVED it. 

Great way to end the trip!

One thing these pictures fail to show is that all four kids immediately fell asleep in the car (which is unheard of) but shortly after that we realized we were almost out of gas AND we got lost driving in the middle of nowhere which meant all four kids were woken up when we stopped to get gas and it took quite a bit longer to get home than we planned. Always an adventure when you travel with the Hollands!