Utah Hogle Zoo + Dinosaurs

22 June 2015

Since Lily loves going to the Zoo, we decided that one day we would take her.  With my NC Zoo Pass, I got the four of us into the zoo for $15.

When entering the NC Zoo (Africa side) the first animal you encounter is the giraffes.  Here at Utah's Hogle Zoo - the first animals we saw, were also the giraffes. I think that this was a good omen meaning the day was going to be perfect.

And Lily was so, so happy to see the giraffes.

But not so sure about the lions.

I hate to compare, but the Elephants at Utah's zoo had such a small living area compared to how large of an area they have at North Carolina's zoo.

But one thing that Utah's zoo has, that North Carolina's zoo lacks... is live shows!  We were lucky enough to hit all three (one right after the other).

The first show was the Elephant show.  They did all sorts of tricks, and the narrators explained that the elephant's participation was optional.  If they performed the tricks, they were rewarded with their favorite fruits to eat, if they chose not to participate, they didn't any fruits. We also learned that the trainers are no longer allowed to be in the same enclosure as elephants, per some sort of standard.  So all the tricks that they do there is a restrictive wall which protects the animal trainers.  But these weren't the only fun facts we learned.  We also learned how to distinguish African elephants from Asian elephants, that females dwell among each other and live in groups, how long the gestational period of an elephant is, and (something new for me): that the elephants largest blood vessels are in their ears and this is where they get their blood drawn to make sure that they are healthy elephants. 

The next show was the bird show.  You sit in this inclined arena and birds swoop and fly right over your head.  The whole show lasts about 45 minutes (with a bird flying over your head every 2-3 minutes) and you learn all sorts of interesting facts about birds.  I remember going to this show about 8 years ago with Michal and he was fully freaked out by the birds flying overhead.  But Lily loved it. In fact, her favorite bird was the owl.  Whenever we go to the zoo she tells everyone we went to see giraffes and elephants (in that order), but this time she told people we went to see the "owl - who who".

The last show was all about the seals.  They performed tricks and jumps and got rewarded with fishy treats.  After about 10 minutes Lily was bored and asked to go see the Polar Bear.  I was quite surprised that she wanted to see the Polar Bear because every time we go to the NC Zoo, the Polar Bear is hiding in the shade and is nowhere to be found.  Since everyone was enjoying the second half of the seal show... we got front row tickets to watching the Polar Bear cool himself off and do all sorts of interesting tricks in the water.  He kept on jumping in the water, diving, turning around, getting out of the water, walking into a caged home, walking out, shaking off to dry and then repeating the whole process.  We watched him "perform" this schedule about three times. I was so happy that Lily finally got to see her Polar Bear because she's always talking about it, even though she's never seen one up close and personal.

By the time we saw all the animals in the zoo, Lily was tired and wanted to go home.  She played hard and loved all there was to see.  We were at the zoo for about 3 hours, which is much longer than I normally spend at the zoo. I think that we were able to spend so much time there because the shows provided shade and rest so that we didn't wear ourselves out too fast.

And last, but not least.  When I first told Lily we were going to the zoo, I told her we would get to see Dinosaurs there.  These dinosaurs have motion sensors and when someone approaches or walk by, they robotically move and make sounds.  Lily thought it was cool to approach them until they moved, spit water, or "roared"... and then she was freaked beyond belief.  She didn't want to get anywhere near them.  The only dinosaurs she was willing to approach were some tiny ones about the size of your hand.  

Overall, it was such a fun day at the zoo.  I was so grateful that Grammy was game for coming along, it made it so much easier to have her there so Lily could see all the animals up close!

Day Trips to BYU & SLC

While we were in Utah we took some fun day trips to visit places dear to our hearts.  The first place we decided to visit was our very own Alma Mater: Brigham Young University.

We noticed as we were walking up to campus that Provo has its very own RITAS!  Now, let me just share something with you - if you haven't tried Rita's yet - you won't be sorry.  This place was hopping when I was a missionary in Pennsylvania.  I bet I ate here at least once a week during the summer (if not more), and my mission president decided to franchise Rita's out in Utah.  I'm a little jealous that I didn't make this happen first, and I'm a little sad that I've given up sugar to lose some baby weight, but now that I know this is here - I won't hesitate to stop in next time I'm in Provo!

... and of course, I had to take the obligatory photo of my freshman dorms.  Seriously, I just look at those front doors and its as if a flash flood of memories comes back to life!

Michal suggested that our first stop be to the MOA cafe. I wasn't going to argue with him.  Already my mouth started watering when I contemplated what would be on their menu.  Let me just say... they didn't disappoint.  

The next time I have a bookclub, or party, or occasion shower at my home - I'll be serving this special lunch that I ordered from here.  (And you better believe that I will be keeping the recipe a secret).

And while I was drooling over my food, Lily was in heaven drinking her BYU creamery chocolate milk.  Michal was dying to get her some.  It didn't disappoint.

I mean... look at that face!

The remainder of our time on campus was spent at the BYU store (used to be called BYU Bookstore) and JDawgs.  On my FitBit I put in over 20,000 steps that day and I feel like we didn't even get to see a fraction of what we wanted to!  Our trip down memory lane was cut short.  Michal and I decided that to get Lily excited to go to BYU we will always be going to BYU anytime we visit Utah. (I secretly think it's because Michal also wants to divulge in their chocolate milk.)

Michal was also dying for Lily to take her first train ride.  We looked up the Heber Creeper, but it was a little pricy and seemed a little long for our agenda - so we opted to go on the Front Runner and Trax to downtown Salt Lake.

We arrived and waited for the train to come.  Lily wasn't so sure about what she was getting herself into.  At first she was excited because it was a new experience.  And then after about 8 minutes she said, "Off bus.  Go Grammy house." I think it may have broken Michal's heart that she wasn't thrilled to be on a train.  But maybe she'll enjoy it a little bit more when she gets older.

Convincing her to get on TRAX was another ordeal.  She was grumpy and wanted Grammy. She was done with trains.  So we pulled out the phone and took selfies to keep her entertained.  These are the only non-grumpy faces that I got.

While downtown, we ran into a few friends - and met up with a dear friend, Heather, for lunch (at only the second best restaurant to MOA cafe) at Blue Lemon.  Then, to reward Lily for her good behavior at the restaurant, we decided to visit the Disney Store. 

 Lily loves to go around the store and see how much she can gather in her hands at the same time.  I think that she thinks we will buy her anything she can carry (and not let go of).  She is sure cute, but she is sure wrong.

And on a later date, after Michal had flown home... we decided to stop by Temple Square so Lily could see Jesus.

She was very very afraid to approach Jesus.  She kept on saying, "No big Jesus." Translation: "I don't want to get near that tall statue of Jesus."  But she was also very observant because Lily told me, "Jesus owie.  Jesus foot owie.  Jesus owie. Jesus hand owie."

Then we decided to walk around Temple Square to kill some time and so that Lily could see all the fun water fountains!

Poor Grammy, she introduced Lily to walking at her height up on the ledge and Lily didn't want to stop.  She thought she was the coolest thing because she was as tall as Grammy.  You could tell she felt this way because of how her walking changed.  It turned into more of a "strut your stuff" swing, than a regular walk.  

I may be a little biased, but I sure think that she is hot stuff!

Temple Square is always beautiful whenever you visit.  It doesn't matter what time of the year you go, or what time of the day... there is just something majestic and special about visiting here.

We sure wish that we could have done more day trips... but... it's really hard to plan day trips with two children and plan them around nap times.  It doesn't seem like it would be a lot of work - but it sure is.  Therefore, we kept it simple and only did these three.  Next time we go we will try to get in a trip to Grammy and PaPa's Cabin - and maybe a trip to the lake... maybe. 

Utah Surprises

On June 12, at 4:00 in the morning our Prius pulled away from the garage and made the 80 minute journey to the Charlotte Airport where we would get on a Delta flight bound for Salt Lake City.  With two children, an oversized stroller, and a whole bag full of snacks we arrived to our gate with ten minutes to spare before they began boarding.  To keep Lily entertained, and to keep her from getting grumpy, we immediately set up her viewing station and quickly started Monsters University.  

About an hour later, this is how we found her.  She looked just about how I felt. 

Fast forward to just about noon.  We've landed, picked up our rental car, and headed 20 minutes North of the Salt Lake Airport. We drive down my street and around the block assessing our situation, not knowing if Grammy is reading a book, sitting by the front window, and whether or not we will get caught with what we are about to try and pull off.

I call Grammy as we round the corner heading down our street again.  I make sure as to not call her cell phone, but the home phone to get her up and off of the couch, away from the front window, drawing her further into the home.  As she answers I fabricate a lie telling her we were on our way to the beach and that our beach house was double booked and we had to change our travel plans.  She asks me if I got my money back and I confirm that we will get our whole refund for the down payment we made on our beach house.  I then knock on the door and my mom says, "Katie... hold on one second, the FedEx guy is at the door."  The "FedEx guy" is what my dad used to keep my mom home that day, otherwise she would have taken off to the cabin and our surprise would have been in vain. 

As she opens the door, she quickly realizes that I am the "FedEx guy" and I have brought a special package with me to see her.  I got the best video of our surprise and her happy-dance reaction to us knocking on her front door. Let me just say, "It was worth every penny we spent to see that kind of a reaction when I showed up on her front porch." 

Even though we had some insider help from Grandpa in arranging when we would come out and visit, he was still pretty happy and excited to see us come!  He made sure that the first thing Lily did was get her hands full of toys, toys, and more toys. And of course Lily was happy, she went around all day telling everyone she went on an airplane to go to Grammy's house.  She loved all the attention she was receiving.

However, we loved flinging this surprise on my parents so much, we thought it would be fun to do the same thing to my brother Sam. So we drove down to Draper and knocked on his door.  Only for no one to answer and our undercover video has no happy dance, only an unopened door.  

So with some quick thinking, my mom called him and said they were passing through and wondering if they could bring dinner.  Sam was grumpy with her saying that she didn't give him enough notice and that they were already eating dinner at Del Taco.  He took the bait!  He fell right for it and told my mom where he was at... so we were off... to make our second surprise of the day - Del Taco!

When we walked in the fast food restaurant and they recognized us - their mouths just dropped.  They couldn't believe it and didn't know what we were doing there. Sam quickly realized my mom's "sneaky-ninja" skills in trying to figure out where they were located and apologized for being short with her.

It was the first time that Marco got to meet Uncle Sam.

And Lily took a quick liking to her cousin Madeline and Aunt Bridgett. 

Overall, I'd say that our day was a success.  By the time we went to bed we were exhausted, filled with love, and as happy as could be.  The much anticipated surprise was over and we pulled it off! Surprises are just the best!