hippohippohippohippohippo

My dearest, closest friend of 20 years (yikes!), Amy, who is also Liesl's godmother, accompanied the girls and I to the Detroit Zoo last Monday. I finally bought a family membership this spring, since it is almost as short a drive to the Zoo as it is to most of our favorite parks, and let's face it...seeing the Zoo through the eyes of tiny kids is magical. So Amy and I packed a picnic lunch, slathered the girls and ourselves with sunscreen, and headed out to the Zoo.

In case you haven't hung around us for a while (or at all), it would behoove you to know that Liesl's favorite animal is a hippopotamus. Not ponies, not kitties, not puppies or birdies or butterflies...a hippopotamus. And she has stayed consistent with that opinion for almost a year. So naturally, when we arrived to the Zoo, Amy, Ava and I were treated to a verbal onslaught of one single, incredibly important request: "Can we see the hippo first? Can we see the hippo first? Can we see the hippo first? Can we see the hippo first?" (ad nauseum)

Why, oh why must the hippo be located so far away from the entrance? Can't they move him to that wonderful fountain that runs through the middle of the Zoo...close to the entrance? It’s a very lovely fountain, I’m sure he’d be happy there....

I wish I had gotten a few more pictures of some of the animals we visited, but even with the incredibly helpful Amy on our team, our hands were quite full. The good news is, though, since we live so close to the Zoo and have our family membership, we can go back as many times as we want. We've already been 3 times since purchasing our membership, and we plan to visit again very soon.

Please, oh please let them move the hippo to the front of the Zoo before then.

Amy and Liesl hanging out by the hippo enclosure. This was the first chance I had to get my camera out, because god almighty, we sure as shootin' weren't going to stop to get out the camera, much less take a breath, before Liesl got to the hippo.


Amy wanted a picture of the girls sitting still together.


Yeah. Good luck with that.

I just love giraffes. Maybe not as much as Liesl loves hippos--I don't think that's humanly (or hippoly) possible--but nonetheless, our little group spent quite a lot of time with the giraffes.

After the hippo, of course.

Ava and Amy cuddling at my house after a much-needed afternoon nap.