The Asheboro Zoo

Throughout the summer we have been reading books to Charlie about animals, talking about the sounds they make, and letting him watch his animal and fish Baby Einstein DVDs in preparation for going to the ZOO this fall! We finally made it to the zoo September 25th, and boy did we have fun!

Jimmy rearranged his class schedule for that week, so we had the whole day together for our trip.

We left at about 9 that morning and got to Asheboro in time for lunch at Cook-Out. Yum!

Walking to Africa (the only time I can ever say that!)

Lovin' those feet. Henry was just along for the ride that day. Literally.

Charlie was so excited to be there! We had talked to him a lot about going to see the animals, so he knew something exciting was going down! This zoo has really beautiful walking trails through the woods, and I think trotting down these was one of Charlie's favorite parts!

Looking at the giraffes. Charlie was very attentive when we would show him the animals and would point at them.

Exploring the woods.

The was not a zoo sponsored exhibit, but Charlie enjoyed it nonetheless. : )

We love trucks and construction equipment at our house!

Checking out the Red River Hog

A hand full of acorns! Collecting these was also an enjoyable part of Charlie's day!

Sacked out. Looove those chunky thighs! : )

Charlie liked the fake animals almost as much as the real ones! He kept running up to this chimp and would put his fingers in his (the chimp's) mouth and say, "Nommie nommie nommie!" I guess he was pretending he was giving him something yummy to eat!

Other fun statues that he rode....

...and roared at!

 A Lemur

My sweet boy (well, one of them!).

All of us really enjoyed the aviary they have. It was fun to see all the birds up close, and Charlie had a great time running around.

Charlie found a "duck-duck" and kept going back to look at it!

Showing Henry the ducks

Henry got fussy and needed a change of scenery- so he moved to the front seat!

Taking a break

In the middle of the zoo they have a big snack area, carousel, gift shop, and some other attractions.

Charlie liked driving this jeep!

Roar!!!!!

He rode the carousel four times- twice with Jimmy and twice with me.

Despite Charlie's face, he loved the carousel and kept begging to ride it again!

Snack time!

This actually started out as MY ice cream cone... but alas, he wanted some, and he is really cute. ; )

Figuring out a creative way to eat it...

...from the bottom!!

They had a walk-thru dinosaur display that we went to next, filled with life-size models! They even moved and roared!

Charlie checking it out.

The T-Rex!!!

Baby dinosaurs!

Handsome Henry Byrd

At the end of the exhibit they had a place where you could dig for fossils.

...And then the T-Rex came to life and chased me!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhh!

Or, it was just a fun photo opp. : )

Mr. Man needed to try driving too! He looks so tiny in that big jeep!

Awesome cactus outside of the "Sonoran Desert." Makes me miss New Mexico!

 Charlie checking out the snake. Ewwww...

I love this view- two precious boys!

We saw zebras on the way out!

Back in the parking lot at the end of the day. Everyone was tired but happy!

Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant in a small town on the way home. Somehow, Charlie stayed awake until we got there, ate his dinner, and then went outside afterwards and ran up and down the sidewalk for a few minutes while Jimmy fed Henry. We were amazed that he still had energy left after our very active afternoon!

Keeping him occupied with the menu. It looked like a book so he liked it.

Snuggled up on the way home!

We had fun looking at the animals, but my favorite part was that we got to hang out together all day! There's nothing better than being with my family!!