A Day at the National Zoo!!!

{ Tuesday, April 9, 2013 }

We are so lucky to live somewhat near the National Zoo (like an hour away if NOT in rush hour traffic), and the fact that it's free is awesome. The first time we went was a little bit of a disaster and they were only 9 months old, but it was still fun.

So, this was the first time we have gone during the day and the girls could somewhat understand what the zoo was. After waking up at 5:30am, I got everything ready and I packed lunches for the girls. Thank goodness we were lucky enough to have Nana and Auntie Megan join us too! I knew the girls would love it now because they know most of the animals they would see. 

Let's just say it was an early morning, hot day and long trip....but so worth it. The smiles on their faces and giggles I heard were priceless. 

For those who don't know, The National Zoo is extremely hilly. Like mountainous. Seriously, pushing a double stroller while 31 weeks pregnant was NO fun. And boy was it HOT! We've had snow showers, like last week, and this week it's in the 90's. Phew...no in between has really hit hard! 

We loaded the girls up on sun-screen and tried to get there early, but with rush hour traffic, we didn't get there until 10am...and we left our house at 7:05am! 

Did I mention, it was hot? Yeah. So, here are the photos I took in the three hours we were there, which was plenty of time to see everything. Luckily there were no crowds at all.

Clothing for triplets: Maddy is in PINK. Claire is in TURQUOISE. Natalee in YELLOW. And yes, Emily has plenty of shoes to wear, but she wasn't walking so we left them in the bag, plus since all she does is take them off, it's much better to just leave them off!

Here are some animal photos. One thing I guess I didn't remember was that there are no giraffes  That kinda made me sad, I know the girls would have loved to see them!

These photos are of the famous pandas that the National Zoo has "borrowed". They are very popular and special to so many! It was really neat to see them for the first time and so close. They really look like big "teddy bears" but honestly they could break me in half! 

A horse.

I LOVE watching the Apes. I could sit there all day. They are so neat! This was a family of the Daddy, Mommy and baby. The baby was so active and playing all over the place. It was so cool!

The orangutans go throughout the zoo on the "O-Lines". It's pretty cool!

Gator!

The lion!

Gee, once again, where is Natalee...oh, having a fit!

They LOVED the seals and sea lions!

Auntie Megs with her girls!

A speckled bear.

Enjoying the rain forest area.

Pretty pink bird (sorry it's blurry) in the rain forest area.

After we got in the car and turned the AC on HIGH, we were all starving. We headed to The Cheesecake Factory  which was of course delicious in every way. It's one of the best restaurants around.

Afterwards, we headed up the highway and dropped off Nana and Auntie Megan and then met Daddy at home. Let's just say, I was BEAT. I took a shower and pretty much vegged for the remained of the evening, even if that meant I still had to get dinner ready for the girls, give baths...and do all the things we do every single evening. Needless to say though, we were all passed out pretty early and slept great! Such a fun day!