Forest Park Train and The Ft. Worth Zoo

For Sophia's birthday week, we went to ride the Forest Park Train and the zoo on Thursday.

Here we are waiting for the train.

Here it comes!

We got there right on time, 9:30 am. Thanks for the tip Jill. We didn't know it opened that early.

The train ride was great. Even thought there was no breeze, once the train got going, it created a breeze.

All of the girls loved it.

Then it was off to the zoo. This was not our first trip to the zoo (Sophia and I), but it was the first time Russell got to go with us. Last year he was working. The Ft. Worth Zoo holds a special place in our hearts as it was the location for our first date.

On this zoo trip, we got to see a lot of cool things.

Like someone cleaning an aquarium.

Russell touching a snake. It freaked Sophia out.

We got to ride the merry-go-round.

Sophia rode on a horse this year instead of the wagon.

We got to visit my mom's boss' bench right outside the penguin house. His name is Mr. Klabzuba and his money helped fund the penguin house.

But more important than all the cool things we got to see, it was just fun watching Sophia's reactions to things. There was a big difference between this years trip and last years.

Last year, she wanted to jump into the cage with the animals. This year, I heard over and over again "mama, I'm scared.".

This year, she could ask, "what's that?".

It was soooo hot. That part didn't change.

She still refuses to keep sunglasses or a hat on to help shield her eyes and head.

Here are some more cool things we got to see. Check out this giraffe's tongue.

Sophia loved this bird. Must be the color.

We got to see a rhino take a bath.

There are some things we were better off not seeing. We got to see the lions.

We went into the birdhouse and walked around.

This one flew right onto the side walk in front of Sophia.

We got to see a rhino play ball.

We got to see a gorilla deep in thought.

And more importantly, I think we all lost 10 pounds in sweat alone. Here we are, ready for an air conditioned car.

Here's Sophia on the car ride home. We just happened to have a paci handy to aid in her falling asleep.

Later that night, the crew came over for dinner. This was their last night together.

Farewell Kaminski/Laine crew!