The Zoo

Shelby thought it would be a good idea to take Laurel and Elena to the zoo together before she has her baby in a couple of weeks. I had taken Elena to the zoo once before (with playgroup) when she was only 3 months old. I think she was able to appreciate it more this time. We visited the "North America" section.
She liked looking at the ducks. They were actually really cool. They would dive completely out of sight for over 5 seconds and then reappear.
These Galapagos tortoises were original inhabitants of the zoo and they are back for a visit. It is neat that they let you get so close to them. They are named Tort and Retort.
I took a close-up because this turtle looks EXACTLY like Morla, the swamp tortoise from The Neverending Story. Very cute.
Elena and I went down this leaf slide a couple of times.
We amazingly all fit into the giant, hollowed-out, and plastic squash and some nice woman offered to take a picture. I think Laurel and Elena were a little freaked out to be in there. Everything we said echoed like crazy.
This was my favorite part. The two girls really loved watching the sea lions. It was as if they were watching a tennis match: their heads were zipping back and forth.
The day culminated in a ride on the carousel. Elena was so brave. When the alligator started to move, she was a little worried, but she ended up having a really good time. Notice that both hands are tightly gripping the pole. Her little legs were actually squeezing the gator pretty tight too.
I took this picture after the ride was over. She's feeling much more relaxed now.
We had a great time. When we go back, we'll have to check out "Africa" and take Dan with us.