A Fun-Filled Day at the Omaha Zoo

While we were in Omaha, we wanted to take the girls to the zoo. There were a few days that it was supposed to be pretty chilly, so we picked the warmest day to spend outside.

The girls were so excited to see animals, and ran right to the lion statues in the front.

We made our way around to the aquarium, and as we walked, some peacocks kept following us. Charley was the only brave one that wanted to go near them.

The girls had fun playing on the turtles in front of the aquarium and sliding down their backs.

When we finally made it inside, Isaac, Grace, and Char went to the touch tank to feel some starfish and anemones. 

Perry just wanted to stand by this giant wall of fish.

We walked through and saw some super cute penguins. They kept diving down into the water, and the girls loved it.

They sat underneath in this little spot to get a better view of them and giggled as the penguins darted in front of them.

We walked under a giant tunnel with sharks, sea turtles, and lots of fish. It was so cool to watch them all swim around you. We just happened to catch feeding time, too, so we got to watch the sharks eat breakfast.

Next up was this spider crab that had Gracie all freaked out.

They watched Nemo and Dory swim through the coral and imagined what they could be talking about.

The jellyfish are always a favorite of mine. It's so amazing the way they just float around aimlessly.

Char found a fish that was bigger than her.

Isaac was obsessed with this crazy eel. Even looking at this picture now, it gives me the chills.

We saw an octopus that the girls called Hank (from Finding Dory).

There was another eel nearby, so we had to stop and watch him swim around.

We finished up the aquarium, and it was starting to get a little cold outside. We made our way to the gorilla exhibit, which is always my favorite part of the zoo.

We stopped to check out these silly meer cats on our way.

The girls wanted to ride the gorilla statues, and Charley hopped on for a piggy back ride.

We had to stop before entering the gorilla habitat to check out these other monkeys. They were so loud that I thought the zoo put monkey sounds over the speakers. We walked down the path and saw these monkeys being crazy. Apparently they sing to mark their territory.

We finally made it to the gorillas, and they were just as cool as I remembered.

The girls had fun watching this one up close, while he chewed on some leaves.

We thought we were walking out, but there was another indoor area for them. I thought this one looked sweet sleeping. Then I noticed that she had a tiny baby sleeping next to her, and it was the sweetest little thing. I mentioned to Isaac that I'd like to take it home, and she sat up and hovered over the baby instantly.

The girls ooh'd and aww'd over the baby, while Perry told us 100 times to "see bay-bee, bay-bee".

The mama finally laid back down next to her little guy, so we left them alone to nap in peace.

This little fella greeted us on our way out the door.

When we walked out, one of the peacocks had his feathers up and looked so pretty. Then he calmed down and followed us around some more.

The girls played by some animal statues and demanded pictures.

Once we were back on the trail, we ran into the elephants. They were so beautiful, and Char couldn't believe how huge they were.

We went through the inside, and this guy walked right up to us. He must've been cold, because he stayed inside by himself.

Perr Perr fell asleep, while we walked around.

We saw a black bear and a polar bear, and both made me want to snuggle up to them to nap in their warmth.

Grace and Char wanted to ride the carousel, but Perry is not a fan of them. I sat on the little bench with her instead.

Daddy said he really loved the jungle as a kid, so we made our way over there to check it out. When we walked in, it was so hot and humid that none of us needed our jackets.

We saw all sorts of animals wondering around and hanging out in the trees.

There was even a hippopotamus in the water below.

The girls played on the trees like monkeys, while the monkeys swung around above them.

We walked under a waterfall and saw the prettiest parrots.

This little guy was friendly and talked back and forth with us.

These guys were much more mellow.

Perry kept sleeping, while the rest of us played in the jungle.

We saw some otters that were looking up at us from the water before we walked into the reptile area.

  

There were turtles, Gila monsters, and we even watched a snake eat a whole mouse.

We had so much fun walking around exploring, and then Perry finally woke up.

The zoo was so much fun. It's always neat when you can teach your kids new things, while also making memories. We all had our favorite parts, and the girls didn't stop talking about theirs for the rest of the week.