6/15 - 6/18 The Cleveland Zoo was the big trip of the week. We went there on Thursday with Mom (me), Grandma & Grandpa, Jodi & Russell and Mikayla & Emma. We passed her off as Jodi & Russell's adopted child, so she could get in free under their family membership. Kimberly rode in the wagon with Emma most of the day. She had the option to walk, ride in the stroller or push the stroller and she chose the wagon with her buddy. Actually, she would have preferred Mikayla in the wagon, too, but there wasn't enough room. So she settled for holding her hand while Mikayla walked next to the girls. Kim saw all of the animals and I told her their names. She wasn't "jumping up and down" excited, probably because most were at a distance and she couldn't touch. She saw the leopard sleeping in the tree, monkeys sleeping on a rock and rhinos eating some hay. Then we walked past the giraffes and into the butterfly house. They were up close so she liked them. She even grabbed one by the wings and we instantly told her no. After that we caught the tram to the Northern Trek to see the wolves and bears. The bears and tigers were sleeping, so they didn't really impress Kim. She did get to feed a dead frozen fish to a sea lion. Nothing like Sea World - it was more like pay $1 to get a fish and drop it over the fence to the sea lions below. Then we went to the wolf cabin and she saw a Mexican wolf, pacing close to the glass. Next, we went into the pond and she saw turtles, fish and a beaver swimming around. She was able to follow the animals and touched the glass like she wanted to touch them. Best of all, she learned how to drink from a drinking fountain in the cabin. After our trek we headed back to the front gates for lunch. She wanted lunch from everybody other than me. In fact, she ran from me as I was trying to feed her. She dropped all of her pretzels and the sea gulls figured out that we were easy targets. They flew in and ate whatever food the kids would share. If I wasn't watching Kim, they probably would have taken the crackers out of her hands. After lunch we saw the sleeping tigers, pink flamingos, koala bears and the laurakeets (birds). Mikayla and Emma each got a small cup of nectar (fruit juice) to feed them. Kimberly liked the birds and laughed when one stole the cup out of Mikayla's hands. Then we went to the Australian exhibit and the petting farm. Kimberly saw sleeping kangaroos and wallabies and even a baby joey hanging out of a momma's pouch. At this point, she was starting to get tired, but we went to the petting zoo, where she touched a goat and miniature donkey. She followed that up with washing her whole body (instead of stopping at the hands) at the sink. She sure likes water! Next weekend she is going to Cousin Samantha's swim birthday party so she will get to go in the water to play! Papa bought ice cream for everybody and we took a 15 minute break before heading to the new dinosaur exhibit. Emma and Mikayla loved that, Kim was not so sure, especially when T-rex ROARED. She wanted out. She laughed at the baby dinosaurs and then pulled the wagon the rest of the way out. We packed her up and headed home around 3:30. She was asleep in her car seat before we even reached the top of the hill. It was a perfect day to go to the zoo - overcast, cool, no rain, no crowds and no blazing hot sun. In fact, I even put her sweater on in the morning because it was a little chilly in the shade with the breeze blowing. In the future, when she understands English better, and she can ask questions, I'm sure the zoo will be one of her favorite places to go. Every Memorial Day Weekend, EAC, the adoption agency from Strongsville, has a big event planned at the zoo. I'm sure we will make it a yearly tradition to go to the zoo, meet new and old friends and be in the parade on Saturday.