Minnesota Zoo

I've lost track of how many times I've been to the zoo, and how many times I've posted about it. I try to take different pictures each time I go. You can only take so many picture of the same monkey. Most of the day my camera stayed stored, but I thought I'd try in the coral reef. The darkness really provided a cool silhouette and the kids were just so enthralled at the colorful fish. Most of the pictures didn't turn out, I played with flash and people kept walking in front of me. Our better lens is longer so I had to stay back aways to take pictures. I finally managed to get these with a really slow shutter speed. I think they're just precious.

Samantha and Kellen looking at the fish

Amirah and Cooper

Another part of the zoo that I've never been to is the Aveda Butterfly Garden. Last year I didn't know it existed until the day after it closed (it's only open in the summer). This time I made sure to go in and see it. It was a lot of fun. I was moving around too much to have a butterfly land on me, but my niece and nephew I was with got one to. Samantha liked pointing at them and kept saying "There it is!" each time one flew by her. Here's one picture that I'm sort of proud of. It's not quite perfectly in focus, but I think I'm getting the hang of framing shots.

Monarch butterfly on Cone flower

We also stopped by the Grizzly exhibit even though Samantha was beyond tired.

Samantha waving at the bears

Samantha freaking out when the bear walks right by her