Minnesota Zoo

On June 28th the entire Smith clan (about 36 people) that were in town and headed to the zoo to celebrate the Ford twins’ (Heber and Parley) 5th birthday.  All grandchildren got in free with a grandparents pass, and we managed to find some free passes at the library as well for the adults that don’t have a membership. 
As it was drizzly, a little cold, and super windy when we got there we went on the indoor “Tropics Trail first.  Here’s Samantha on the turtle at the entrance… it’s the classic Minnesota Zoo picture.


The kids all had a buddy to stick with.  Lucy (11) immediately picked Samantha.  Samantha loves Lucy and I’m grateful to her for always watching Samantha at the family gatherings.
 

My favorite exhibit in the entire zoo is the Butterfly Garden which is at the end of the Tropics Trail.  Dave (father-in-law) stayed outside with a sleeping Clara so that I could go in.  I love taking pictures in the garden, both of butterflies and the beautiful lilies.  One butterfly was very fond of me and stayed on me for 10 minutes.  I was called a “Mourning Cloak” and it’s native to Minnesota.  My sister-in-law, Tamara, was able to capture the butterfly for me.



After seeing the grizzly bears and otters the entire crew went to the Bird Show.  It’s an enjoyable show, showing a bunch of different birds that actually fly right over your head and of course they have very silly planned jokes that kids love.

    

Here we are at the end of the day.