'minitrip'

Today Hilary and I took the boys on a little "minitrip" as she liked to call it. We packed the essentials, see above....haha you think this is all we needed, no but thanks for playing...this + two bob's + more diaper bags than humans traveling in the car + lunches and snacks + water, milk and juice, because you never know what you'll be in the mood for + sunscreen in case it was sunny/hot and sweaters in case it was cold +...+... you get the picture

On the way up we stopped by the road here:

For these:

Then arrived at the Santa Barbara Zoo for an afternoon of fun! We both received season passes to this zoo from the St. Amants for Christmas. We haven't gotten a chance to use this generous gift until now (luckily we get a year from the first date we use them, so our year starts now, Dear SB zoo, prepare yourself...we will be seeing each other really frequently in the coming months).

"Who cares about the giant snake mom, its time for a snack."

Checking out the lions together...

We were able to get super close to the giraffes. These were a favorite of the boys today. Probably because there were so many of them and they were being very active. Next time we might try feeding them (this is allowed, they let you pay to feed them lettuce, I'm not just going to toss them a bite of Scott's sunflower butter and jam sandwich, I'm pretty sure that would get us banned)

We spent a lot of our time just exploring and playing on the grounds. It is truly one of the most beautiful zoos I have ever been to. We actually have friends that got married here (we didn't know them at the time and did not attend) which I think is such a cute idea!

The highlight of the trip was this fountain.

The boys played and splashed and got soaked...and loved every second!

Also this was not a fun kids splash area...I'm pretty sure it was not for this purpose whatsoever and had we been caught it may have been frowned upon....our bad!

Parker J. really liked looking at the goats, sheep and pigs.

Here is Scott showing this weird alligator head toy his "super excited face". It never gets old!

On the way home we of course had to stop at our FAVORITE coffee shop: Palermo.

What a perfect couch for two boys and two mommies to have a coffee break!

Just a shot of a portion of their tempting menu. Two large 'London Undergrounds' (which has now become my new drink of choice) a burrito to share and a gluten free treat later we headed back home. A special thanks to Grandma Kathy and Grandpa David for our day of fun (and the many more days at the zoo to come)!!!!