madison zoo and friends

sam had several photo shoots in madison today - and we were all thrilled about it. going to madison is like going back home.

while daddy was out taking pictures, i took my brood to the zoo.

i remember when we first moved here and only two of those monkey faces were filled...

and now there aren't enough monkey faces for all of my little monkeys.

isaiah is in an investigative stage. he loved comparing his span to the apes'.

photo bomber mimzy!

my sweet mak attack, still so little

and the littlest of the walking bunch.

we didn't get mo in a monkey face, but we did find this adorable penguin cut-out.

i just had to take a picture of the new baby seal. the mommy was playing with her pup, leaping and splashing, and then she'd nuzzle up close and give her baby a kiss on the nose.

it just about made me cry. i'm such a sap.

mosiah didn't see much of anything in the drizzle. i think he was sleeping anyway.

although it was a bit drizzly, it was still warm and such a wonderful walk around.

good thing i wore my boots.

mo's first time getting his photo take with the tortoise. 

really though, how hard does it need to be for everyone to look towards the camera at the same time?

i'm lucky i got this shot.

it just so happened to be penguin day at the zoo.

crowns...

crayons, and temporary tattoos. ;)

the reptile/amphibian house always creeps me out, but it's one of the kids' favorite spots.

i think this is their most favorite - the jungle gym. we bumped into sam on his photo shoot at the neighboring zoo carousel.

we played, can't catch the kids.

mom, of course was the designated monster.

i had no problem with that.

btw, do you see how empty it was? it was like our own private zoo! we loved it! there was absolutely no one playing on the jungle playground.

mimzy was the easiest to grab.

boo!

boo!

caught you again!

she thought she could be sneaky and hide behind a "safe" zone.

after a giggling day at the zoo, we stopped by our good friend o's house.

isaiah has been missing his best friend.

it was great to hang out.

before leaving back to sparta, we hung out with the lawyer crowd.

always a good time. :)