lions, tigers, bears, and procreating turtles oh my!

monday was my last day of summer vaca, and i was determined to squeeze all the life out of it i could before going back into the alternative universe known as middle school. 

so after a looooooooong run in the morning (yes, marathon training is still in full effect), we stretched our sore muscles and headed out to the denver zoo. 

nothing says summer like making up voices for animals a.k.a. our favorite pastime. 

when we first arrived, we overheard my favorite quote of the day (in reference to the turtle lovers),
"they even do that slowly!"
awesome.

we saw PENGUINS...twice.
mr. lesley was in heaven.
turtles and penguins are his absolute favorites!

then we wandered around the grounds and admired all the little guys.
love that anteater...i mean, how couldn't you? 

look at the little baby on the mama's back. 

A-dorable.

we even got to feed LORIKEETS! 

so, maybe i didn't know they existed before that moment, but they were very cute and colorful.

and they LOVE nectar. 

although the one that mr. lesley is feeding looks pretty mangy:) 

no trip to the zoo is complete without seeing how far you can jump in comparison to the animals...

i can only jump as far as a flea. 

A FLEA? 

seriously? 

i was hoping for at least a polar bear. 

they're huge after all.

more penguins were on the agenda (of course), along with birds and the most dangerous of all animals...the hippo! 

although after seeing him beg for treats and swap war strories with the rhino, i wasn't too terrified.

we're pretty good at becoming one with the animals. 

in all their many forms...

MORE TURTLES! 

double features of mr. lesley's favorite animals.

how did we get so lucky?

we admired the beautiful fish, and i dreamed of creating an aquarium for miss louise like this...

as we rounded the last corner...

we saw these beauties...

the dragon was my fav.
look at that face!

and the tigers wrestled just like sir winston and miss lola.

the rest of the day was spent watching aaron show calley how to stretch in the middle of the kitchen, frozen yogurt with new friend kim, and an intense viewing of my guilty pleasure...the bachelorette.

summer, i will miss you dearly.
but now, i have to join the rest of the world and actually go to work.

oh well, those kids need me, right?
let the adventure begin.