Niabi Zoo

The Niabi Zoo in Coal Valley, IL is the best little zoo if you are looking for an easy peasy afternoon with littles. It is relatively inexpensive, provides lots of shade, and can easily be tackled in a few hours. The girls and I were headed to visit my sister in Davenport, so we had to check out the zoo before she got off work. 

The gibbons were a favorite. These friendly little dudes kept photobombing us which, of course, the girls thought was hilarious. 

Emma loves signs. She has to read each one of them. This explains why it takes so long for us to get through any museum! She's a sponge!

Norah was a serious snake charmer on Thursday. This snake followed her every move...it was super creepy. 

The petting zoo is always a hit!

Obligatory photo on a hippo as we have this same photo from when Norah was a babe. 

Goofy monkeys.

Blank Park Zoo

We love Des Moines, so since we knew we wanted to try out the State Fair, we thought we'd make an overnight out of it. We hit up the fair on Thursday, stayed at the pirate waterpark that night and headed to Blank Park Zoo on Friday. It was a great, short trip to Des Moines. 

Petting zoos are always a favorite of the girls'. 

But, feeding the giraffes was definitely the highlight.

Norah's new friend got nice and close!

Grace just wanted to see their really long tongues. 

Fun family day at the zoo!

The sea lion show was incredible.

It took a little while to feed the coi fish as Norah insisted on feeding them one.piece.at.a.time.

Niabi Zoo

After Jasmin's naturalization ceremony we headed to the zoo to spend some time with family and enjoy the beautiful day. Niabi is the perfect zoo for a quick 1 hr. peak at some animals. It isn't big, but what it offers was the perfect fit for what we needed on Friday.

Spending the day with cousins is fun wherever we are. 

Our little monkeys, Norah and Lovella.

Grandpa and the girls...what a great day!

Como Zoo and Conservatory

We love Minneapolis, but usually venture over to St. Paul for a quick stroll through Como Zoo. It's a free zoo with the most beautiful botanical gardens and helpful, knowledgeable staff. 

Norah liked the fountains at the Conservatory. 

The Sunken Garden at Como is so beautiful and changes out seasonally so there is always a beautiful surprise in bloom. 

The zoo was pretty empty so we spent most of our time in the primate house. Virgil entertained us for quite some time putting his hands on the glass and letting us size up just how big the were compared to ours. One of the staff members introduced us to all of the gorillas, orangutans and spider monkeys so we got an up close and personal experience hearing all about primate live at Como.