The World Wildlife Zoo...

BEWARE: Lots of photos!



The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to the World Wildlife zoo with Clays Mom and sister. It was amazing. Normally we go to the Phoenix Zoo. We have to fight traffic all the way from Peoria to get there, then once there the animals are either sleeping or invisible. This zoo was so different. It was about 20 minutes away from my mother-in laws house. All the animals were very active and alert. They were so close to us!

This is the cutest picture. Sydney is always so interested in what her Daddy is doing. We really wish they had a take your daughter to work day. She didn't leave his side, or quit talking to him the entire time we were there! Clay even let Sydney video some. We have lots of video with the people in front of us, of their bottoms! Great work Sydney :)

The Lemur (the move it move it guy) was Alex's favorite animal of the zoo. All the kids started singing move it when were standing by these guys. It was funny. The lemur could jump high into the tree and from tree to tree, but they don't jump the little moat of water that keeps them on their island.

Alex kept asking if the flamingo's were really real. They were sleeping but once in a while we would see some move. She still isn't so sure they're real.

We road on the sky tram. That was so fun to see all the animals from a different perspective. Sydney was on the next seat up with Grandma and her cousin.

Tara, Josh, and J.J, were behind us so at the turn I snapped a picture. Looks like he was doing the same thing!

The camels were a hoot. I was making noises and they all came over to visit. This guy was really interested in what I had to say. I didn't know Clay was right behind me videoing and laughing as I'm carrying on a conversation in another language with the camels!

Sydney and Alex gave food to the Giraffes. It was a fun experience. Alex was a little grossed out by the color of the tongue but they were really excited that they came right up to them. The Giraffe's had their own little routine. They'd walk to the platform, get some food from the people waiting, walk in a big circle, and come right back for food. It was great. Everyone got a chance to feed them! The best thing was, all over the zoo they had these little gumball machines filled with little pellets of food. You could get a lot of pellets for a quarter. We must have spent 6 dollars in quarters on food and fed just about every animal in the zoo.

Where we fed the Giraffe's is in the background of this picture. It was mating time for quite a few of the animals. These turtles were the loudest. The kids laughed whenever the turtle made his loud noise. Sydney thought the turtle on top was sleeping and snoring and that the turtle on the bottom was trapped. I told Alex they were wrestling! We moved on from the turtles pretty quickly!

This Porcupine was so close to us. If you leaned over the logs and stuck your hand out you could touch it. Not that you would want to but it was that close!

Our happy little family enjoying the zoo!

I don't know how many of you know this but both Clay's mom and my mom are named Charlotte. I think that's funny. My kids call Clay's mom Mama and my mom Nana. Their two totally different women who share the same name, we love them both!

Tara (Clay's younger sister) and wonderful old me! I'm so glad they moved back to the states from England. We didn't get to see them for years! We still don't get to see them often but when we do get to visit with them it is so fun. We play games, and chat, and laugh! It's like they were never gone. Hopefully we'll get to see them over Christmas as well. That will make three times in one year.........WOW!

I just had to post this picture ( I know, I know...... way too many pictures!). We went to the petting zoo, bought some food from the gumball machines, walked in, and were mobbed by the goats. One big one even rammed Alex and left a bruise on her side. So she was crying and scared and we were getting mobbed.

We finally got away from all the big mean goats and found a little bench where the baby goats liked to sleep. So Alex sat down and I put a baby goat up on the bench for her to pet. Right away it starts eating her hair. First she gets rammed, now they're eating her hair, what next!

So we get her to take a picture with the goat and it starts nibbling her clothes! My goodness, you would think these poor little things never got fed! So we snapped a picture and Alex was officially done at the petting zoo. We went and washed our hands and waited for Sydney and Daddy to finish petting the animals.

Sydney, completely opposite of her sister in every way possible, of course,loved the goats. She was having a good time feeding them. She loved the baby goats. At one time she was sitting on the bench and every baby goat there was sitting by her.

They even have a warning for the goats. They need to put ramming on the list!

This was by the Kangaroos. They were only contained by a little rope. The rope was more to keep us out of their space then to keep them in it. Of course, they were penned in but we got to walk through the pen. It was so cool to be right there with them! They wouldn't ever get to close to us but it was so neat to see them out in the open. No chain link fence or bars or glass in the way.

A normal Dozier family picture. Me of course with my eyes shut! It's always something. :)

Mama and the kids looking at the map, trying to decide where to go next. We went watched a animal show and then on a boat ride. Good planning! I have to say it again, this zoo was amazing! (Amie is this the zoo you and Mandy go to? If so maybe next time we're in town we can take the kids to the zoo and visit? You too Linda!) We will be going to this zoo again, and soon. My kids still haven't stopped talking about it. There was so much more than I posted but you'll have to discover that yourself! Thanks Mama for taking us, we enjoyed it!

On Dec. 29th, they will be opening an aquarium at this zoo. It's going to have all kinds of fish, even sharks! It's going to have a log ride that will take you underneath some of the fish tanks. We've been dying to take the kids back to Sea World. We may just postpone that trip and check out the aquarium in Arizona!