Back to the National Zoo

This must be the spring of flashbacks or something- first the WARF, now another return- a year later (or a few months if you count the ZooLights)- we're back at the National Zoo! 

Only this time we had Hayden, Erica and Aunt Allie with us (and minus Daddy who had an event at school that day).

Allie and Eric's birthday gift to Ryan this year was a weekend trip to an ATV park in North Carolina. Hayden was disappointed he wasn't old enough to go yet, so Allie wanted to do something special with him.  We were going to the National Aquarium in Baltimore (we will get there one day!), but Hayden had a soccer game that morning, so by the time they got to our house it was mid-afternoon, not allowing enough time for a trip to Baltimore.

But, perfect for a quick trip to DC. The kids slept on the way, we found a parking spot pretty quickly, and it was a beautiful afternoon for some zoo gazing!

While it didn't quite compare to an ATV park, I think Hayden enjoyed spending the afternoon at the zoo with his cousins. He was so cute the way he watched over them, so protective.

Don't let the face fool you- Hayden was having fun!
Don't he and Dan look alike in this picture with their hoods up?

Hayden was so cute with Dan and Belle, holding their hands and leading them around, always making sure they weren't too far from him. 

So, we didn't see the gorilla eating the box this time, but our big memory from this trip was this scary KING of the JUNGLE- boy, was he ever MAD!

There's that cute smile!

We had a good view of the pandas.

Fun day!
Looks like Ryan was having fun too- I love these pictures Eric sent us:

Is that the face of a boy having the time of his life, or what?!