The Phoenix Zoo

Finally our young man got to go to the zoo. He has been waiting for years. Literally years. Due to my fatigue we decided to go up Thursday night. I searched hotels.com for a decent place to stay. There was a place in our price range but those that reviewed it said that their showers and air conditioning didn't work. Umm hmm let me see. Shower and air conditioning are kinda the most important thing to me. Also there was the recommendation that you ask for a room not near the outdoor laundry facility because the homeless would be washing their clothes at night. Gosh I think I'll keep looking.

So I found another place for $30 more that had excellent reviews and looked just wonderful. It was the Hyatt Summerfield Suites in Scottsdale. I called before we left to make sure they had portable cribs. They were very helpful and they spoke english. I was already extremely happy. When we pulled up my jaw dropped. This place was so pretty. I went in to check us in and again wonderful service. As we were checking in I asked if the room would have two beds. I had forgotten that the reservations said King or two double beds. We kinda needed two beds or we would have to sleep with Teagan. Well we were suppose to have the room with the King and the pull out sofa which would have been fine but we were upgraded to the two bedroom suite. Yeah sure that will be good(casually). Woohoo!

We get into the room and Teagan and I are thrilled. Ian is very happy that there is a great flat screen TV in the living room. Oh yes the living room. Also there are TVs in both bedrooms. We have 3 TVs. There is a kitchen with a full size appliances including a stove and a dishwasher. I could have baked cookies if I felt the need. I was shocked. It was in good repair. Not a thing wrong with the room or the grounds. How could this be so cheap? We have paid more to stay at some really crappy places. Plus when I made the reservations I was going by price and good reviews. I really had no understanding of what a suite would mean. We are definitely going there again and soon. It's right by Old Town Scottsdale and would be an excellent cheap couples getaway.

Teagan and I wanted to stay forever but sadly we had just the one night. We let the kids stay up super late because we had to use the pool. We swam for a bit, took a bath. Watched some TV and read a book. The next day we got up early got ready and had the best hotel breakfast we have ever had. I mean I'm sure we need to get out more but we were very happy. We wanted to get to the zoo before all the animals thought it was too hot to be visible. When we got out of the truck we were monkeys. Now I'm thinking it was some sort of recording because of the odd way the lady at the ticket booth looked at me when I mentioned it but we were very excited. The kids were even excited by the pigeons in the parking lot. Okay we are all easily pleased.

As we enter we crossed a bridge. Below were tons of turtles. It was fun to pick out the different types. When we got to the booth we had a choice between The Wild Ticket and a regular ticket. The Wild Ticket got you unlimited camel, carousel and safari train rides. It was twice as much but it definitely paid for itself. Although we were warned Jade would not be able to ride the camels. Uhh sure okay. Why would we put our one year old on a camel? Teagan did ride a camel. He was so cute. He marched right up there to wait his turn and then got on with no hint of fear. When he got all done he was so proud of himself. He told me, "Mama I was a little scared when the camel when bump, bump but was brave." Yes you were sweets. By the way camels stink. I'm sure you all know that already but not lovely animals to be around.

The zoo has a great little water area. The kind you find at some parks that shoots water out of the ground. We went there next to get a little wet because we were already very hot. Teagan told me what animals he wanted pictures of. We loved seeing all the different animals. Especially the giraffes. They were far more beautiful than we had ever seen them TV or in books. There was a tower of sorts we climbed up to see them at eye level. There were also some sort of African cattle that were just amazing. Gosh and the zebras. Ian commented that they looked so healthy. When we see them on nature shows they aren't nearly as good looking as the ones at the zoo. I suppose they are very well taken care of.

Speaking of Ian. I would be glad to rent him out for family vacations. As far as husbands go he should get an award. Not only did he never complain. He seemed genuinely happy to be there. That is something I really love about him. He never acts bored doing what the kids want to do. Love it. Speaking of Ian he rode the carousel with the kids umm I think like eight times. By this time I was hot and exhausted. After that we hit the Safari Train. We were all frankly too tired to walk the last loop of the zoo. That was great. Our driver sang a lot but we got to see the lions and tigers. The tortoise and rhinos were huge.

Next we hit the gift shop. This was our second trip to the gift shop. The first time Jade found all the stuffed animals and loved them. She carried them around like a baby until a new one caught her eye then her last baby would be thrown on the floor. I walked behind her picking up discarded babies and putting them away. On our second trip to the gift shop she was asleep so we picked a huge jawbreaker sucker for her and one her little friend Mitchell. Teagan got a huge black widow that squeaks. Now as Jade carries it around the house I'm beginning to think it was a bad idea to give her the idea black widow spiders should be loved and carried. The guy that worked in the gift shop was hilarious. He made Teagan giggle the whole time pretending a stuffed screaming monkey was scared of the spider Teagan picked.

We left the zoo minutes before it closed feeling accomplished. None of us were very burnt. We were tired and starving but we saw everything in the zoo. The kids got to do everything they wanted to do there. It was really fun and definitely worth it. We went to get some lunch. Teagan got to pick and he loves Panda Express. That is what we had but I think we all drank far more than we ate. After we got Coldstone. Teagan got chocolate cake batter ice cream with M&Ms and Ian got some sort of cookie dough. I got a few bites of each. Jade sat right in the middle of the small round table Ian was sitting at while he gave her bite after bite. It was really cute. Poor Teagan had to sit a table away because Jade tried to stick her hands in his ice cream.

Our last stop was Target. While I was taking far too long finding some clothes for the gym Ian took the kids for a walk. When I found them Jade had a whole new outfit on. Cute denim shorts with a brown tops that had sparkly sweets on it. He also had another shirt that said, "I Got My Cute From My Momma". Okay he is the sweetest. Ian told me how much she likes putting on new clothes. Which is true but how adorable that he noticed how she touches the fabric and smooths it over her tummy. That is also where we found her new suit that now has mulch between it's layers. We had to roam all of Target. We found some chocolate marshmallows that Jade managed to get in her hair and all over the new outfit we hadn't paid for yet but she loved them.

That ended our little vacation. More fun that what we did was how much we really enjoyed each others company. I love my little family.