Curious George goes to the Zoo

Oliver and I made the trek to the Minnesota zoo on Tuesday. While we are members, it is quite the drive and we don't get there as often as I'd like. This was the first time we made it there all summer, in fact. 

Oliver likes taking selfies. This one was on our trip back from the farm.

The last few times we've been to the Minnesota Zoo the weather wasn't great and we only saw the animals inside. So this trip we were able to focus on seeing everything outside. The morning started off a bit rocky -- Oliver was obsessed with following this little girl he had seen and was also frustrated because I didn't bring the stroller. He's only four and already chasing the girls! Oh no, what do we have in store for us in 10 years!? I will admit that the situation was pretty funny even in the moment, with him furious at me and melting down because I wouldn't follow a stranger around the zoo. Just typing that makes me laugh.

After a little while he mellowed out and we both had a great time. He got to ride on a camel, take a turn on the carousel, be pulled by the tractor and visit the farm, brush the goats, and check out lots of fun animals. 

I was glad he was able to ride with another kid; they both had fun.

Last year he was afraid of the goats, but he had no fear this year and was so gentle with them.

One of his favorite places was the chicken barn. For a long time now he has pretended to be an egg hatching at home, so he was intrigued by the chicks and the eggs. He watched the video of how a chicken embryo develops several times and was completely entranced. Of course is goofy side prevailed and he had me snap a few pictures of him:

Funny guy

Action shot

We actually spent so much time that we were needing to leave in order to beat traffic, but hadn't made it to the butterfly exhibit yet. Last year he just wanted to run through it as fast as possible. This year, it was amazing. He grabbed the portable butterfly identification card and proceeded to take his time looking for different types of butterflies. When we got to the end he didn't want to leave because we had not yet seen all of the butterflies. His patience, observation and excitement were incredible. I truly wish we had more time to spend with the butterflies as I would have enjoyed watching and helping him!

Naturally he fell asleep before we even pulled out of the zoo. We had a great time and even though he complained some, I am proud that he was able to do so much walking without his stroller. He sure is growing up fast!