Going on a Bear Hunt...

...what will we see???

Today Ava and Barrett and I braved the heat for some fun at the Minnesota Zoo!  It was a beautiful day, although at 28 weeks pregnant with a toddler and a 4 year old, "beautiful" becomes very relative, very fast!  The kiddos were perfect actually, totally fascinated with all the animals and all the exhibits we saw, but it didn't take long for me to grow weary of sweat running down my face and in every crevice of my body for me to wonder why I ever thought a trip to the zoo in mid-July was a good idea?!?  I'm hoping this counts for serious "mom points" in Ava's book someday because I was feeling like a idiot for attempting it almost as soon as we arrived!  Thank goodness our wonderful state zoo has plenty of indoor trails too!!  

After we exhausted our indoor options, I did throw the "let's try and see the grizzly bears" out there as my one attempt at some outdoor time.  THANKFULLY we had a FANTASTIC experience with those bears and they were right in front of us the whole time!!

The last time I was at this exhibit, these two bears were just babies and much, much smaller.  As you can see, they have grown!  It was amazing and slightly terrifying to see them so up close and personal.

And to our delight, this bear stood just feet from us, scratching his back on that log for several minutes.  It was very amusing!  Gotta love it when the zoo animals perform for the humans!!

Just before we left, we got another treat when this bear jumped in the water, only inches from us!

Again, totally incredible but don't think I didn't consider several times just how "safe" that glass was between us!  This bear actually pressed his face right up against that glass, making all the kids squeal and giggle with joy!  One look at his teeth however, made me start looking for the exits!

When I first started nannying for Barrett and his brothers, he was only 9 mo. old...Now he's 4!!  I can't even tell you how much Ava loves these boys and how much they adore her!  We've had such a fun time this summer spending one day a week with them.  And we've been able to do some things I'm not sure I would have attempted otherwise :) 

This was as close as I could get to a decent picture with these two!  Today was Ava's first time at the Zoo and although we wished Daddy were with us, she seemed to really enjoy it!  She sat so still and attentive in her stroller, which is so unlike her, taking all of the animals in.  I would show her one and then she'd point at it with wide eyes and just watch it until we moved on.  What a cutie, can't wait until she can talk and interact with me!  I'm sure we'll be regulars at the zoo in a few years!!  It was a great day but I am sooooo glad to be home and out of the heat.  

This Momma can only take so much sweating with a baby belly this size...

I'll be the first one to admit, I'm more of an a/c girl than an outdoors girl!  

Travis likes to remind me of that frequently...