Zoo on Ice

Just call me Dorothy Hamill; I'm a skating superstar!

(well, um, maybe not quite . . . but I'm on my way.)

Today I took some of my favorite kiddos to Zoo on Ice at the Memphis Zoo!

The boys had never been ice skating before, and I had not been since the Mall of Memphis's rink was open (15+ years?) . . . oh boy, this outing was just a perfect opportunity for lots of laughs.  (and a broken wrist or two, but I really, truly cannot afford that right now, so we were praying hard on that one!)

"mrslaurabowen", aka my mom, came along as our fab photographer!  Thanks, Mom!

(And yes, that's "mrslaurabowen" all strung together.  These guys call her nothing else.  It's fantastic.)

After about, oh, 90 seconds of somewhat questionable coaching from me, they were de-ter-mined to set out on their own.

Questionable, questionable coaching, I said.

We saw this stance a lot.  

Lots of slow-motion falls, too.

Big spills.

No broken bones

(Whew.)

Way to go!  Thank goodness my coaching had no adverse effects.

After we skated, we checked out the Zoo's newest exhibit, Teton Trek.

We saw wolves, grizzly bears, elk, swans, and anything else that you might associate with Yellowstone.  It was so cool.  

(I know, I know, I am such a nerd.  I love the zoo, the animals, all of it. So fun.)

(Wow, Sooie does this too!  Allllllmost makes me think this guy would be cuddly.  Then, back to reality.)

Then, of course, we had to go see the polar bears and sea lions at the Northwest Passage.

I think this guy is lonely; they are waiting to see if the girl polar bear is pregnant, so she is off exhibit. :(  He was shoving all of his toys into the pool skimmer to occupy time.

And, of course, the sea lions were enjoying a little time in the sun after their morning show.

After such a fun morning, we had lunch at Huey's.  Of course, J got his toothpick into the ceiling - first try, straight shot.  Love those guys.