The Zoo Diary by Kinley Marie

The Zoo Diary

By Kinley Marie

Hello, folks! It's been awhile since Grandma let me take over on Kim's County Line. A lot has happened to me since I last wrote. Most importantly, I'm a big sister. It's quite a responsibility to show my sister, Brooke, all about this big old world we live in.

Since Grandma and Grandpa Fritzemeier were in town, I thought I'd entertain all of them with a trip to the Topeka Zoo. The grandparents just can't seem to get enough of that place. So far, I can't get Brooke to talk, no matter how much I talk to her, so I don't really know how she feels about zoos.

 

But, she must like animals. She wore her giraffe outfit, so I thought we'd start by visiting them. (Actually, it was my giraffe outfit from back when I was a baby. Aren't I good at sharing?) 

 

Mommy said that we needed to see the baby tigers next. They are usually only out in the mornings. There are actually three baby tigers. But Grandma said that photographing baby tigers is a little like trying to take pictures of toddlers. I'm not sure what she means by that! But it looks like she only got a picture of one of them. He was playing with his Mama's tail. It looked like he was having fun while his siblings lazed around on a rock ledge. I know the feeling! My sibling was lazing around, too. 

Temba and Sumba, the elephants, are some of my favorites, and they were just down the path from the tigers.

Grandma helped me take a picture of Grandpa and turtles. I guess we should have told him to smile. One of the turtles kind of looked like he was smiling at us. Or maybe he was just happy to be eating his salad. I like veggies with ranch dressing. The zoo workers didn't let the turtle have any ranch. Too bad!

We also saw the flamingos. They are dressed in one of my favorite colors - PINK!

We watched the orangutans for a long time. They were busy playing. It looked like fun. I kept saying, "What are they doing?"

 

I was even brave enough to feed some goats with Grandpa.

We always have a good time at the zoo. Before lunch, we had time for playing across the street in Gage Park.

My favorite thing to do at a park is swing. My Mommy says I'm about to outgrow these swings, but I love them. I can go so high!

My Grandma and Grandpa wanted to ride the Gage Park train, but I politely declined. Its whistle is just too loud. I decided I would just pretend instead.

I guess the whistle didn't bother Brooke. She was still asleep.

(For some reason, my Mommy was glad that Brooke slept through pretty much the whole zoo. I just can't figure it out! She missed everything!)

But, maybe it's OK. It'll just give me a chance to go to the zoo again. 

Until then,
Kinley Marie