Vacation: Day 4, Easter.....zoo, swimming and family

Today is Easter. My only request for Easter (since we weren't at home to be at church) was that the entire family go out to eat breakfast. The Easter bunny did not visit us in Florida so Eli & Cole are hopeful that he put something in their baskets back home.

We started the morning in what is becoming a wonderful camp routine. The boys woke up jazzed to go to Grandma's. They loved going over and hanging out in the "bus", fixing puzzles and eating whatever Grandma had nearby. Cole especially loved eating LOTS of oranges. Once we got everyone ready, we headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We had to wait a little bit since it was Easter Sunday but we made good use out of the rocking chairs outside.

Eli and Grandma were making shadow puppets

It was pretty funny what they came up with

Looks like something was getting Cole's shadow head

We bought Crocs for the camping trip and can not get them off Eli's feet - who knew?!

Grandma Love

There was a little alligator outside the Cracker Barrel.

After we filled out bellies, we went to the Brevard County Zoo. Thankfully our Aquarium / Zoo membership has reciprocity so it meant we went to the zoo for free! This zoo had different animals than our zoo at home. We had a great time checking it all out and the boys loved it. Too many animals to name.....so I'll share a few pictures.

a Florida staple - the Pink Flamingo

BIG alligator

A bunch of BIG alligators. When we were looking at them, Cole asked me what alligators eat. Without a breath, I responded "Little boys". He whipped his head around and just looked at me. It was hilarious! Someone nearby heard me say that and just laughed.

Hello Herman. (I just named him that)

Hi boys!

Bald Eagle

Checking out the animals

Very cool Black Swans - I'd never seen one before.

Squawk!! Pretty bird!

Yes, I dressed them semi-alike. Much easier to keep up / find them. Plus they love being dressed alike!

We were all excited to catch a glimpse of the Kangaroo. We even ended up bringing home stuffed Kangaroos from the gift shop. Great sleeping companions.

B-I-G Rhinos.

Not sure what it is about Giraffes but I love them!

Hello baby!

We tried to get Cole to feed the Giraffe but he didn't want to.

So I did instead. She loved it!

Sweet potatoes - yum!

There was a playland and the boys had a blast. Cole was semi-scared of this swing bridge at first but once he got the hang of it, he was running back and forth all over!

We got to meet a Turtle.

And gently touch his back.

It was quite warm so we took a well deserved ice cream break.

Cole wanted Daddy to help with his ice cream cone. I LOVE this sweet face!

Happy with his cone.

YAY! I scream for ice cream!

My turtles

Super cool Jaguar

Eli - King Vulture wing span

Cole - working on his King Vulture wing span

Daddy - Wing span slightly greater than a Turkey Vulture, not quite a Condor. :-)

After the zoo, we tried to do a ropes course. We were so excited for the boys to try the zip line and obstacles. Eli was all for it...until it came time to do it. We signed him up and then he backed out. We were a little bummed but it was late in the afternoon and everyone was tired. Next time we'll try when they're a little "fresher". It will be tons of fun when we finally do one.

Once we got back to the campground, Eli and Cole would not stop asking to go to the pool. We knew it was going to be cold but they were relentless. So we suited up (ok, not me, I had camera duty) to hit the pool. We let them play for a while and they loved jumping in and out. Once they started getting cold (but definitely not admitting it mind you!), we asked if they were cold and wanted to leave. The most hilarious thing was when Cole asked us "Do you see my lips shivering?". That was his measure of being cold. We keep laughing about that.

"Do you see my lips shivering?"

Tonight we had Family Easter dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's "bus". Tim's brother Rod, his wife Brenda and the boys - Rodney and John - came as well so it was awesome to have everyone together and hang out. Eli and Cole loved running around and playing with their cousins. THIS is the exact reason we made the Florida trip - to spend time with family and especially hang with the cousins. Such a great day!