I'm going to the zoo!

Zach has been really interested in animals lately.  He knows all of the sounds they make and is really enjoying pointing out animals for me. So after his big boy birthday on friday, we knew just where to take him to celebrate... the zoo!

The Okinawa zoo isn't much to brag about.  It's not nearly as great as the bronx zoo or the national zoo in DC.  But Okinawa is a very small island so we can't expect much.  It is sad though, because the animals are in very small cages and don't seem to be taken care of nearly as well as in America.  It's sad to see and makes me excited to move and see the animals where we move to (San Diego Zoo??).  We were very excited still to see the animals.  Zach had a great time pointing them out and saying their sounds, even if many of the animals he was familiar with were not there!

While touring the animals, Zach even got to feed the elephants.  He was a natural at it, and I was happy he wasn't even scared.  He knew just what to do without being told!  

While walking around, I was happy to spot some cherry blossoms.  We missed seeing them this year, and I will truly miss them if we move to San Diego.  It's one of those things that we take for granted, as they only bloom for 2 weeks and are such a rare flower.  They were also in our wedding a few years ago.

The zoo had a museum for kids called the wonder museum.  I had heard great things about it and we finally got the chance to check it out.  It was perfect for Zach's age.  He had so much fun and I wish we could've spent more time there.  

seeing how he can be big in the little chair, and small in the big chair

that would be zach on the bottom left, me in the middle, and dima on the right. 

Lots to explore

Why yes we did dress him up as a monkey

On our way home, we realized we were really close to one of our favorite restaurants, Laxmi.  It's a curry restaurant that's owned by a very sweet family, who always remembers us when we come.  Dima and I both ordered and crossed our fingers Zach would eat curry.  He loved it.  He had some of my rice and chicken curry, and dima chared his naan pizza curry (it was naan covered with curry and cheese, so yummy!)  It was a pleasant surprise lunch.  It's one of those places I'm going to really miss when we move!

drinking water from a cup like a big kid and eating chicken curry!