Nelson Family Blog: Omaha Zoo.

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Omaha Zoo.

We had a super busy, fun day yesterday. Rachel, Elena, Emma, Elliott, and I decided to tackle the Omaha Zoo. Overall, it was a really good trip. The kids all traveled very well, did great at the zoo, and really we had pretty minimal outbursts.

We left Sioux Falls at about 8:30 am and drove straight to Omaha. We didn't even have to make a single stop, which was pretty impressive for our crew. We stopped at King Kong for lunch, which was a little overpriced, but pretty good. Then we headed straight to the zoo.

The kids were super excited for the zoo. We each had a stroller that the three kids traded off riding in. We started off by seeing the Jungle, Butterfly house, and Aquarium. The kids were pretty thrilled with the monkeys and penguins.

Then, we took the skyfari ride to the other end of the zoo. The kids were very impressed with the skyfari and all the things they could see from being up so high. On the other end of the zoo we saw the lions, cheetahs (Emma's favorite) and some sea lions. By the time we got to this end, it was super hot out. Like 92 degrees, sunny, and barely a breeze. All the kids were pretty rosy cheeked and getting a little crabby.

So, we rode the Skyfari back, picked up the strollers, and then got some ice cream. The ice cream tasted really good in the heat, and Elena enjoyed a little nap while we all cooled off.

After ice cream, the kids begged to go to the splash park. So, we made out way past the Giraffes (Elliott's favorite), Elephants, and finally made it to the splash park. This was probably the favorite spot for everyone on such a hot day. All three kids enjoyed running around, cooling off, and getting wet.

By the time everyone was done splashing around, we decided to head to the Gorilla exhibit. The gorillas were pretty fun to see, Elliott was pretty impressed by how big they were. Finally, we made our way through the Desert Dome, and then it was time to go home. We put a solid 5.5 hours in at the zoo. We were all hot and tired after that, and still had a 3 hour drive home.

Elliott slept part of the way home, but everyone else stayed awake, but once again it was a quiet ride. We stopped in Sioux City at Applebee's for supper, and then made it the rest of the way home with no stops. We got home at around 9:30pm, and put three very tired kids to bed.

It was a super fun day, but I'm glad we only go once a year to the Omaha Zoo. Today, the kids are kind of tired and are just enjoying lounging around, watching some TV, and hopefully having a nap later.

Emma has school registration tonight. It's so hard to believe that we are ready for another school year, where did the summer go?! We are also going to hit up the fair tomorrow, including rides for the kids. I think they have had a pretty adventurous summer this year!! Emma also submitted a project this year that she worked on with Grandma Barb, and she got a first place ribbon. She is pretty proud of it, and we are going to go see it tomorrow. Way to go Emma!!