One of McKay’s birthday presents this year was an annual family pass to Lowry Park Zoo. It’s nice when we remember to gift experiences rather than just materialistic possessions. So, my parents chipped in and we bought the pass just in time to take advantage of Swaptember. In the month of September all zoo pass holders can also have free admission to MOSI, a children’s museum, and the Florida Aquarium.
LOWRY PARK ZOO – 8/29/14 (Friday afternoon when Ben got off early)

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Laughing about the monkeys.


First roller coaster. A bit of a shocker for him. He didn’t cry but he didn’t really like it either.


Cautiously brushing the goats. He reminded us of the time he was so scared of them he crawled up Auntie Natalie.
MOSI – 9/6/14 (Ben was sick so I took the kids one Saturday)
FLORIDA AQUARIUM – 9/30/14 (Went with new friends – Ashley and Nathan)


Trying, to no avail, to pet the string rays.


Walking through the fog.


Black light area.
LOWRY PARK ZOO – 10/6/14 (Sadie gets out of school early every Monday which gives us time to do interesting things in the afternoon)


Carousel rides are always a hit!


Loved to see them hold hands during the Wallaby Walk-a-bout.


They have a splash pad area which we’ve never explored, much to the kids’ disappointment. This day the kids insisted I bring their bathing suits. I was so impressed with how adventurous Jax was. Usually he won’t get his face or head wet. For the record, Jax packed his bathing suit and it was a 6-12 month size. It fit him just barely.
Joe - That face from Sadie in the last picture
alicia - Priceless. They’re becoming more ‘hip’ in the poses they want to strike.
Shannon - I love the new look on your blog Alicia! Did you do it or have some help? Either way, it looks great.
I’ll have to remember your idea about gifting fun experiences instead of just material things. I’ve really struggled with what to buy as gifts recently for my kids. I really don’t want any more toys in my house. Doing something fun together is much more memorable and special I think 🙂
alicia - Thanks Shannon! I customized a blog template. So, I had help but then also did some myself 😉 I think it still needs a little jazzing up but I was bored with the old layout. 🙂
I have found that it’s getting harder to find gifts for the kids, too! We really just like to have the passes for places (children’s museum, aquarium, zoo) and find that birthdays are a good excuse to buy them.
Thanks for the comment!