Tuesday, July 25, 2017
For JR Automation's company picnic this year, we went to John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids. Ryan had to work that day, then we went in the evening time. When we got there they had pet monkey toys for the boys to carry around on a lease/pole while we were there. They loved them. Jared named his JR Automation. Karl named his Sheriff. We also met Ryan's friend and co-worker, Chris, there and he spent the rest of the time there with us, usually with one or both of the boys holding his hand.
We then went to the JR pavilion to eat hamburgers and hot dogs. Once we were all full, we went into the zoo where we were given free ice creams or popsicles of our choice. The boys both got huge popsicles, which they enjoyed immensely up until they were melting way too much and I had to throw the rest away and wash their monkeys off for them. Karl stopped to see the penguin statues outside the aquarium. He has a special place in his heart for penguins.
We first passed the bird area, and Jared really liked the bald eagle and was very impressed by how big it's nest was. He and Ryan checked to see how big their wing spans were and what kind of bird they would be. We then moved on to seeing the wallabies. We would've got to pet them, but they were a little nervous of Ryan I think and hopped away. We left them be and went to look at some exotic birds and then pet some goats.
We stopped at this big bird cage of parakeets. Before you stepped into the cage you'd get a popsicle stick with bird-feed stuck to it. Ryan, with Emmaline, Jared, and Karl went in. Ryan just stood there and the birds came to him, and then kept coming and coming. I think he had about a dozen birds on him and Emmaline at one point. Karl was trying a little too hard to give his stick to the birds, so it kind of scared them away having a stick poked at them. But he was so cute. Ryan helped him to try and hold still. Jared did a good job waiting for birds and walking around to look at the different ones.
We saw a couple of big grizzlies, one from Yellowstone and one from Alaska. Jared and I were very excited to see the tapir and maned wolf. We had seen a couple videos about them earlier that day.
One of our last things to do, before heading back, was the camel ride. I talked to the boys about it before, and they weren't sure at first, but then decided they really wanted to do it. I decided to go up with them. It was a short ride, but pretty fun to do together. We rode a camel named Sarah. Jared and Karl commented on how bumpy the ride was, while we were riding. But, once we got down and were going back to Ryan, Karl shouted, "That was awesome!"
We like to go to the gift store each time we go to a zoo for the first time. This time, it was on JR, who had given us some gift cards to use while at the zoo.We like to try and pick something out that reminds us of something we did that day, if we can. So, I got a tortoise necklace. Karl got a penguin stuffed animal. For Emmaline I held up two little stuffed animals for her to choose from, and she snatched the giraffe and immediately started gibbering, smiling, and playing with it. Jared chose to get a ring-tailed lemur and Ryan a pocket knife key-chain. Chris was nice and gave his gift card to us, so Ryan picked out a penguin stuffed animal and got that for Chris, and brought it to work for him the next day.
We were able to get some more treats before we left, and then headed home. It was a great spending that time together exploring and seeing interesting animals.
We then went to the JR pavilion to eat hamburgers and hot dogs. Once we were all full, we went into the zoo where we were given free ice creams or popsicles of our choice. The boys both got huge popsicles, which they enjoyed immensely up until they were melting way too much and I had to throw the rest away and wash their monkeys off for them. Karl stopped to see the penguin statues outside the aquarium. He has a special place in his heart for penguins.
We stopped at this big bird cage of parakeets. Before you stepped into the cage you'd get a popsicle stick with bird-feed stuck to it. Ryan, with Emmaline, Jared, and Karl went in. Ryan just stood there and the birds came to him, and then kept coming and coming. I think he had about a dozen birds on him and Emmaline at one point. Karl was trying a little too hard to give his stick to the birds, so it kind of scared them away having a stick poked at them. But he was so cute. Ryan helped him to try and hold still. Jared did a good job waiting for birds and walking around to look at the different ones.
Something Karl loved was getting to pet the tortoise by the turtle and tortoise exhibit. As we were trying to move on, he ran back to pet the tortoise and feel it's little feet again, twice. Jared seemed really excited to see the monkeys and a bulletin with a picture of Olmec on it. He recognized it from his Spelunky game he likes to play with Ryan at home.
One of our last things to do, before heading back, was the camel ride. I talked to the boys about it before, and they weren't sure at first, but then decided they really wanted to do it. I decided to go up with them. It was a short ride, but pretty fun to do together. We rode a camel named Sarah. Jared and Karl commented on how bumpy the ride was, while we were riding. But, once we got down and were going back to Ryan, Karl shouted, "That was awesome!"
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