santa barbara zoo

yesterday we went with gigi (my mom) to the santa barbara zoo.  it is a darling little zoo that i have been to many times before on field trips with my first graders.  michael brought ezra to meet me there on my field trip days when he was just a baby, a one year old and a two year old...  the last time ezra was there, we went with my brother, my nephew and my sister in law, but ezra was still too young at 2 to really appreciate it the way he did yesterday.  we spent the longest time at the penguin exhibit because ezra adores penguins.  we watched them being fed, catching fish in the air, all their little heads following the toss by the trainer, fighting for them sometimes and then came back to see them swim and play with each other.  they put on a great show.  ezra was laughing and naming them pingu and sookie.  he quickly identified the macaws as we saw so many of them at st. maarten park and at turtle pier on the island.  i was excited to see the lions on our train ride around the island.  the lioness was stalking the gate at feeding time.  at the end of the day, ezra went down the faux grass sledding hill a couple dozen times laughing and enjoying the ride with the other children still at the zoo until closing time.  it was a lovely day!