Zoolights 2017

You know the holiday season is really here when it is finally Zoolights again. Last night we went for member preview night because it is way less busy than the regular nights. Also, member nights include free stingray bay and free carousel rides. You can see our previous years at Zoolights HERE. It is fun to look back at previous years. Arizona is weird. Sometimes it is cold and last night was not one of those nights. The weather was very mild and it is going to be a warm Thanksgiving this year. This year we were also able to go through the Dino trail since we have the season pass. The last time we were at the zoo a couple of weeks ago the kids went on the camel and we realized adults can go too so this time Doug took Cameron on a camel ride. He did great and the other kids were jealous! We did the carousel in the beginning and Justin and Doug took the big kids through sting ray bay at the end. It was a fun night and I still can't believe the holidays are here!

pretty pink skies last night!

love these goofballs!


dino fun!

they brought the talking giraffe back!

Isaac the camel

Love these guys!

Zoolights 2015

We love going to Zoolights every year (see my previous posts here) especially being members. The Phoenix Zoo opens Zoolights early every year for its members so we always take advantage of that and this was the best year yet. Seriously it was so empty. Zoolights in AZ gets crazy packed to the point where they have to use overflow parking. Probably because we have relatively mild winters. We went on Monday and it was awesome. It is so much nicer to let your kids run and not be chasing them in between massive crowds. They also have free carousel rides and free visits to the stingray bay for the member nights. We were the only ones on the carousel when we went so even Doug and I rode on animals. I am so glad that the zoo does these early nights for the members and I am so glad that the holiday season is here!

very cool new lit entry way

 

Remi was with us and this little guy was cool to see.

new talking turtle this year.

 

Jango the Giraffe

 

ouuuuttttt!

Bearizona!

Last Monday we took advantage of the 3-day Memorial Day weekend and took a day trip up north to visit Bearizona! We left EARLY Monday morning for the 2.5 hour drive to Williams, AZ. We met my sister as well as some family friends at the entrance. The main part of the park/attraction is that you get to drive-through the zoo and animals walk up to your car. We are Phoenix Zoo members, which I love, but this was completely different. Everly sat on my lap during the drive-through portion and we moved Aspen into Ev's front facing seat so she could enjoy it as well. You drive through at like 5mph so no one was in danger! The drive is about 20-30 min long and really neat. We saw goats, donkeys, sheep, bears, bison, and wolves. The wolves freak me out. They are just scary looking. Definitely made sure the doors were locked in their section. Once we got through the drive we parked and you can enter the walk-through area. This is where they have a café and gift shop and walk up animal enclosures. They had beavers, otters, baby bears, and some other critters. It was great for the kids to go potty and walk around after the drive up there. After that we got on an open window bus to go through the drive-through part of the park again. This was cool because the animals come up real close as the drivers have food for them. You also learn about the park and animals from the driver which is neat too. When we got back from that we went back into the walk-through section for a bird-show before leaving the park. The birds fly super low and close to your head and I may have used a swear word because I was not prepared for that, haha. It was a quick little show which was good because the kids were getting tired and hungry. Riley actually fell asleep during the show! We took a big group picture and then headed to Flagstaff for lunch. We ate at Beaver Street Brewery before heading back to Phoenix. The weather up north was amazing and I am so glad we went. The kids had a blast and Justin and I enjoyed it a lot, too. We were definitely exhausted that night but it was worth it. I highly recommend checking it out! We took a TON of pictures but here are a few of my favorites:

Entering the Park!

On the left is a sheep on his hind legs giving us a show, haha.

a deer behind the Rohr van.

baby Aspen and the bears

group shot!

 

waiting for the baby bears to come out.

Dad's and their babies.

beautiful northern AZ day!

Our group took up the back of the bus!

Cam, Kim and the bird show.

Little besties and tattoos.

Our whole awesome group. So much fun!