Every year, Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah, has Free Zoo Days all through the winter. This is the only day my kids have really been to the zoo consistently for the past 5 years. Yesterday was the last Free Zoo Day of the season and even though it was snowing outside, I called my mom and she went with us to the zoo. I was thinking about how epic it is that we’ve been to a Free Zoo Day every year for the past 5 years and how it really shows just how our family has changed and grown. So, I thought it would be fun to show through photos our Free Zoo Day family legacy.
Our first Free Zoo Day was in January of 2006. Tate was just under 2 months old and… yeah… he didn’t really get much out of the experience. It was a really nice outing for me, though. I’d been cooped up inside ever since he was born (to beware of RSV) and was really excited to get out of the house!
In 2007, I took Tate to our 2nd Free Zoo Day. He enjoyed this one much more than his first (he didn’t sleep through it like last time). I was 8.5 months pregnant for this Free Zoo Day and just gotten off of bedrest. I was hoping pushing Tate all over the hills would get my labor started a little sooner, rather than closer to my due date. Maybe it did the trick, since I gave birth to Claire a month later… had to be induced, though, since she just wanted to stay in forever (& I wasn’t up for that).
Luckily, our friend invited us to go with them to the zoo a few months later, in July, since Claire wasn’t “physically” present for the Free Zoo Day. She made it into a (free to us) zoo day picture for 2007, lucky girl! She wasn’t terribly thrilled, though. She hated car rides and stroller rides for the first 4-6 months of her life and would scream (like she was dying) during both. I ended up trying to hold her, to keep her from crying, while pushing Tate in the double stroller (doesn’t work well at all). Needless to say, we didn’t get very far into the zoo before turning around and heading home.
We finally had our first really fun Free Zoo Day in 2008. Claire was 11 months old and Tate had just turned 2 a few months prior. I was pregnant again for this trip to the zoo, about 6.5 months along this time. The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, finally – woot!
And baby makes three! In 2009 we were lucky enough to have Norah join the crew for Free Zoo Day. She was still pretty little (only 9 months old) and slept through most everything but the giraffes. Tate and Claire had a complete blast this time, also, and Randy was able to come with us, which was a really fun change from our previous Free Zoo Days.
Along comes year 5 – pregnant again – and… let’s just say it was an adventure (don’t the kids look SO happy to be at the zoo?). First of all, it was really, really cold and snowing. Tate and Norah didn’t seem to mind, but Claire cried about it almost the entire time, regardless of what I did to bundle her up. Tate has entered the phase of being VERY opinionated and not taking “no” for an answer… which made walking past the carousel (not riding on it like he wanted) a real pain the patootee. He then proceeded to cry about it a lot of the way home. Both girls fell asleep in the car as soon as we left the zoo and thus didn’t take a nap this afternoon… crappy. Oh well… embracing the madness.
The kids and I hadn’t been out of the house together for at least two weeks with being so sick, so this was a nice outing for us. The highlight of the trip were the HUGE tortoises that the kids are still talking about (Norah calls them “tur-dles” but I’m not about to correct her). Also, the tiger and her babies were out and about, which was fun, too. I really do love the zoo. Someday we’ll get a family pass and not have to only rely on Free Zoo Day to get us there. Until then, it’s been really fun that Free Zoo Day has been a tradition for my kids’ lives thus far. Thank you, Hogle Zoo, for making this all possible!
{ 1 trackback }
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I love that you’ve taken pics every time you went! How fun to watch the evolvement of those cute kids! :) I love Hogle Zoo! :)
[Reply]
LOVE the zoo! I didn’t know they did free zoo days! You are brave to go out in the cold.
This really was a fun post to see the kiddos change each year. I hope you keep getting a picture by that elephant every year!
[Reply]
Thanks for sharing with everyone your tradition! This was fun to read and also see your kids grow as you are helping to make Hogle Zoo part of their lives. Thank you for supporting us, and for continuing to visit us as we grow and change along with your cute family.
[Reply]
Very nice story! This reminds me of when my oldest son, Eric Peterson, had his first birthday on a September day in 1971. We took him to the Zoo when things were much different back then. But, it must have impressed him enough that when he was older he said he wanted to work at the Zoo. I told him to volunteer as a docent, which he did in 1995. In just a few months he was working part-time and finally got on full-time.
For the last 15 years he has worked with the reptiles, cats, and primates but his heart is with the elephants. The elephants accepted him as their Keeper and he’s been with them for the majority of those 15 years. He loves the animals and would do anything for them. I’m so proud of how much he does care for them and the other Keepers at the Zoo.
Each year the Zoo has openings for docents. If you or your children are interested in volunteering it can be an awesome experience.
[Reply]
That’s a fun little walk down memory lane. Your photos must be really organized!! I don’t think I would ever be able to find zoo pics from every year. I need to take Aiden to the zoo again, better call my sis with the pass. ;)
[Reply]
I loved, loved, loved all the pictures!! I need to go to the zoo, we don’t go nearly enough. I think that Savannah has only been to the Hogle Zoo twice. Yeah, I’m lame.
[Reply]