Riverbanks Zoo & Gardens

My company's summer family outing was to the Columbia Riverbanks Zoo & Gardens. I was so excited that it was before my maternity leave this year...typically its later in the summer. Asher has only been to the National Zoo and that was when he was less than a year old. I was so excited for him to see all of the animals up close and in person. I had never been to this zoo but heard it was the perfect zoo for a pregnant mom (little walking, exhibits close together etc).

We arrived about an hour after they opened and the zoo was still fairly quiet.  We started off by checking out the lions and tigers...

then we adventured over to the monkeys. they were extremely talkative. and i mean LOUD. yapping back and forth at each other...

 first they started off hugging

asher thought they monkeys were really funny and loved how they swung all over the trees 

next up we got to see the koala's... all snuggled up and sleeping

and feed the birds. looks like these two were going at it!

he definitely didnt mind the birds at all, at one point they even perched on him.

 maybe daddy was more excited than asher...

we circled back around and went to see the tigers once again

 asher spotted the pony rides and immediately wanted to ride them...he was just tall enough, phew! they strapped on the helmet, he hoped on and perfectly placed his hands on the saddle.

as you can tell he was very proud of his pony ride

the next stop was the zebra's, giraffe's and a few random ostrich's

the giraffe's came right up to you....as you can see this one was staring us in the face...probably wishing we had some lettuce to feed them with, but we came in the wrong entrance and missed the giraffe food station...

 literally in your face... we were this close. they liked to be petted and fed

this was beyond super cool to asher

we made the round to the elephants

and as we got the call from asher's teacher's we saw a bear fight go down.

(not really, im sure they were just playing) but it was hot and heavy and fun to watch.

when asher's teacher's elise and alex found out we were going to the zoo they mentioned they were jealous and wanted to tag along. since it was a work even i knew it wouldnt be possible....till the day before an email went out there were extra tickets up for grabs! i texted elise and she was ecstatic. we got there about an hour or so before then but when asher was surprised with their arrival he was thrilled. how could this trip have gotten any better!!?!?

they were entering the gorilla exhibit...

after the gorillas we went and saw some of the funky animals...

a little kitty cat looking animal

we made our way to the pavillion where my company was serving lunch and he snagged some snuggles with his favorite teachers

alex is by far his ultimate favorite. could you imagine being 3 and having a teacher that you idolize. thats alex. when you ask asher who he played with that day... its always alex, who are his friends...always alex. everything is alex. we are so lucky to have had alex this year as he will be re-entering the college scene next year. he is a kid magnet and will be greatly missed at school next year.

this is alex, elise and jonae. alex and elise were his primary teachers this year and jonae was a teacher for the other 2's class...so to have all of them there was a big treat. 

BIG TREAT....

and once more, just because alex is that cool.

After we left the pavilion after lunch we headed home. we figured it was 1 pm and asher would nap in the car since we had a 90 minute ride home and it was an eventful morning...but of course not. he never naps in car rides unless its a really long ride. 

our trip to the zoo was a huge success. i highly recommend the riverbanks zoo and gardens to anyone who wants a great first experience. the walking wasnt overwhelming, the animals were out and about and friendly and it wasnt too packed (go when they first open). this was also the perfect time of year as it wasnt too hot.

we will be going back again sometime soon!