Our Daycation

For our Daycation this Saturday we went to Out of Africa in Camp Verde, AZ! I am super proud of myself because tickets are normally $36 per adult and $20 per child but I managed to only pay $36 +tax for ALL of us thanks to an amazing Groupon & Valpak Coupon. I pretty much am in love with Groupons now- I also got 2 tickets from it to the AMC for $2 yesterday! It's pretty awesome, just saying...

So it was definitely a fun little trip and we were lucky enough to have Brian, Pattie & Leia join us. Out of Africa basically has predators: lions, tigers, bears, hyenas, and of course some prairie dogs (because what zoo is complete without them?) What makes Out of Africa special though is that the animals are so dang close, it's almost a bit scary. Here's a picture of a tiger that was by the picnic table we sat at:

Here's Steven eyeing another wild beast:

The gang: Brain, Ben, Tyler & Leia cooling off in the shade. It was hot but thankfully not as hot as it was down in the valley.

This is a picture of the show "Tiger Splash." It was neat to watch the tiger jumping around and chasing inflatable toys and balloons but I also felt a bit nervous for the trainers. Steven will probably only remember that the tiger pooped in the water though and that one of the trainers pushed another one into that delicious water...

After the "Tiger Splash" show we went to the "Giant Snake" show (such original names right). Steven and his dad got to go in and pet the snake that was pictured below. Yuck!

Ben and Leia were stroller buddies- they even tried to hold hands a couple times (although from this picture you would never guess she was interested).

Finally, after all the shows and then some major fussing, Ben passed out in the stroller.

I would like to say this is us in the hummer, but it's not. The hummer cost extra money but a ride in a school bus with no windows did not. So we got to ride in a stylish school bus.Unfortunately, I forgot my camera in the stroller so I have no pictures from our little safari. It was super cool though. Steven got to have that same giraffe slurp a carrot from his hand. He also fed a camel. And we got to get up close and personal with some zebras, water buffalo, and other safari animals. It was definitely a unique experience and Steven really enjoyed it (Ben on the other hand had to be pacified with Ritz crackers the entire ride)! And now Steven can do some great imitations of how a giraffe and camel eat ;)

On the ride home Steven was exhausted and took a little nap:

When he awoke, he decided he wanted to read some books I had left in the car. He was also kind enough to share one with his brother. It was completely cute but apparently I stink at taking pictures in the car and they all turned out pretty blurry :(