A new friend introduced us to the zoo a couple weeks ago. Admission was free on Wednesdays in September so we decided to go again this week. The kids especially really like the zoo. Most of the animals aren't in cages, but are out in the open with just a small fence in between the visitors. My favorite is the Savannah area -you can see giraffes, antelope, zebras and even cheetahs with just a small body of water to separate you.
We took time to visit the petting zoo where they had the goats out. Noel immediately squealed in delight and ran up to this one to pet and play with.
But she soon got over her fears and joined Noel in the fun.
Another cool part of the zoo was this Squirrel monkey exhibit. You can get right up to them as well.
How many monkeys can you see in this picture?
Noel loved these monkeys especially. The zoo also features a playground and two water splash areas - one has cool music playing and has caves with water slides. We are looking forward to coming back.
Noel was so excited for his first camping trip!
The view - we went up to Pine, AZ - just north of Payson. It was about a two hour drive and about 20 degrees cooler than it was in Phoenix. Our ward was having a camp out at a church owned camp. We had a really fun time. We were really grateful to the people who organized it. I am especially grateful for Aaron. He wasn't feeling well and still agreed to come up with us. I don't think I would have been able to take the kids by myself. 
Noel in the bed. Both Claire and Noel slept really well. I can't say that I or Aaron did, but we still had fun getting to know more families in the ward. I was surprised how cold it got at night. I'm glad that I brought extra blankets. 
The view from our cabin (really really glad that we had a cabin)
Our cabin
Claire in the morning
Cleaning up... our camp fire dying
Have to get back up there again soon.
