MEMPHIS ZOO

It was a beautiful day outside so we decided to check out the Memphis Zoo. We have been hearing so many good things about it, and they let St. Jude patients and their families in for free! It was a really nice zoo and the kids had so much fun. Tyler and Caleb kept running ahead of us to the next exhibit. They just couldn’t contain their excitement. Every time they found the next animal they would shout “come here, come here, look at this!” It was so great to see the excitement in their eyes and their curiosity about all the different animals.

We saw some classics like elephants, crocodiles, rhinos, tigers, giraffes and lions. We also visited the herpetarium, which houses all of the snakes, frogs, and basically all the things that nightmares are made of HA HA! No, but seriously Tyler and Caleb were so fascinated by everything in there. They also have an aquarium part of the zoo with several tanks of fish, eels, jelly fish, etc. The Memphis Zoo also has some more exotic animals too, like the Komodo dragon, and panda bears from China.

Caleb’s favorite exhibit was the crocodiles. When we first walked up to them he insisted that they were fake because they were laying very still. But then one got up and swam into the water right in front of him. Then he believed me that they were real!

Tyler’s favorite of the day were the giraffes. This zoo has so many, and even a baby that was just born in August. At certain times of the day you can feed the giraffes, and so the kids got leaves of lettuce to feed them.

They also have a beautiful playground, carousel, and lots of yummy treats that we indulged in.  I think we all acted like kids today!

We received the shirts we have on as a gift this past week. Caleb’s says “Cancer Warrior”. Mine says “Mama of a Warrior.” James’ says “Dad of a Warrior.” And Tyler’s says “I wear gold for my brother”. I cried when I opened them. They meant so much we had to wear them as a family today.

We ended the day with Pizza back in our “hotel room” as we call it. This small space it starting to get to us, as we have been here 2 weeks tomorrow. We are grateful for the housing but can’t wait to move to our larger apartment soon. We are on the waiting list for one of St. Jude’s apartments, but it takes time. For now we are making do with temporary tables and take out food. But the boys don’t seem to mind too much!

It was a wonderful day and I am thankful for these memories!