Zoobotanico

 I love those days when you load the kids in the car and end up at the zoo! There is just something about taking children to a zoo that brings excitement to their voice and the anticipation of what animal is next. I loved going to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens but today we are off to Jerez Zoo ( Zoobotanico Jerez). It was a perfect day with lots of sun and a breeze. We were ready to see some animals!

 Our first experience in the zoo was hearing an awful loud squawk to get our attention and the a fanning of  huge feathers. It was a male peacock! He was in the midst of  a group of  flamingos. That definitely got our attention! Then of course the famous words "whats next" and grasping for the zoo map. The zoo has a great layout. They have a wide variety of birds, monkeys, turtles, snakes and a vocal lion. The kids had to find the lion for sure after hearing it!

We were so excited to see new animals that we had never seen before. We saw the cutest hippo swimming in her habitat. She at one point came up and she was eating an apple. The kids just stood there watching and observing, shocked at how big it was.








We also saw the meerkats. They were so funny. They were going in and out of there burrow, then they were watching and smelling the air. They were on guard for sure but these two guys were cracking me up!  We were surprised by how small they were.

 Well, we also saw this adorable sea lion. He was putting on a show for us. He had his routine down pat! He would get in the water do a lap, turn around on his back and swim like it was his favorite thing to do. He would get out walk around hide for a minute and then stand up and sniff the air. Right away we thought of our friend Joy who has a special place in her heart for these little guys!


Jerez Zoo dates back to the early 50's making it one of the oldest zoos in Spain. It is known for its wide variety of animal species. We will be visiting again!

Nat's Events

The last few weeks have been very busy around here! The last few weeks Nat was in a play called Lemonade. So many children wanted to be in the play that they had to write in a few parts!! If you have ever been in a performance, the rehearsal schedules at the end are jam packed! Nat's part was Jack and the Bean Stalk's Mother. She did a great job! She enjoyed being in drama club.

Last week when I was driving down the road I saw a line of six or seven horses out for a ride. It is less than a mile from my house. It looked so fun and everyone was smiling! Many people in this area love horses or own horses. It not uncommon to see them,especially with the history and the events for the horses here. 

Here is a link if you want to learn more about the horses in this area.Wikipedia/wiki/Andalusian_horse  

We went to the Equestrian Center and Nat is now taking horseback riding lessons!

Nat's first lesson was with Paloma. She is a very sweet horse! Paloma means"dove" in Spanish.

Nat  was really enjoying her riding lesson!She was full of smiles the whole lesson! She learned  to direct the horse all through the arena and was even trotting. She likes to make the horse trot. By the end of the lesson, she was riding the horse down the trail ! (I was shocked!) This was her favorite part of the lesson! Dee even got a chance to sit on the horse before we went home. She loved it!