The Zoo (April 30)

Jarek has talked about wanting to go to the zoo in Ostrava since I met him. They went every summer when he was a kid and he has great memories of it. We were really excited to take Max. We invited some friends and their kids to come with us. Maruska also came. Romana was planning to come with her kids but they weren't feeling well. The day started out so nice. It was sunny and warm and we spent time getting Max covered in sunblock.

This didn't last long.

First stop was the goats. We thought Max would love the goats because he loves Blacky so much. He didn't have the same enthusiasm. I don't really understand what the difference between dogs and goats are to him but he certainly has a preference.

Me and Max next to Jiri and Jan, but he goes by Honza (which is "short" for Jan).

Thank goodness these goats were patient animals. We bought some food to win them over and lure then in so Max could pet them.

Ostrich!

Max and Maruska.

We were enjoying the sunshine and animals when suddenly a giant rain cloud filled the sky. It happened in a matter of minutes. Weird. We took cover in the hippo exhibit. We loved watching the hippos. There was a mommy, a daddy, and a baby.

The whole hippo family.

I guess I liked watching the hippos more than Max did. Max preffered to watch my camera.

But Max did love watching the fish.
He spent a lot of time trying to actually catch the fish through the glass.

We must have been in the hippo house for an hour waiting for the storm to pass, but it was only picking up in intensity. Jarek and Max were not happy.

We finally decided to give in and head back to the car. We put the cover of Max in his stroller. He loved being the boy in the bubble.....for a while.

And then the thrill wore off. Poor kid.

We were wet, cold, and disappointed when we got home. Max took a bath in the big tub to warm up. That was pretty cute to see, cuter than anything we would have seen at the zoo anyway.