Today, Reese could hardly wait to wake up and take her mom, dad, and sister to HER school! She had been asking all week how many more days until we got to go to school with her! Finally the big day arrived and it was gorgeous out! We loaded up the stroller and hopped in the cab! Reese made sure we all had our ticket stickers on so we could get in for free! We decided to go into the zoo first to have a look around and that we would eat a little later! The zoo was so much fun! So many different animals that we don't always get to see! We saw zebras, giraffes, elephants, birds (many HUGE birds I have never seen before) tons and tons of different kinds of monkeys, baboons, gorillas, orangutan's, you name it kinds of monkeys, seals, fish, wild horses, kangaroos, flamingos, rhinos, hippos, and many, many more! We didn't even get to the see all of it! We will have to go back because we didn't get to see the Giant Panda Bears, Tigers, and more!
Beautiful peacocks!
Huge swans, ducks, birds, not sure what they all are!
Reese looking at all of the monkeys on top that shed!
Petting zoo area! Mostly sheep and pot-belly pigs!
More monkeys!
Elephants, giraffes, and zebras! All of these you could touch if you wanted to! We didn't, but we couldn't believe these people wanted to get so close! So many people were throwing food in, even though there were signs stating clearly that you weren't supposed to! They even had zoo staff saying not to and people still would! They would also throw in cans, plastic bottles, wrappers, it was very sad! People would actually try to hand feed some of the animals! Do you remember seeing a news show where a women was mulled by a tiger or bear or something, wouldn't surprise me if we would have seen that! These people are CRAZY!
We also went to see the big Earth Day celebration that her school was putting on! They had many exhibit tables! Each table was set up as a different country around the world! It was so fun!
This is at the India exhibit! Reese and I got dressed up! It was a lot of fun! These dresses are so beautiful!
Reese could have gotten her face painted but opted out of it! I tried my hardest but she didn't like the thought of her face being covered! This little guy was ROARING like a lion!
They also had many crafts that you could make with recycled materials! So much fun! Reese made a key chain, a bracelet and necklace, and there were canvas bags that she could paint, and so much more!
They put on skits dealing with recycling and the main star was Earth Day Man, and Trash Man! They were super heroes! Reese talked about them all week long and how she hoped that we would get to meet them! Too funny, I remember when I met my first super hero, Zero the Hero Man, back in Mrs. Van Oss' 1st grade class! I thought that it was the best too!
Anyways, we went back in to her school and she showed us around and then we ate!
Some pictures of her school, playground (I forgot to get a pic of the main playground, this is of the tree house), and commons area.
Kaylie and Reese found each other during lunch so we got to meet her parents! Her father, born in China actually lived in the States since he was 6. He went to Michigan State and then got a job as a chemist for General Mills. He has been living in Shanghai for the past 10 years! They were very friendly and had many helpful hints for us about traveling and best places for this and that! Kaylie is such a sweet, outgoing girl and has been a great friend to Reese! Very thankful for her!
They had 6 different food booths of where different restaurants had catered in! Of course there was a lot of variety in food, but we chose Bubba's BBQ Style Ribs! Reese and I split a cheeseburger, and I think that maybe it was the BEST cheeseburger I have EVER tasted! So juicy, sooooo good! The ribs were great too! We'll have to find their restaurant sometime and check it out!
This is how Cambry usually rides in her stroller! She always has one leg hanging off to the side! Believe me, we get many stares and comments on her and how relaxed she looks!
And finally, last but not the least, this gentleman (actually I don't even know his name) he is the security guard at Reese's school. You have to show him your identification card each day when you enter the school gate! Well...he just reminds me so much of Mr. Gerald DeVries. (Only you Vriesland people will know what I'm talking about!) He is just the sweetest old fella, and is always ohhhing and ahhhing over Cambry and is just the kindest man that always has the biggest smile on his face! So welcoming and always remembers who we are! So...in a nutshell, reminds me of Mr. DeVries! We have our own Mr. DeVries out here in China, such a happy person to see each and every day! Reese wanted to get a picture with him and he was a very willing participant!
We had such a great day but were VERY tired when we finally got home!
