Zoo in the Desert

June 30th we went to the Roos-n-More Zoo located in Moapa, Nevada. I have been wanting to go there for the longest time and I finally made it happen! Porter was soooooooooooo excited that morning when we told him where we were going. All morning he kept yelling, "Yeah! Going to the zoo!!!" He fell asleep on the way there and woke up just as we pulled into the parking lot. First thing out of his mouth: "Oh my gosh...animals!" I don't know where he gets that; we really don't say that! It was funny. I ended up being very surprised that he wasn't as excited when we were there. He had no interest in holding or even really petting the animals. I was shocked; I thought he'd love it. He acted pretty scared.
Zebra stripes! I wanted to get a picture with Porter and the zebra but he wouldn't get close, plus there was always a mob of people around each animal which was annoying. A lot of times it all felt so unorganized and drove me a little crazy. I would want to take a picture of Porter and an animal and people would be petting the animal covering up Porter. So irritating.
Porter holding a kangaroo. Why didn't he love it or smile?! When we told him we were going to the zoo I really think he expected something like the Nashville Zoo we had just visited in May. He asked several times to ride the train. =P
Baby llama eating fruit; he was cute.
One thing I would change or improve is having signs on the cages about the animals. Several times I had no idea what we were looking at; it was all very fun but Aaron and I agreed that the zoo was a wee bit ghetto. That's not to be insulting in any way, shape, or form, it's just that it was so random. I also think it would more correctly be titled "Exotic Animal Petting Zoo" instead of a "Zoo". Guess I just expected a bit more when I went.
The monkey was hilarious and a busy body.


My boys caged up!
Had no idea what this zebra-looking-donkey-horse-thing was; pretty interesting.
Porter was so funny; he kept putting his hand over his nose. I swear I didn't smell anything and I'm the one who should have the sensitive nose right now!


The camels were cool and so big!


An ostrich looking thing that could pass for a dinosaur bird.

Cute funny monkey who was jumping all over the place in his cage.
Some kind of pig just wondering around.

Some animal in the raccoon family; had an ant-eater look to it. Can't remember the name of it.
We wanted Porter to hold the snake but no way Jose! I would've loved to hold the snake but didn't take time. Snakes are awesome.

Porter thought this bird was going to steal his hat so he held on to it really tight.



My caged little monkey boy.
A horse of a dog I wanted to call "Sampson".
Some things at the zoo seemed so random. Like the fenced in area of guinea pigs and rabbits.
Otters! A coming attraction at the zoo we were told will be swimming with the otters!


One of the best parts of our visit was the "monkey/otter show". It really wasn't a show, it was just the worker taking the monkey in who was chased and teased and ganged up on by the otter's. It was pretty darn funny!
Me holding an albino kangaroo; he was so cute and snuggly! His ears reminded me of Chia's. Didn't notice until later on that Porter was holding his tail in the picture.

The armadillo Porter wouldn't touch; I did.
Porter would finally pet the baby llama. So cute! Overall we loved our visit and were glad we went. Next time I don't think we'll make the 2 hour round trip and spend the gas just for that; it would be better to do that on the way to Vegas or something. Of course they're only opened a couple days a month so would have to time it pretty well. $10/person and 2 years old and under are free.
http://www.roosnmore.com/rooshome.html

Manti Family Trip

June 20-22 we took a family trip to Manti, Utah to see the pageant and camp out. It was so much fun and great family time!!! The weather was perfect--in the 70's during the day and 40-50's at night.
Had to stop a few times on the way up to let the doggies out to potty.
When we first got there we set up camp and all went on a short little hike/walk. Porter was insistent on walking a dog so we let him walk Chancho (the obedient one) and he did great! It was adorable. Found some gorgeous wild flowers on our little outing and the scenery of the mountains and landscape are amazing.
The one complaint we had during the trip was the horrible plague of bugs and mosquito's. Yuck! We we not prepared with bug spray (never need it in St. G and didn't think of it) so bought a $6 can of it at the convenience store. Worth every penny.



Porter took Daddy for a ride in an abandoned boat; what a good little driver!
A boy and his dog. Cute cute cute!We stayed at the Temple Hill Resort RV and camp ground. Our site was right in front across the way from the playground, pool (we never got in), shower/bathrooms, and office/store. It was perfect. Only had to walk a few feet to a real bathroom...except for the second night when those were out of order and had to walk all the way to the back of the grounds to use the other bathrooms. Not nice for a pregnant lady who often has to pee in the middle of the night or early morning...and that morning I did at 6am.

We LOVE our pop-up trailer. We pack everything in it, dogs in the kennel in the car, and go. It's great. The trailer sleeps our little family comfortably and it's nice to have a stove to cook on. We brought a tent shade but didn't use it so took it down the second day.
We brought spaghetti from home (thanks to my friend Kacey) and put some corn and sausage in it and had a great dinner Monday night. Food always tastes like gold when you're camping. It was so good.


Good family quality time around the camp fire!
The camp ground is right next to the Manti Temple so you can see it from the play ground. It was so beautiful.

Porter kept "getting Daddy" while on the swing and Daddy would "fly" back. Porter laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed. He has such a fun dad.
Daddy: "I'm gonna get you!" Porter: *Squeal squeal laugh giggle laugh*
Daddy climbing trees...per his usual.

Porter got to watch a show on the iPad before bed and slept all by himself. He did so good. Aaron and I slept on the other side where the dogs joined us. It was Aaron's idea to bring the dogs with us on the trip and he later regretted it. It was just a lot and hard when they couldn't roam around like they can when we go camping out in the wilderness.
While Porter watched a show Aaron and I enjoyed hot chocolate out by the fire. Once again, hot chocolate never tasted so good. Something about camping makes everything extra yummy!
The next morning Porter and Teddy watched Diego while eating cereal for breakfast. I took a shower (felt so good to be fresh and clean, and to not smell like bug spray) and Aaron dropped me off at the Temple so I could do a session. There are two temples in the world that do live sessions: SLC and Manti. I did a session in SLC in 2002 before I left on my mission and that was awesome. Same this time around--WONDERFUL session! I loved it. The Temple was gorgeous and amazing and huge and felt like a true piece of history. There was a temple worker every 10 feet, which was great because the inside is like a maze and I would have gotten lost had there not been people to point me in the right direction. The Temple was so clean, quiet, peaceful, special, and sacred. I love going there and I love how I feel when I'm there.



My clean boys after a nice hot shower. Porter was so cute! He loved all the Daddy time and being by his side every second and doing everything he did.
Princess Chia (that's what we call her) was a nervous wreck the whole time. From the second we loaded her into the car Monday until the second we got home Wednesday she was on high-alert and a nervous wreck. She is just so unsure and uncomfortable if not at home. Weenie. Love my little doggie girl still. Chancho on the other hand is totally trusting and fine if Aaron is around. He did bark at other dogs and want to attack but he is very obedient and listens to us.
After the Temple and some time out playing we had ham sandwiches for lunch and some chill time.

Porter picking "flowers" for me--SOOOOO cute and sweet!




The famous BBQ turkey dinner for only $7. It was really good and part of the whole experience. They serve it at the stake center and the Tabernacle starting at 5pm, which is the time we went. The later you go the longer you have to wait. It was delicious!
Porter took his nap as we were driving around in the car, so we got our dinners to go and ate in the car. (Bad blurry pictures!)

While waiting for the pageant to start I took Porter on a short walk to ride the train. It was $1 each for a 4 minutes ride around a couple blocks. Porter wanted to hold his town money so we put the dollar in his pocket and it was his job to hand it to the conductor. So cute!

Porter sat Teddy next to him and I rode behind them. Porter was so excited to ride the train! Except half way through he was done because he kept asking to go see Daddy, Chancho, and Chia. =P
Mommy and Porter on the "choo-choo"!

The gorgeous Manti Temple and the beautiful hillside that acts as the stage for the pageant.
After we ate dinner Aaron dropped me off at the Temple grounds just before 5:30pm to get in line. It wasn't nearly as busy or crowded as I experienced it being last year, but we were also there on a Tuesday whereas last year it was the weekend. I waited in line for thirty minutes until they opened the gates at 6pm. Then I went in and got perfect seats. It is worth the 3.5 hour wait to me to get good seats in chairs. You can do blankets on the lawn to the side or set up your own chairs outside the gates but I like to be close enough to see what's going on and not have the actors be a blur in the distance. The time goes by really fast. Aaron walked over from the camp ground with Porter in the backpack and we took turns taking him out to run around. There is food close by the pageant where you can get hamburgers, Navajo tacos, turkey, ice cream, drinks, and look at booths where vendors sell their products. Porter and I went and got vanilla frozen custard with raspberry Italian ice after the train ride. It was heavenly!
The pageant was just over an hour and a half and it was WONDERFUL! I loved it! They do such a great job and it amazes me how many people it takes to put it on. Several time the entire hillside was filled with actors. So many costumes and it has to be so much work. The pageant depicts scenes from the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith, with the history of the pioneers who traveled to Utah, and actual accounts of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas as told in scripture in The Book of Mormon. Porter sat on Aaron's lap and was captivated the entire time. We were so surprised! He kept asking Aaron questions like "What are peoples doing?" It was adorable. During the scene where they depict Christs' visit to the Nephites here in America Porter said, "Oooooo!" He loved it. This was the second time I have seen The Mormon Miracle Pageant (went last year with the youth in our ward for Youth Conference) and we want to make it an annual family trip. =D