Lions, Tigers, and Bears! Oh My!

              Let me set the stage for you. Monday. 5am. Kyle and I embarked on a wonderful journey. We drove across 4 different states, almost boarded a ferry, got splashed by penguins, and took so many pictures that my phone almost died. To clear up any jumbled thoughts that you might have...we went to the zoo in St. Louis! It was more fun than I can put into words! The drive wasn't bad, despite the GPS taking us to a ferry that stopped running in the 1970s. We even stopped in Illinois to get McDonald's breakfast...and to play the Monopoly game. I swore we would have better chances at pieces we didn't have but no. Apparently it is perfectly acceptable to McDonald's to distribute Illinois Avenue in Illinois but not Tennessee Avenue in Tennessee. Oh...and something really cool. You know how when you have friends that become famous and you are like "OH HEY! I KNOW THEM!" and junk like that? Well, my friend Joel is the new morning news personality for Star 107.1 out of Sikeston, MO. Long story short, I was flipping through radio stations and heard a familiar voice. I was like "ERMAHGERD THAT'S JOEL!!" It was too cool for me and I definitely sent him a tweet about it as I was listening to him! Super proud of you buddy!
ANYWAY...back to the zoo...              We arrived at the zoo around 10:30. Admission is free!! Let me just tell you that they weren't lying when they said that the St. Louis Zoo is America's #1 zoo! It is completely TRUE! We spent 4 hours walking around the zoo. We had the absolute time of our lives enjoying ourselves and being kids again. There were so many animals and more! There were a few shockers from our visit as well!
1. The sea lions at the St. Louis zoo are from Sea World San Antonio
2. They sell beer at the St. Louis zoo. (Even the new Pumpkin Shock Top!)
3. The penguins are showoffs and WILL splash you in the face.
4. The zoo is HUGE! When I tell you we spend 4 hours there...we walked for 4 hours straight.
5. They had a duck exhibit and who would have guessed that would be Kyle's favorite part. (Not really a shocker but it was still the cutest ever.)
ERMAHGERD!! 7AM!
A 2 lane bridge over the river. SCARY!!! I prayed the whole way over it.
YES...This snake was in an enclosed case.
A really cool golden frog!
Riding the big beetle!
Turtles!
Kyle loved that big fish!
You know you're in St. Louis when...
Show off Monkey.
Lemur!
Zebra! There were so many of them.
Rhino!
The hippos were HUGE!
This elephant was the funniest! He rolled around in the sand and threw water everywhere! 
We got to watch feeding and training for the sea lions. It was cool watching them throw frisbees!
Bear!
Giraffe!
This tiger was waiting to be fed. He paced back and forth for so long!
The penguins were our favorite! They were so playful and splashed water everywhere!
That and in the penguin house it was like 40 degrees and we were burning up from walking for 4 hours!
We had the best time!
Well, I take my first praxis exam on Friday. I have been working on the online practice tests and I'm doing okay right now. I'm going to be much more nervous than I already am. Teachers out there...if you have taken Praxis exams how did you study and do you have any recommendations or advice?I hope everyone had a wonderful Tuesday and that y'all have a blessed week!
XOXO
-A