*ferocious felines*

~chilling with papa lion at denver zoo

I went through a period where I really tried to *dislike* the zoo. I have always been a huge animal lover, and after a good friend explained the horror of behind the scenes of the zoo, I really tried to stay away and keep my distance. Having a little guy changed my view on things, and I started to see what it is like to see things through his eyes, and I put my own judgements aside. I absolutely fell in love with the Denver Zoo...so easy to navigate and really large areas for the animals to roam around. Mamaw and Papaw gifted us a membership to the zoo for xmas, and we have already been three times since xmas. It is just down the street from us, so even if Kaden and i have an extra hour on our day off...we go to say hello to our friends...the lions.

We went one day after Xmas, right at the beginning of a blizzard. I thought it was a little silly to go when the snow was coming down so hard, but it turned out to be the most perfect time to go! There were only about 10 other crazy fools visiting the zoo at that time, and for some reason, the animals were all awake and as curious about the fools visiting during the snowstorm, as we were about them. I am so upset that I didn't bring my camera, because we truly would have gotten some ridiculously amazing photos on that day!

We stumbled upon this little area where the lions chill out behind their ginormous playground. The area has a piece of glass in front of it, and it is incredible how close you can get to the lions. The first time we went, this daddy lion above literally played nosey nosey with us through the glass. I just about keeled over...I have never felt so scared in my life. It's hard to feel comfortable with *glass* when a lion is one inch from your face. Kaden loved every second of it. We went back later that week, and the daddy lion actually got into a roaring match with another lion friend. Talk about unnerving! One of the coolest and scariest things I have ever heard, and I'm so happy Kaden got to hear what a real lion roar sounds like.



~mama lion, not a happy camper.

....and some of our other favorite ferocious felines.