Dear Murphy - African Lion Safari

Hey there kiddo -- it's me, Mom. So, when I moved back to Buffalo a few years ago, with your Dad in tow, one of the first things he saw a commercial for was African Lion Safari. He couldn't wait to take you. Seeing as you still lived in my belly, it wouldn't have been all that exciting for you. So, fast forward two years, and one night, while watching t.v., your father suddenly yells, "I am so fed up with not being there!" So, we made plans and finally headed into the great, white north to visit the African planes. When we arrived, the drive-through reserve wasn't open, so we headed over to the petting zoo and got a little time in with the goats.

At our last zoo visit, you were rammed by a petting-zoo goat. That, in addition to the goat poop you tried to hand me convinced me to usher you on to the next animal. A camel!

We played with the camel until he got a little too close for you, and you told him, "No!"

A flamingo was kind of just walking around, and your dad snapped this neat photo of him taking a drink of rainwater.

The bats were settling in for the night as the sun started to come up.

So, it was just about time to head into the reserve.

The first animals we saw were lions, and boy did this lioness think you looked tasty!

Your dad really just wanted some animals to sit on the car, so we headed into the baboons and immediately saw this baboon pulling the weather stripping off this minivan and going all Tarzan on the car.

Your daddy laughed until the monkey jumped on our car.

Okay, so let me explain this next bit. No, actually, I'm just going to post these photos because I think everyone can figure out this narrative.

Yeah, so basically you decided that the windshield was looking a little dirty with a baboon's ass on it. Yeah. Notice your mom's expression in that last photo. I was convinced we were about to be rushed out the side door. Thanks, kiddo -- you keep us on our toes. So, after we laughed, a lot, we made some monkey faces for daddy.

We finished up our drive and headed into the rest of the park. You immediately took us on the train, twice, before we got to head over to mommy's favorite, the elephants. It was a special day, because we got to see a month-old elephant.

It's really hard to get across how tiny he was. Especially since he weighed 235 lbs. at birth. Then we walked past some flamingos and snapped a picture for your Nana because she loves her flamingos.

Then you got to ride an elephant. Seriously.

The park was really a great place for you -- aside from the animals, they had some seriously well-designed kid's areas, including a giant ball pit.

And a waterpark. Your daddy took you down the waterslides and after a few runs, you got the idea to go on your tummy.

You had a blast. That was about the point you stopped being able to walk in straight lines, so we called it a day and headed out. You were knocked out about 15 seconds into the car ride back to Buffalo.