In an extremely rare boy-less day, we got to take these sweet sisters out to the Woodland Park Zoo and let them call the shots. We stayed far longer than I thought we would at the otters, we visited the park we usually skip right by, and we fed the birds that my son isn’t interested in touching. All in all, it was a great day. 

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Woodland Park Zoo in SeattleWoodland Park Zoo in Seattle is one of my happy places. Even if you aren’t intent on seeing a ton of animals, the zoo itself is such a gorgeous place and it’s so fun to walk around and take pictures of the flowers and my people. The fact that there are animals there is just icing on the cake.

This little one wants to meet every single zoo keeper and get them to tell her all their secrets. They are always happy to oblige, and she’s happy to listen for as long as they will stay with her.  I love how the love of the zookeepers is so apparent and how they enjoy sharing that love with guests. In our years of zoo membership, we’ve learned all of our favorite animals’ names, family history, and their specific likes and dislikes thanks to curious kiddos who will literally talk for hours with their amazing zookeepers.

While some exhibits have glass enclosures that you view through, I love that many of the areas of the zoo are open air and you can really experience the animals outside of glass. For this reason, we love the bear exhibit that has two sides – one that is open and one in glass where you can watch the bears swim right up to you.

If you’re ready for a break, there are two main parks in the zoo as well as the African village that the kids love. One park by the petting zoo has caves and slides as well as a spider web to climb in and the other park by the otters has climbing logs and bars.

We normally spend most of our time in the southern park, but today we enjoyed the northern park and then went over to the carousel.

Of course, we stopped and watched the otters for what felt like hours.  The otters are always a good time because they are so incredibly active, but today they were even more so and it was fun watching them swim, snuggle and slide down the river over and over again.

These sweet sisters are best buds, and their unique relationship is even more pronounced when their brother isn’t around. We all missed him terribly, but it was really fun seeing the girls take charge at the zoo, a place that has traditionally been his domain.

And, then we fed beautiful birds and I tried to forget how one had landed on my head to enjoy these moments. All in all, another great day at Woodland Park Zoo.

Want to visit Woodland Park Zoo? Check out https://www.zoo.org/ and see their events, hours, and exhibits.

Matchy-match resources for your kids

My girls are wearing Gymboree dresses with striped pink Gymboree leggings. These were purchased last year, but they are still favorites of both girls. I love that they are roomy enough to wear this next spring, too.

Want to know how I found all the matching clothing for my girls? It’s gotten easier through the years now that my girls are both in little girl sizes instead of straddling baby and toddler, too. But, for those mamas with multiple aged kids searching for matching clothes, you will want to check out The Complete Guide to Matching Clothing for Baby, Kids, and Siblings.