Baby Lions and Christmas Presents

65. Go to the zoo once a month


OMG. Best day at the zoo. EVER! With only three days left in December to go to the zoo (I didn't want to include zoo lights in our monthly zoo goal) we decided to go first thing this morning when they opened. Sure, it was only 19 degrees when we got there, but.... Honestly though, that is the reason it was such a fantastic visit. There was practically no one there. We walked from the Elephant Passage all the way to the Primate Panorama without seeing a single other person. That is unheard of.

 So we started by visiting the lions which are located right by the main entrance. We were actually hoping to see the 3 new lions cubs that just came to the zoo, but got a great show from the two male lions instead. They walked around a posed for us and I got some decent pictures and C roared a bit.

He must be mad because he's meant to live in Africa but stuck in this snowy weather...

We wanted to make sure we didn't miss the cubs so we went into the little inside area that you can see behind the lion in the picture above to see if we could find them through the windows in there. The cubs weren't there, but while we were in there one of the big male lions decided to give us our own private show. He just kept looping around and coming right back up to the glass to hang out with C. There wasn't a single other person in there to fight with for the view. It was awesome and I think C thought it was really cool too.

We made our way over to the feline house to check on our "little" buddy Makar the Amur Leopard. He has grown a lot since we last saw him. He wouldn't quit moving long enough for a picture, but once again we got another great show, this time from the tigers. Both tigers were hanging out right on the other side of the glass so we got to see them up close and personal. They were extra playful and even rolled around a bit with each other.

We stayed bundled and made our way all the way around the zoo before heading back to the entrance.

I'm bundled. I'm not cold.

The lion cubs have their own little area hidden away to the left of the main lion enclosure. We had to try one more time to see if they were out before leaving. Good thing we did because all three were out and playing and only one other group of people discovered them! I seriously almost died from the absolute cuteness of these little babies!

The three lion cubs are temporarily staying at the Denver Zoo until a permanent home is determined for them. The cubs were donated from the Royal Family in Qatar (did you know it's pronounced "cutter"??? I just learned that today). Their parents were a gift to the Royal Family from Sudan a few years ago. The Royal Family contacted zoos in the U.S. that could better meet the needs of the lion cubs as the size of their lion family had doubled in size (their mother unfortunately died after the difficult birth).

So stinking cute. They seriously made my day. And C thought they were "silly" because they were pouncing around and stalking the little kids from the other group. This was seriously our best visit to the zoo yet, and if you bundled up efficiently it wasn't even that bad out!


51. Buy a pair of cowboy boots

Guess who got a pair of cowboy boots from her fantastic hubby for Christmas! That's right, it was this girl! I'm not gonna lie, I'm still trying to figure out how to pull them off with my existing wardrobe.... But aren't they cute?!

53. Get a hot stone massage

That fantastic hubby of mine also got me a gift card for a hot stone massage at Massage Envy for Christmas! I've always wanted to try a hot stone massage just because it sounds interesting. I am always cold so "hot" in the name was enough to convince me that I would like it. I had my massage today and it was wonderful. The masseuse started by putting the hot stones down my back then working my legs and feet while my back warmed and my muscles loosened. The massage was just like a regular massage but she also used the hot stones to massage. You wouldn't be able to tell that she was using the stones if it wasn't for the heat. She then moved onto my back and shoulders then repeated the process with me face up.

As an added bonus my masseuse was a little lady from Poland so we had tons to talk about. She was so sweet and it was interesting to hear her stories of life in Poland since she didn't move here until about 20 years after my family. Another added bonus? When E bought my gift card they were doing a deal where if you buy a $100 gift card you get a free hour massage.... so I get another massage for free!

64. Go swimming once a month

We took C swimming after E got home from work last night. We got there a little after 6 and the pool closes early on Fridays at 7 so we didn't have a lot of time to swim. It used to be enough time in that pool that C would willingly leave the pool without much fuss. Apparently those days are over and an hour is just not enough for him. He made a friend right at the end and was having a ton of fun on the slide when those mean lifeguards closed the pool for the night. He sure did get mad when we made him get out. In other news, they had the water features turned on in the wader pool and C was totally wary of/maybe a little afraid of the big yellow bucket that drops water every few minutes.

95. Watch 26 movies we've never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet

IMDb - The Kids Are All right

Last night E and I watched The Kids Are All Right. It is a story about two kids of a lesbian couple that meet their biological father and bring him into their family life. Overall, it was a good movie. It kept you interested, took you on an emotional roller coaster, and I was very invested in some of the relationships in the movie. However, there were many, many graphic sex scenes that just made me super uncomfortable. Go ahead, call me a prude, but they really do make me uncomfortable. I also wasn't 100% satisfied with the ending. I like the wrap-up-all-loose-ends and they-all-lived-happily-ever-after stories. There was a major loose end that was just left hanging! I don't want to use my imagination to come up with my own conclusion! It was absolutely left that way for a reason, but I just wasn't satisfied with how some things were left off.

On another note, E and I totally got into an argument over whether the dad in the movie (Mark Ruffalo) was the same guy that played Uncle Eddie in the TV show Grounded For Life. FYI the answer is no. Kevin Corrigan plays Uncle Eddie. I think they totally look alike. Is anyone with me??? Maybe a little?....