On the hunt...for Dinosaurs!

I've been meaning to do a post about this, but have been a bit preoccupied helping run my brother's judicial campaign (more on that later in another post!). Anyway, a couple of weeks ago we went to the botanical gardens for an event they are holding now through December. It's called the Dinosaur Stampede in which they have placed 11 different exhibits of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals throughout the grounds. Here's a look at the brochure:

 

Because of James' love of dinosaurs, I knew this outing would be an instant hit...and of course it was. James had such a blast running all over the botanical gardens searching for the "next" dinosaur. The brochure had a nice map of the grounds with each dinosaur numbered and placed where they could be found. There is no doubt in my mind that James would have been an explorer in another life. The thrill he gets from studying the map and determining where to head to next is so much fun to experience. We definitely will be returning sometime soon so James can find the dinosaurs all over again, which he wanted to do immediately after we found the last one. But after two hours of walking all over the botanical gardens, Mommy and Daddy were not quite up for doing it again, so there will be a return trip in the near future. If you're in SA or even close by, I would definitely recommend taking your kids to this! Here are some photos from the day:

 

James, ready to explore

James & I in front of the Allosaurus

Mike and James next to the Dimetrodon

James and Daddy checking out the map

Bambiraptor (that's right they are named after the baby dear in the Disney movie :-))

James & Daddy reading about the Quetzalcoatlus

Mike and James under the waterfall in the tropical oasis

checking out the Parasaurolophus

The Camarasaurus

feeding the ducks

Mommy and James taking a rest

Awwww

James and the Hypsibema

James, Daddy and Allosaurus