Izzy's 6th Birthday - Paignton Zoo

Yesterday was Izzy's 6th birthday, and we celebrated by going to Paignton Zoo for the day. The weather was just bizarre yesterday - sunny when we left home (ie I stupidly didn't take a coat!), absolutely pouring when we arrived at the zoo, and then on/off sunny rainy all day long! Typical British weather then!! We hibernated in the car when we first arrived until the rain had eased off a little...

and then we went to see some animals...!

We stuck with the inside bits first as it was still raining, lots of birds, snakes and lizards...

They had fruit on sticks everywhere to feed the birds!

And then it was lunchtime! We'd actually brought our own pasta salad for lunch, but it was still raining and you weren't allowed to eat your own food in the inside areas. So we decided to save the pasta for dinner, and bought some food in the restaurant. Kids boxes for Izzy & Toby (sandwich, yoghurt, raisin, drink)...

and Liam and I bought baguettes. Mine was goats cheese with rocket and roasted peppers, which was really nice, but could've done with more veg & less cheese.

plus a coffee (and a cookie from home) - coffee = essential!

After lunch, it had stopped raining so we headed outside to look at some more animals. Izzy asked me to take photos of pretty much every single animal we saw (!) so I'll just post the highlights here...

The giraffes were my favourite...

Izzy loved the elephant, Duchess...

We also really enjoyed the Ape House...

And the Lemur Walk where the lemurs were so close to us that Toby wanted a hug!!

The sun came out again at the end of our day, so we went to the outdoor play park for a bit to let the children stretch their legs before the drive home...

and then we left the zoo (via the shop of course, impossible to escape that expensive detour on Izzy's birthday!!) and headed home for more cake. A shop bought lemon Victoria sponge (with lemon curd in the middle, yum) from Waitrose this time - I made a birthday cake for Saturday, and I'll make another one for a party party in a few weeks (she's having a joint party with two other friends, so it's later in the month) but I didn't think her actual birthday should pass without any cake!!

We also had the pasta salad for dinner, and Liam and I shared a mushroom pizza from Waitrose (reduced bargain!) later in the evening, but those things escaped the camera! Liam's sister, Danni, came round for a little bit after we got back from the zoo - to give Izzy an extra present (the dress she is wearing in the above photo - Danni's friend made it!!) and to eat cake! Plus she was roped in to helping Izzy play the Nintendo DS - this was the thing we gave Izzy for her birthday (although it was actually second hand - we bought it off my little sister!!) and we dug out a really old game boy to keep Toby distracted, gah, I hope the children don't turn into complete computer addicts!!

Despite the lack of smile in the last photo (I think she wanted to get back to playing!!) Izzy had such a great birthday. It was so fun to watch all her happiness and excitement - at seeing all the animals, at all her amazing gifts (lucky girl!), and at spending more time with family (my Mum and sisters came round to see us quickly in the morning too, before we went to the zoo). I still can't believe my baby girl is 6 though, haha, I'm sure I'll be in denial for every birthday she has!!

Do you like going to the zoo? Favourite animal(s)? Part of me felt sorry for the animals, especially the ones cooped up inside, but it is amazing that we, living where we do, can still see animals from all over the world. Izzy found it absolutely fascinating, and I guess zoos do do a lot to help with conservation etc? (more research needed!!) One of my good friends actually used to work at Paignton Zoo...maybe I should ask her what she thought working there!