Elephants in the City!

A few weeks ago the circus came to town. And, where there is a circus...there is usually a circus train filled with ELEPHANTS! A few years ago, I took Andrew to see the elephants walk through downtown Birmingham. It was so cold but so worth it! This year it was a tad bit different. Still freezing cold, but much more of adventure!!

 The Greatest Show on Earth...that took forever and a day to get going. But, only because of a silly train blocking the tracks. We were outside, bundled up...freezing...waiting for those elephants to show up. After an hour and a half later, I told he boys that WE would go to the elephants instead of waiting for them. And that is EXACTLY what we did!! 

 In the warmth of our car, we found them by following a few police cars. The route the elephants were taking to get from one of the train yards to the BJCC was posted, so why not head that way? They HAVE to get to the civic center for the show, right?

We found them at one of the intersections...which this is the road that leads to the civic center, but it was block by a train just chilling out on the tracks, so they had to go around. After, we were allowed to go I took a turn and beat them to the next intersection where they were turning to get around the train. This is when an offer gets out of his car and ask why I was following him LOL Luckily, I didn't seem too crazy as both my boys yelled, "elephants!!" when he walked up to the car!! HA! Good times! So, he told us to go across quickly and park in the grass. We got THE. BEST. VIEW. 

Here they come!! Turning the corner to go around the tracks!

 So cool!! The boys were squealing the whole time!! I just LOVE how they hold tails :) So sweet!

 This is the lead elephant, Asia! She is wearing the signature Bear Bryant hat to commemorate the big win by the Tide. I must say, even though I am not a current Alabama fan...that hat suits her well!

 There they go! You can see the grass where we parked. SO AWESOME that police man told us we could do this! He rocks!! It was such a great morning!! But, this IS the extent of our circus fun.I am not a fan of the circus. Sure, it may be fun to watch, but I'm not so sure the animals are treated very well... Plus, it costs WAY too much... This was enough for us and we made some pretty awesome memories :) 

We headed to Dunkin Donuts to warm up with some yummy donuts after our elephant adventure. These guys had such a great time! They told the donut people about the elephants and got themselves a bonus donut hole (or two). Such cuties!

Elephants!!

The Circus is in town!!

This morning was very cold and very rainy and very icky out. And we weren't going to even attempt going to the elephant parade for the "Greatest Show on Earth." But, we did and I am so happy that I changed our plans. Instead of going home, we saw this:

ELEPHANTS!!! Ok, yes, I am still very excited that we got to see them. I love elephants. They are my favorite animal, and with Andy's collection (he has about 7 or 8 now) he loves them just as much!

 How cute are they?! They are holding each others' tails and everything :D This one even looks like he is smiling! CUTE!!!

 I love them! I want to take one home... I don't know where I'd keep him though. 

(Maybe in my neighbor's grass - hahahaha! Inside joke...)

Look at him! He is so amazed by the elephants. I asked him before we got out of the car if he wanted to see if we could find them. He said, "Yes" and nodded his head, too. Then instantly looked out the window for them. Silly boy, though I did say they were going to be on the road... HA!

We even go to see some of their horses, too. I love how their manes have been done! Very pretty.

We had a great time out there! Best 2 minutes this year! LOL! :D

Glad I keep an extra umbrella, scarf, jacket, and hat in the car. It was really cold. But, I didn't care. I did this for that little guy in the picture. And the look on his face when he saw those elephants walking the streets of the "Big City" was enough to keep me warm!

OH! Just a bit of info for those with little kids. I never knew about this for Andrew, but for Alex I am going to register him with Ringling for the "Baby's First Circus." I have to get this done before he turns 1 and he will get a Circus ticket voucher to be used for any day, any time and it has no expiration. He also gets a certificate for going to his first circus.

For Andrew, since we missed out knowing that info, I will be getting him a Commemorative Certificate. This I'll get for him once we go to the circus for the first time.

And one day, I plan on taking both of them to the Elephant Conservation Center in Florida. I can't wait!