A Day At Busch Gardens...With A Bunch of MONKEYS!

Despite the rain, we knocked out 9 hours of Busch Gardens Africa fun in Tampa! It was Isabella's and my first visit there, but we'll be going back again and again since we have season's passes! We took Caitlin and Olivia (my realtor/friend's daughter) and the kids had such a blast together...like they've known each other forever! They had me laughing and saying over and over again to myself what awesome kids they all were! They've obviously been trained well in the personal hygiene department as you can see in this picture!
We got to the park around lunchtime, then Bruce came after work to take the big kids on the big rollercoasters while Isabella and I explored some other parts of the park. We explored the white tiger trail (amazing!), took a train ride and went on a coaster called the Cheetah Chase!

There was only a 40% chance for rain yesterday, but you never can tell in Florida so headed north! After a ride on Tidal Wave, it didn't matter that it rained off and on all day because the kids were soaked to the bone (and never complained once I might add!) This pic is after they got off and you can see the ride right behind them!

One of the cool things about Busch Gardens Africa is that there are animals all over the park so while you're walking from country to country, or even on a ride, you'll see lots of different animals! We especially like watching the gorillas! This big guy was amazing and we watched him munching on his bamboo lunch for quite a while until he turned around and looked right at us!

Olivia and Caitlin

LOTS of flamingos! ...or as Floridians call them "pink chickens on stilts!"

Evan and Isabella make a tasty snack for a hippo!

The older kids were very brave and held a python!

The Rhino Rally was a really fun ride where you went on a jungle safari in a jeep and end up floating down the river...in the jeep!

My favorite kids under the age of 13!!

We did go on lots of rides...just didn't get pictures of that...mostly because I was the official pack mule and carried everything!