Things I Learned in August

Inspired by Chatting at the Sky, I am once again going to try to do a post on what I have learned this month.

http://www.chattingatthesky.com

I did a similar post in June but was on vacation the end of July so I skipped that month.

Sorry,

I think I just fell asleep,

that was so boring.

So here we go:

THINGS I LEARNED IN AUGUST:

1. Death is so much easier to bear 

when I KNOW where they are spending eternity.

Since January, I have lost 3 family members, all siblings.

(You can read about that here, here and here.)

But they are all together right now in heaven in the presence of Jesus.

I KNOW this.

It is hard to not smile at that fact.

And should put a fire under me to pray hard 

for those I don't have that absolute knowledge.

2.   My family is such a blessing.

We aren't a perfect group, 

this big, huge loud extended family of mine, 

but we try to stay close in our huddle.

Even if some don't seem to be willing to wear the team jersey.

God so perfectly places us in our "family huddle" 

and we each can say what we want about who we think are the best 

coaches, 

quarterbacks, 

receivers, 

bench warmers, 

water boys, 

trainers 

and cheerleaders.

But it is our huddle, win or lose.

And I thank God for them. 

3. It is easier to have a bad day then to watch your kid have one.

This whole starting a new school business

whether it is middle school

high school

or college

is hard enough to experience firsthand

but gut wrenching to watch from afar.

It seems this week has been a week similar to 

"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"

Remember this?

Or as Ellie put it,

"A Diary of a Wimpy Kid day"

These books and movies are cute.

It was a week of:

•losing a student ID

•getting a book bag stolen

•nearly pooping their pants in front of 

a large group of people while swing dancing

(I did not just make that up)

•switching to a class only to find out the teacher 

is a bitter-stingy-with-the-good-grades-suspected-

puppy-kicker kinda person who seems to hate you

•tripping over the boy bent down by the locker next to you and falling spectacularly and two older boys have to help you up. 

And you are wearing a dress. And you hurt your knee.

•auditioning for a part in a musical that you practiced and practiced and practiced for and the judges, seemingly coldly, cut you off early into your monologue. Before the best part. And this was the same day you hurt your knee falling spectacularly over the boy bent down by the locker next to you.

Gut wrenching.

(And a little funny. C'mon--a near pants-pooping while swing dancing? I am only human.)

But here is the great lesson for me.

They are all fine. 

Everyone of these Alexanders (or "Wimpy Kids") that picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and moved on

even if they were limping

from their bad days.

And here I am,

a little dizzy from the roller coaster ride

and stiff from the time spent on my knees 

in prayer on their behalf.

But they are all fine.

4. You can tell Siri on your iPhone to text people.

This may not be anything new to you, but this was downright, "Shut the front door" awesome for me.

Being the "iPhoner" I am

who still can't pick up her voicemail without calling the

person back and hanging up quickly in a panic.

Plus, Siri says Carisa "Ca-reeee-sa"

which is funny stuff.

I think that is it.

What lessons did you learn in August?

A Jacked Up Jaw

We went to our beloved Fripp Island this summer.

Such a bonus that I unknowingly captured an egret in this picture.
 Can you see him?

Insert a happy [sigh] here.

No place is like Fripp for me.

Actually my entire family. 

We all feel exactly the same way.

And we don't feel exactly the same way about ANYTHING else.

This year we had the added pleasure of getting to see my dad's older brother, Doyle and his son, Doyle Jr. whom I had never met.

Long story.

I think it had been 16 years or so since I had seen Uncle Doyle.

He spends most of his time in Brazil but has rental properties in North Carolina that he was working on and was able to make the drive to Fripp.

So glad he did.

My family standing by the brick we bought for my parents years ago
at a park in Fripp. So a piece of them is there always.
Insert another happy [sigh].

On our first day at the beach Ellie and I did what we love to do:

jump waves.

Fripp has some of the warmest water EVER.

Like bath water warm.

I have read why and can not intelligently pass that along to you now 

but something about jet streams and coastlines and whatnot.

You can walk out REALLY far into the ocean and still be waist deep.

I like that.

Until I came home and watched a special during Shark Week where this team of, I don't know, sharkologists, came up with this torpedo tracking device to follow great whites around in a beach area in Cape Cod and this 18-foot shark,

let me say that again,

18-foot shark

swam so close to the beach in like 3 feet of water,

let me say that again,

3 feet of water!

It made the sharkologists call the "authorities" of that beach and shut it down due to "shark activity".

Wasn't that the entire plot of Jaws?

Not to my knowledge has there ever been a shark sighting at Fripp.

I will chant that to myself under my breath the next time I am there jumping waves.

Plus, gators are the thing to be on the lookout for at Fripp.

But I digress…

Ellie and I were jumping some pretty awesome waves when her 

jump up 

and my 

jump down

collided.

As in her head and my chin.

To say I got my bell rung truly and accurately describes the collision.

Because I heard the DING

and the DONG.

I thought I knocked Ellie out so I busied myself pulling her out of the water and checking her head for bleeding while my tongue did a roll call over my teeth to see if there were any absences.

There were not.

A little while later I had a pretty intense pain in my ear. I thought it was just water so I went up on the beach and laid on my side to see if it would help.

It didn't.

By dinner time, my throat was sore and my ear still hurt.

I thought I might be getting a cold.

The next morning, I could barely bite down and my ear just ached and my throat still hurt.

Ellie came down for breakfast rubbing her head and saying how sore it was from our collision.

That is when I finally put it all together.

I jacked up my jaw!

I didn't know what to do about it since I had an entire week's worth of vacation ahead of me and no intention of heading across the bridge to an urgent care, so I just took some Alleve and dealt with it.

By chewing gum (to loosen up my tight jaw)

drinking coffee (to make me happy)

and eating lots of good chewy food (because we were on vacation).

I found out a week later that I did everything wrong. 

Everything.

Even though we had the most comfortable king-size bed at the beach house

and we watched episodes of Laverne and Shirley with our girls every night before bed

(they had NEVER seen the show before! How is it I have failed them so?)

I still had nightmares almost every night.

Nightmares involving getting my jacked up jaw wired shut so that I had to talk somehow through gritted teeth 

and have my friend Carisa rub raw cookie dough on them for nourishment.

Pretty odd, huh.

Because I don't even prefer raw cookie dough.

My dentist was on vacation when we got back into town so we got in touch with a friend who is also in the business.

The business of teeth and jacked up jaw fixing.

He so very graciously saw me on a Sunday night.

Which I was ever so happy about since I could not take another night of dreams 

where Carisa was rubbing raw cookie dough onto my teeth!!

Not that she wouldn't do it if I asked.

God love her sweet heart.

The good news of the visit was that I had not broken my jaw and it would not require wiring shut.

When Ellie's up and my down, collided, 

the pad thingy that sits in between my jaw hinge squirted right out.

Medically speaking, of course.

In other words:  I jacked up my jaw.

I got fitted for a mouth piece that fits over just my two front teeth and would help relax my jaw hinge enough to allow that pad thingy to slip back into its rightful place.

Hope I didn't just bore you with all the technical details.

I was also given some dos and don'ts:

•Do take ibuprofen 3 times a day.

•Don't chew gum.

What?!

•Do change to a soft food diet.

No. Words.

•Don't drink coffee or other caffeine.

For the love of Pete!

•Do wear the mouth piece each night.

•Don't let the dog chew on it.

Oh my!

Can I just say that I have never craved crunching into a carrot or an apple more?

That the thought of chomping into some bubble gum 

and chewy taffy tormented me?!

I drank smoothies and ate soup for the first two days.

Then I had the brilliant thought of putting regular normal chewing-required food and sticking it into the blender.

Do you know what happens to chicken with red peppers 

once it is blended?

It turns into vomit.

I am completely serious.

Dead ringer.

But I was so palette bored (if that can be a thing)

that I ate it anyway.

Much to the disgust and horror of my family.

Hey, the vomit turned out to be tasty! 

Don't judge. I had a jacked up jaw.

And I couldn't figure out how to blend jelly beans without ruining my Ninja.

I am happy to report that my jaw is 1,000 times better!

The dog is pretty freaked out when I wear the mouthpiece 

(the girls call me "Bucky")

and it makes me drool like a faucet.

Sorry, that was gross.

[Oh, NOW she apologizes?]

But I am no longer eating vomit.

And am still afraid to try chewing gum or taffy.

And I should probably confess that I never quit drinking coffee. 

I know! 

I am usually such a rule follower!

I didn't want to become Monte's nightmare.

When We All Get To Heaven

While on vacation the end of July, we got the sad news that our dear Uncle Barney (actually, my great-uncle) passed away suddenly in his sleep.

Uncle Barney and Aunt Marilyn. Look at their sweatshirts. It lists all
their grandchildren by name. Maybe even great-grandchildren.

He was my grandmother's younger brother.

He died on Sunday. My grandmother's birthday (the first since her passing) was Monday.

Never one to miss a chance to sing,

Uncle Barney arrived in heaven just in time to 

sing his sweet sister Happy Birthday.

We were at our beloved Fripp Island when we got the news.

While on a bike ride around the island, the song,

"When We All Get to Heaven"

kept running through my mind.

I haven't heard or even thought of that song in years.

I could only recall the words to the chorus:

When we all get to heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

We'll sing and shout the victory!

God is so faithful to comfort his own with a sweet memory.

The thought of Uncle Barney with his sisters and brother and parents let alone his "friend Jesus" (as he always phrased it)

well, it was hard to be anything but praise-filled

even though I will miss him so much.

Uncle Barney was so funny.

Great Uncle Bob (who married my parents and
Monte and I) with Great Uncle Barney. They were
proving that when they open their mouth they
look just alike. And people wonder why I am
silly!

He always told us as kids that my grandmother had dropped him on his head when he was a baby.

He assured us that he had no lasting effects from the fall

then he would launch into all manner 

of head twitching and nodding

much to our delight.

Barney loved to sing!

He was always singing. 

Our family reunions and get togethers always included music. He had a lovely tenor voice and I can still hear him singing in some of the good ol' hymns.

One of the things Aunt Marilyn has noticed so much, is how quiet the house is without Barney's constant singing and whistling.

Barney LOVED his wife, Marilyn.

He took marriage very seriously and invested in it. 

They went on "romantical" (as he called them) weekends each year. They would often stop by on their way to or from one of their weekends when I was a kid. It was good for me to see the intention of their marriage.

It was at my grandmother's funeral that he pulled my girls aside to tell them how blessed he was to have just celebrated 50 years of being married. He said he asked Marilyn if she would give him 50 more.

She told him she'd have to think about it.

She then said to my girls with great inflection,

"This is the most important decision you will ever make. 

Don't make it lightly!"

Oh, how I love my family!

Uncle Bob, Aunt Beverly, Aunt Betty, Aunt Jeanie, Aunt Janet
and Uncle Barney.

During a family reunion at a lake a few years ago, Uncle Barney and Aunt Marilyn were out on a "romantical" walk by the lake at night. Barney stepped right off of the dock into the lake by accident!

We were all in the lobby when Marilyn and a very wet Barney came in laughing. He told his story with great detail and humor.

[See--I didn't get this way all by myself!]

We all delighted in it! 

The family teased him the rest of the weekend, which Barney delighted in.

Barney was the one who stood up and said the beautiful tribute to my grandmother at her funeral.

Spoke of her adjustable spirit.

Wasn't that just yesterday?

I found out that Barney had three wishes regarding his death:

1) He wanted to go before his beloved Marilyn.

2) He wanted to go in his sleep.

3) He wanted to go on a Sunday so he could 

sing in the heavenly choir.

As his grandson pointed out--

he got all three!

If that right there isn't proof that God hears every prayer, 

that He is a God of the big AND small things,

that He loves us so very personally,

I am not sure what is.

When we all get to heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

We'll sing and shout the victory!

Back to School

It has been a while since I have posted anything here.

August was busy (I will explain later) and I wanted to concentrate on enjoying the remaining days of summer with my girls.

McDaniel started high school today.

TODAY.

As in, RIGHT NOW.

Thankfully, she is at school with only the freshman today so they can get adjusted to the school without getting mowed over by all the upper class men.

That comes tomorrow.

Ellie felt sassy enough to wear cowboy boots on her first day! They made the
freshman all wear the same shirt today.

 Ellie started middle school today.

She was ready last December.

In fact, summer couldn't end FAST ENOUGH for her.

She was THAT excited for middle school!

Ellie was all like, "See ya!"

This is how McDaniel REALLY felt about starting
high school. Ellie can barely hold back her smile.

McDaniel started having nightmares last spring about high school.

Nightmares that involved gangs, drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.

Or basically the plot from an after school special. 

(Remember those from the 80s that explained things like "Roid Rage"?)

We tried to reassure McDaniel. Asked her to pray for courage and peace.

While Monte and I prayed for courage and peace.

We even had her pediatrician tell her flat out:

"There is NO gang activity at your high school!"

Thank you, Doc!

Then she threw in:

"But there is a heroin problem."

McDaniel's eyes

and MINE

grew wide.

A friend showed McDaniel around the school last week and helped her get her locker open and assured her that

"NO, a senior boy will not have a locker right next to you 

and shave in between classes."

Another fear of hers.

Where does she get these crazy ideas?!

She also feared getting shoved into her locker by some menacing upper class men.

She needs to stop watching Disney shows about high school

and remember the fact that she is 6 feet tall!

I guess there is a little basis for that locker shoving fear.

On her first day of middle school, 3 years ago, an 8th grader shoved her into a bank of lockers (knocking her down) and he just walked off laughing.

Monte went through several stages of rage and possible revenge tactics before he remembered he was:

1) An adult.

2) A Christian.

3) A father who was making a very big impression on his daughter with his reaction.

Weeks later she pointed out the "pusher" walking home from school.

If ever there was a stereo type "bully"

he was it.

He would get the part of mean kid from Christmas Story every time.

Whoa. Whoa. WHOA!

He is totally going to be at school with McDaniel again!

Unless he moved.

What if he remembers and tries to shove her again tomorrow?

Unless he moved.

What if (in reaction to possible future shoving) Monte forgets he is

1) An adult.

2) A Christian.

3) A father who is making a VERY BIG impression on his daughter with his reaction???

What if the bully falls in love with her and asks her out?

Unless he moved.

What if Monte forgets

1) We agreed he should never have a gun in the house.

2) He is a Christian?!?!

I am sure this kid moved.

Didn't I just hear somewhere that he moved??

I need a nap.

And to pray for courage and peace.

Adventures On Rainy Days Part 2

Okay, back to our rainy day adventures.

I last left you at the African Safari when we were feeding the giraffes and zebras.

They concluded the drive-through portion of the safari.

We parked so that we could enjoy the walk-through portion of the safari AND the pig races.

Our car looked like this:

That is a LOT of buffalo slobber.

We noticed an area where you could vacuum all the stray pieces of feed from your car.

But no car wash. 

We added OPEN A CAR WASH INSIDE OF OR DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE AFRICAN SAFARI to our "Million Dollar Ideas" list.

It is a lengthy mental list with items we've never put into action
like:  "Open a Waffle House down the road from our house."

We walked around the zoo-like portion of the safari ever so briefly because the pig races were set to start 

and there were only 3 shows a day 

and we were NOT missing them.

NASPIG Racing, thank you very much.

Check out the names of the pig racers in the photo below underneath the START sign:

Yes, both girls have on sweatshirts from the gift shop of our lodge. It was cold.
And we were bored. 

 They are:

Pig Daddy

Mario Spamdretti

A.J. Oink

and Dale Swinehardt Jr.

Now I am no NASCAR fan but I recognized some of those names

and I appreciated the cleverness.

I desperately needed it as a 

ray of sunshine for our cloudy vacation.

 So I bet in my mind on Pig Daddy

mainly because he was adorable. 

All pink and splotchy black.

I don't know--he could've been fast.

 Right before the race started there was a hog calling contest. The emcee was asking for volunteers.

As Monte's hand started to go up in the air,

the girls begged,

PLEADED 

for me to intervene.

But this was cloudy/rainy DAY NUMBER 3 of our vacation

and I REALLY needed to hear Monte's interpretation of a hog call.

But alas, the girls got their way.

Mainly because Monte realized that there were mostly little kids in line to try out their call except for one guy and quite honestly, he looked like a jerk standing there because, come on, let the kids have this one.

Right before the race started the emcee announced that A.J. Oink had been disqualified due to a "pork chop incident"

har dee har har.

Flags were waved and the race FINALLY began. 

Pig Daddy remained in his cage seemingly eating something.

Or looking for something to eat.

He was almost lapped before he moseyed on out of his caged.

It was deeply disappointing. 

Can you see Pig Daddy pretty much walking in dead last?

After the race, Monte had a hankering for some pork

I know

he thinks he's funny.

So we walked around quickly viewing the reindeer, warthogs and vultures and monkeys until we hit the gift shop.

The girls pooled their money and preyed upon our weak resolve to end up with these:

Ellie named her giraffe, wait for it,
Mr. Giraffe.

McDaniel named hers, to frustrate Monte,
 Baby.

After the gift shop, we stood in line for the snack shack.

Incidentally, they served Bratwurst so Monte got his pork

which he became convinced was in fact A.J. Oink.

NASPIG racing is rough, people.

While we were getting our food we started hearing the loudest, craziest commotion

like sirens or screaming.

We looked around to see what kids were making the noise 

or using what purchases from the gift shop.

The teen aged snack shack girl nonchalantly said,

"Oh, those are the monkeys. 
They do that when it is going to rain."

Untitled from Karmen Hartranft on Vimeo.

So we got lunch AND the local forecast.

Back at the lodge, the sun decided to shine during dinner so we rushed out to rent paddle boats.

This is a shot of the girls before they paddled right into the fountain. 

They got soaked.

The next morning we ate at a diner as we were leaving town.

The waitress sat us at a booth with a pole positioned right where one would slide into the seating.

There were many other booths available.

We decided to not speak up and maybe just consider it part of the adventure or possibly a compliment in some way.

Maybe:

•We were perceived young and agile enough 

to do the squeeze and slide-in.

•We were perceived thin enough (before eating) 

to do the squeeze and slide-in.

We were HUNGRY and ordered big meals with multiple sides and extras.

As I closed the menu and handed it back to the waitress, I read the words CASH ONLY on the front of  it.

Monte realized he only had $23 in his wallet. 

McDaniel announced her meal alone 

may have totalled more than that.

So he quickly did the squeeze and slide-in out of our booth to go find a bank to get more cash. 

Incidentally, Ellie had an ECLAIR pancake. Creamy custard and all.

It was culinary genius.

Monte made it back in time to eat and pay and no one had to wash dishes.

As we headed home, 

we noticed a gynecological office 

that was actually just a house.

I added DON'T EVER GO TO A GYNECOLOGICAL OFFICE THAT IS JUST A HOUSE to the other mental list we keep.

The one simply called:  "DON'T EVER".

Monte adds to that list the most:

"Don't ever bring home a boy that calls me dude."

"Don't ever bring home a boy that has a head tattoo."

That kind of thing.

We laughed and laughed on the way home about this vacation we had just taken:

with rain rain that wouldn't go away

hikes in a mostly dead forest

walleyball

funnel cake fries

nuclear plants

agressive buffalo

an angry yak

NASPIG racing

meteorological monkeys

soggy paddle boat rides

a squeeze and slide-in diner booth
(that only takes cash)

and lady doctors who work out of a house.

You know, God is so faithful.

He knows how I delight in these adventures.

And He is so good to keep them coming.

Things I Am Thankful For Right Now

Don't worry, I will continue my story about our adventures on rainy days

you seriously won't want to miss the part 

about the pig races 

or the monkeys

but I wanted to pause to share what I am so thankful for right now.

1) The sun!!! 

Thank you Lord that we woke up to some good ol' sunshine this morning!! 

I seriously pursued Pinterest the other day for ideas for some sort of sunshine wreath 

or door decoration so as to welcome the sun back in case we made it mad or something.

Still might do it.

The sunshine makes everything more beautiful! Look
at my Rose of Sharon just smiling in the morning sun.

I was just mesmerized by the way the sun highlighted
the lightning scar of my favorite Sycamore tree
yet also the beauty of the flowers in the hanging pot.

2) Cooler weather and no humidity!! 

We slept with the windows open last night and I had to wear a fleece this morning 

when I decided to do my bible study homework outside.

Actually, I took this picture because there was a little white butterfly that landed just below my shoulder. But of course, you can't really take a picture of your own just-below-your-shoulder.

A huge fat bumble bee landed right on the scripture I was reading right before the butterfly landed on me. It was the part in Judges when God asks Gideon to weed out his army by seeing how they drink water. Hmmm…wonder what the bee was trying to glean from that. 

Probably that there was no nectar in them thar pages.

Oh, but there is Mr. Bee, there is.

I almost fell out of my chair trying to get away or I would've snapped a picture.

No I wouldn't have. Who am I kidding?

3) The Gideon bible study by Priscilla Shirer.

Just love this!! It is cutting to the core in an area that Monte and I have been dealing with for a long time. This study has provided some great discussion between he and I and caused us to shift some thinking and how we are praying about certain issues. It is worth your consideration.

4) Pick Your Plum

I SO LOVE this website!! I signed up on their website and they send me an email daily 

(except maybe not on the weekends, I can't remember). 

They sell things CHEAP. Like those necklaces in the picture above? $4.99 a piece. 

Seriously! 

I bought all of them for $15. They will be great to have for birthday gifts and just for me and my girls to wear ourselves. We have bought clutch purses (I think all McDaniel's friends got those for their birthdays last year), leather bracelets, necklaces, craft items (like washi tape), these awesome galvanized metal containers that I have by the computer for pens and markers and scissors.

And they always include a Laffy Taffy in the package when they send your stuff. 

That's just sweet…literally.

5) A Little Salty To Cut The Sweet

This is by Sophie Hudson a.k.a. Boo Mama if you follow her blog. 

This book is laugh out loud funny and so charming in her small town southern ways. I felt like I knew her mother-in-law and parents by the end of this book. 

Like I WANT to know them 

(but not in a stalker way). 

She highlights the good of family and food and faith. So worth the read!

6) Stein Mart

Because I follow Sophie Hudson's blog, she mentioned the importance of Stein Mart in her life. 

Or "The Stein Marts" as she calls it. 

They closed our Stein Mart years ago so I just haven't made the drive to the other location further away since it's not in my backyard anymore. 

I live in a bubble like that sometimes.

But I decided to give it a try yesterday with my girls. 

Hoping it contained clothes for people under the age of 85 and getting ready to take a cruise 

(read Boo Mama's blog on this--it is funny!)

We had a ball! And we all ended up with something happy and not fighting.

Thank you, Lord! 

Stein Mart just might be our Shopping Whisperer!

Adventures on Rainy Days

Once upon a time there was a trip to Alaska that didn't happen.

So a last minute trip to Lake Erie did.

But it rained

and rained

and RAINED.

We saw the sun maybe twice in very brief moments before nightfall.

So our plans to enjoy Lake Erie and the pool were thwarted.

And the ability to leave early were thwarted by a ridiculous fee

that left us stuck with the mindset 

that we were going to make the most of this adventure.

So we ate

We found this Dairy Depot on the way to the state park.
Best. Raspberry. Smoothie. Ever.
Even though there were blueberries not raspberries in it.
But we practically froze eating our treats at the picnic
table out front.
4 chili dogs for $5.99? What a steal!

Our room wasn't ready when we got to the lodge so they gave
us bikes to ride around the grounds.

We found this bungee trampoline ride on the beach
that just happened to coincide with a brief moment
of sunshine. Ellie loved it! 

Our view from the lobby our ENTIRE first day at the park.

We read and played games until Monte decided that he was going to eat the funnel fries from the snack bar until he got sick.

 They loved them!

Like ordered them everyday after that loved them.

We snuck in activities in between the rain.

Like our morning hike through a mostly dead forest.

When I pointed out a bug on McDaniel's knee 

she freaked out wildly 

and accidentally punched herself in the crotch.

I handled it poorly

and fell to my knees in laughter.

Then it started to rain.

We also played Walleyball in the lodge's indoor court.

Monte tried to give Ellie some serving advice and when she served it into a 90 degree angle smack dab into the wall for the 13th time

I handled it poorly again

and fell to my knees in laughter.

The next day we had more than a touch of cabin fever 

McDaniel cabin fever bed jumping.

so we made the decision

RAIN OR SHINE

to leave the lodge and drive an hour to an African Safari.

And we passed this on the way.

A nuclear power plant.

 Made me creeped out a teence.

This safari is part drive through and feed the animals, 

part walk through and see the animals like a zoo 

and part pig races.

Yes! I know.

Hang on, I will get to that later.

We bought 2 cups of feed and a bag of carrots to feed the animals.

There was a lot of instructions by the "Ranger" who was basically a college student in a vest.

We were told not to put our fingers anywhere near the animal's teeth

and if there is a struggle with the animal wanting to take the entire cup of feed

LET them take the cup.

Don't be a hero.

Oh yeah, and honk if you are in trouble.

The animals are not the least bit inhibited and have NO PROBLEM coming right up to your car window to see what is happening, in the form of food, in your vehicle.

So adorable.

These llamas made us pull out our copy of
Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove"
when we got home.

There were a fair amount of babies walking around.

Baby llamas and baby deer. 

Little babies. 

Little babies running in and out of traffic.

McDaniel was absolutely convinced that Monte was going to run over the skull of one of these precious babies.

So she screamed,

"Baby! Baby! Baby!"

instructing Monte

like a hysterical Justin Bieber

at a drive through African Safari.

This buffalo decided to take the entire feed cup

after a brief struggle where Monte forgot the rules of the ranger for a second.

Then he came over to my side to see if I forgot the rules too.

He licked my entire window. 

I was fascinated by this creature and was leaned in really close checking him out when Monte decided to

unbeknownst to me

roll down my window.

I could feel the hot breath of the buffalo on my face.

So I screamed loud and long right in his face.

 The buffalo, not Monte.

He was a bit alarmed.

After the aggressive buffalo, Monte didn't even roll down the window for this elk.

 Check out these antlers!

 Mr. Yak seemed quite put out with us and gave a 

pretty distinct stink eye to Monte.

 Of course he wasn't happy with his bangs. 

 A white zebra!

We were somewhat disappointed that after dodging baby llamas and deer 

and getting way too up close and personal with a buffalo 

and the stink eye from a yak having a bad hair day

that the giraffes and zebras were behind fences.

But I guess the safari is just protecting their investment.

Or there was an "incident" to decide that they better

FOR THE LOVE OF PETE

keep these animals behind a fence.

The giraffes have dark purple tongues that wrapped around the carrot and pulled it into his mouth like an elephant uses its trunk.

Amazing!

Ok. I won't make your poor tired computer download one more picture, so I will leave the pig races and monkeys for the next post.

Stay tuned!