Polar Bear Birthday

I love our Polar Bears at our zoo, especially Conrad. I remember several trips watching him "play" with the goodies and enrichment items they left for him and his sister, Tasul. Today was their 29th {I think} birthday. They celebrated with colored cream cheese on the windows and a giant ice cake with goodies inside. Sweet Pea and I joined grandma, Sara and her two kiddos to celebrate with the bears.

The customary Bear picture :)

Haystack Rock

Reed's co-worker mentioned that Thursday morning would be an extra low tide, so we walked down to Haystack Rock to check out the tidal pools.

Haystack Rock the day before.

Thursday Morning

Ms A and Haystack Rock with the low tide.

Ms A was a little hesistant, but she decided to pet her first sea star.
Sea Stars galore.

Gayla found a gull eating this sea star, the gull flew away and she showed us the sea star. We asked a volunteer if we could take it home, but she said no. Apparently, it would have a negative impact on the ecosystem, plus they smell real bad as they decompose.

Heading back to the hotel.

A Trip to the Zoo

Ms A's class along with the other two Kindergarten classes went to the zoo. I love our zoo, so I volunteered to be a chaperone. Our first stop was the brown bears. There was a group of people gathered together, which always means something's going on with an animal. We caught up to the group and saw this little guy at least 30 feet up a tree. We enjoyed watching him go up, check out his world and then climb down.

Visiting a Farm, Going Bowling and Flying Kites

On the way to Idaho, we stopped off to visit some friends of Sara's. They have a farm that the kids were so excited to check out. They were able to milk cows, feed the chickens and climb on the hay. Ms A and her cousins had a wonderful time.

Checking out the pigs and goats

Having fun on the hay

One of Grandma Valerie's tradition with her grand-kids is bowling. It was Ms A's second time, she did a great job and even bowled a couple of strikes and spares. She was jumping ALL OVER THE PLACE when all the pins were knocked down.

Resting between the frames

We were so excited on the second day of our trip when we discovered the wind and weather perfect for flying a kite. We found the perfect park with little trees, flat ground and tons of space for three or five kites to fly. Once we got the kites in the air, a lady from the local paper came over to take pictures and get names. (The kids were so excited at the prospect of being in grandma's paper, but only Ms E's picture made it.)

I love her stance in this one.

I love her serious face in this picture.

Sam's Birthday and Zoo Camp

A few weeks ago it was Sam the baby elephant's second birthday. We were so excited to see him with his birthday cake. We also enjoyed the bounce houses and other activities with Aunt Sara and her children.
Waiting for their turn

Climbing up the crocodile

The last week before school started, we enrolled Ms A in Zoo Camp. She was so excited about spending time at the zoo, being there with her cousins and riding MAX every day. The Kindergartners attend Penguin Class and learn about how people and animals use their five senses. It was fabulous. Ms A came home each afternoon with some fun new animal facts, a fun craft, new songs and loads of energy. The camp was a perfect way to ease into the schedule of every day school. A couple of times after camp, Ms A and I visited the zoo. I listened and she told me all about her adventures.

Riding MAX

How Tall are you?!?

Friday was the opening for the the new Orangutan exhibit, so the zoo had some fun learning activities including making an orangutan bed. Ms A loved gathering the leaves, poles and shrubbery together to make her soft bed.

We also stopped by and visited her favorite animal - the giraffes.

We've had dinosaurs visiting our zoo this summer. At the front gate, this fellow greets and invites you to make him move. It was a HUGE hit with Ms A and others and not as scary as the other dinosaurs on exhibit.

The last day of Zoo Camp, Ms A and I took a ride on the Zoo Train. She loved going through the forest, watching as the other trains went by, checking out the dinosaurs from a "safe" distance and waving back to Sam and his momma as we went past his home. The perfect way to end our zoo adventure and summer.

Oh, DEER!

Deers are all over the town of Waterton. We had a fun time watching them in a variety of places. Ms A was most excited to see the babies. Ms E and Mr P had fun counting the deer, doe or fawns.

Little Fawns crossing the street

In the town proper

Lunch at the motel

I looked out the window and what did I see?

Enjoying a hot summer day

Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY!!

My family and Sara's family took our summer vacation to Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park. We had a wonderful time enjoying the beautiful scenery and playing/hiking with cousins. On our visit to Two Medicine I broke a few hiking rules and had quite the little adventure.

The rules were:
1- Never Hike Alone
2- Tell someone where you are going
3- When entering Grizzly/Black bear territory

MAKE LOUD NOISES.

My family started the hike to Appistoki Falls and I decided to check out the lodge and do a little reading while I rested my foot from an earlier hike. That got a little boring, so I decided to join them. The walk was gorgeous and peaceful so I soaked it all in. As I turned a bend in the path, I was surprised by this walking down the path and enjoying itself.
I fortunately was about 125 feet from it and was able to get my wits about me to grab a stick and start hitting it as I said hello and backed away from Mr Black Bear. When I was a safe distance, I hightailed it back to the car. As I was walking I met a nice couple from Texas. I informed them of the bear and being separated from my family. They invited me to join them which I gratefully accepted. About 50 feet from where I saw the bear, there he was again. After my heart calmed down, I took a picture and went to join my family.

We made tons of noise as we returned to the trail head and I was SO GRATEFUL Mr Black Bear and I left on our separate ways.

Just in case you can't see the bear, I've circled it for you.

Baby Chicks

Ms A's Preschool class has been studying chickens and Spring the past couple of weeks. Her teacher brought in some eggs for the children to watch. Last week they HATCHED!! Everyone was so EXCITED! The children loved hearing the cheep, cheep of the little chicks. Ms A talked for quite a while about how soft, small and cute they were. The highlight was holding the baby chick.

A {Little} Guest

Like a good little girl, I thought I'd made a fruit salad using our food storage supply. Little did I know that I would find evidence of a little guest! Yes, we have a Mouse in our House! I discovered it had eaten into a bag of beans and an unopened bag of wheat, but the greatest insult was the TWO bags of Chocolate Chips and my JASMINE Rice!! You just DON'T mess with my CHOCOLATE and RICE!!! I checked all of our other plastic bags to see if anything else was damaged. When I looked at the top shelf, I was a little confused. There was WHEAT in our bags of balloons. The little stinker was building a nest in our bag of BALLOONS! It's only been at it for a week because Reed and Ms A used some of the balloons for my birthday last week.

This little nest made my laugh. Isn't that what Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught last October General Conference? Find the humor and laugh it off! So have a little smile. :)
Ms A was a little tentative to go upstairs by herself after my discovery. I tried to use the logic that Angelina is a mouse. She quickly stated that Angelina was on tv, not in our house. She'd have nothing to do with that thought. I explained to her that mice are afraid of people... didn't work. I told her that the mouse wasn't in our home, but she refused to go upstairs unless she was accompanied by Reed or I. :)

Now everything is stored above our cabinets in the kitchen, so please ignore the boxes and food when you come for a visit.

On Scaring Bees and Geese

A couple of weeks ago, I was stung by a wasp. Ms. A was very concerned about my well-being. She hasn't mentioned anything for a week, so I thought she had gotten over the trauma. Saturday, she and Reed were in the garage and I heard laughter. Reed came in and told me what Ms A had said.

"Daddy, I know how to scare bees. You just go Psss, psss and the bees will think you are going to pee on them and they will leave you alone."
Apparently it works for geese as well, we were chased by a rather aggressive goose yesterday. I informed Ms. A that we would be safe from the goose because we have longer legs and can walk faster. When we came back home from the library, she told me that going psss, pssss would scare the geese as well. :)
Pictures from:
Wasp Picture
Geese Picture

Lizardsitting

While Sara and the kids are enjoying their visit to Washington, Ms. A and I are enjoying Hagrid, Mr. P's lizard. Ms. A a bit more than me. She loves to check on him and will watch him for several minutes. She excitedly asks if she can spray a little water in his home, he drinks the water off the leaves.

Tonight when I went to check on him I saw him doing this:

I was a bit surprised, so I called Sara to ask her about it. "He's just basking in the heat." she said.

What a great idea. I wish we had a little sun to bask in. :)

Sledding Fun

It finally warmed up to 25 degrees, so Ms. A and I went out to play in the snow. I took her on her saucer around the neighborhood. While we were out, we saw a neighbor with his sweet dog, Kyai, pulling a sled. The owner offered to take Ms. A for a ride. It was Kyai's first time with the sled, so Ms. A and the dog tried something new together. I was tickled, but Ms. A was done when she was too far from me. :) She finished her ride and wished Kyai and our neighbor "Merry Christmas" before we finished her sled ride with mommy.

I wish I had taken the camera with us, but the sidewalks were a bit icy and I wasn't too sure of my footing.

A Backyard Visitor

The past couple of weeks, I've been noticing a visitor in the field behind our home. I finally caught a picture of it. It's a Blue Heron, I think. We've seen him in previous years over by the waterway near our home. I have enjoyed watching him walk around the field and then gracefully flying away.

Sweet Pea's First Bicycle

After months of growing and begging, we took Ms. A out to get her first bicycle. She's been asking for one since our stay in Malaysia. She was very insistent that it be pink and purple. When we went to the store she went to this purple bike with a little bag and a water bottle. She tried it out in the store and did a pretty good job for a first-timer. We pick out her helmet and she rode her bike out of the store (after we purchased it.) She refused to take her helmet off and as soon as we arrived home she asked dad if she could ride her bike. They had a great time together.

In other news, we had a busy day. Ms. A and I went to the zoo for the Membership Appreciation Day. Since we went yesterday, yes Ms. A and I love the zoo, I asked Ms. A what animal she wanted to see. Giraffes were her reply. I was a bit surprised since she loves the primates and the elephants, but I couldn't deter her from her goal. We had a fun time. When we came home, we went over to our friends' home. Reed was helping them install tile in their kitchen. Ms. A missed her daddy, so we stay for a short time until Ms. A's friend came home.

Jen invited us to go to the Apple Orchard with them, so Ms. A and I went to check it out. There were horses nearby that we visited. Ms. A asked if she could ride them. It seems she thinks we can ride whatever horses we see. I had to explain to her that they were resting and besides horses need saddles for us to ride them. She was okay with that idea. We had an enjoyable time with Jen and her children.

Peanuts and Ponies

We found this nice Chinese restaurant in Chinatown's Food Street where they served steamed peanuts as an appetizer. Reed opened up his chopsticks and Ms. A was instantly mesmerized. She had to try the chopsticks too. She did a pretty good job for a first timer, but decided that toothpicks were better. She grabbed the peanut, pushed it onto the toothpick, and then placed it on her spoon for her to eat. It was a delight to watch her methodically eat the peanuts.


We are staying at the Rider's Lodge, which used to be the Singapore Turf Club. It is a new hotel surrounded by trees and bushes. Yesterday Ms. A and I found Jimmy the pony in an enclosure. We were very excited that he was there for pony rides, but we didn't know where or how much it cost to ride him. As we were heading to our room, we met the hotel owner or manager. We asked him about the pony rides and he gave us 2 complimentary tickets! After our site-seeing, we discovered that Jimmy was there. Ms. A was tickled about riding Jimmy. She beamed the whole way around. We decided to let her use both tickets and she was even more excited. During her second ride, an employee told us to ask the front desk for more tickets if we want to tomorrow. I'm sure Ms. A will be more than willing to go again. As we were leaving, she said goodbye to Jimmy and thanked him for the ride.