Tag Archives: Critters

Week In Review – The It’s Hot Outside So Let’s Stay Inside Edition

Happy Monday!

Linking up with Meghan from Clean Eats, Fast Feets for another Week in Review!

It was one of those weeks… nothing super exciting going on, and yet it seemed exhausting as well.  Phoebe has been having some rougher bedtimes as we attempt to get her to stay in her own room.  I was okay when she would wander into our room after we had all gone to sleep, but that time got earlier and earlier until some nights she’d go to sleep between 7:30-8:00 only to wake up at 9:00 or so and want to sleep in my bed.  We are trying to break that habit and it’s not easy.  I set up a cot in our room so if she does have trouble sleeping she can come sleep on that, but the novelty wore off and she doesn’t want to sleep on the cot anymore.  SIGH.

On Tuesday I got a hair trim, and while I wasn’t sure about the short bangs at first… I grew to like them.  Har har har.

On Thursday, Enzo randomly threw up at day care several times, so I went to pick him up early.  He recovered quickly and was perfectly fine, but still had to stay home with Josh on Friday. At least the cats were happy?

On Saturday a friend of Josh’s drove out (he was picking up an arcade game that Josh had found for him) and spent the night.  Enzo didn’t want to leave the house, but Phoebe was antsy, so we had a little Girl’s Day complete with annoying puppet shows that she insisted we watch and lots of sleepy critters at a very hot day at the zoo.

The best part was getting a glimpse of the new Mountain Lion cub, though!!!! He/She was passed out and part of me wondered how hard it would be to break into the enclosure and steal the little guy away.  I’m not crazy.

Can’t forget hanging out with my favorite lizard. 😉

On Sunday we started putting together Bowser’s new enclosure (still waiting on the new light strip) and then it was swim class time!  Afterwards we played in the pool with the kids and then let them play in the play area before heading out to dinner because I had zero desire to cook.

Phoebe ended up falling asleep in our bed while we were watching The Great British Baking Show.  Even though it completely negates what we’ve been trying to train her to do, we left her in there.  It’s a new week, right?  I’m sure tonight will go swimmingly with zero issues!

Happy Monday everyone!

Photo Dump – Tea Parties, Dragons and More!

I have so many random photos from the past few weeks/months, so it feels like the perfect time to do another photo dump and figure out just where all my time has been going and because I wanted to save the pictures for reasons, but then they somehow never made it into a blog post, so here we go!

Can’t say that a book makes a very good pillow, but you know…

Not gonna lie, we’ve had a LOT of ice cream so far this summer.

Finally Josh joined us at the zoo!  Haha!

Playground break during carnival fun!

Phoebe had a picnic for her stuffed animals, and I included their names so no one is confused as to who is who.

Can’t have too many Bowser pictures, right?  He’s slowly growing!

The first and last time he held Bowser.  They get a little freaked out by his tiny claws.

Feed me, Hooman!

Best kitty ever.

Sleepy boy.

Before our pancakes were cooked.

Love when they bring me home colorful art!

He really is the best cat…

This one, however, is very naughty. 😉

The other reason for this photo dump is because I’ve just been really busy and distracted by other things.  Time to settle down and create a schedule for myself again, methinks!

Road Trip Part 6 – South Dakota Reptiles

Not gonna lie, getting hit with a major snowstorm when we arrived in South Dakota was not something I had planned for. I could have sworn I had checked various forecasts and they were all good.  Whoops.  Go figure that it was during my turn to drive that the roads got nasty.  On the plus side, I did see a coyote when it calmed down a bit and a few other critters. The weather did mean that we would need to find some indoor activities, though, because we didn’t bring any cold weather gear with us.

Thankfully, not too far from us was The Reptile Garden.  You really can’t go wrong with reptiles, right?  Plus it’s guaranteed that you won’t need a jacket inside and that always wins for me. I admit I was a little put off by the initial cost, but it ended up being worth it.  They had an enormous collection of critters, some of which I have never seen in person before.  There was also a really neat greenhouse that had some birds, snakes and lizards completely out of cages, which was unique from what we’ve been to before.

There were a few “shows” throughout the day, so we decided to check out the snake show. The kids got a little bored until the trainer (are they called trainers??) started pulling out actual snakes – many of which were venomous and therefore extra cool.  Enzo even got to ask a question after raising his hand (which was possibly even more exciting) and he asked what Rattlesnakes eat.  We got up close and personal with one too when the gal put the rattler on the ground with this 2-3 foot high clear barrier surrounding it.  The kids, especially Enzo, were stoked.

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Solitude on the Road

I’ve always loved going for drives in the car, mostly as the passenger, but I’ll gladly do the driving if it means being alone and recharging for a bit and possibly doing some exploring. One thing I miss from Colorado is that feeling of remoteness that I often had. I didn’t live in a big town or even that near a big city so it was very easy to drive a short distance and feel like there weren’t a lot of people around. It’s been a little more difficult to find that here nearer a big city without having to drive too far.  So, I had the idea to take day and do a lot of driving on a weekend and Josh said, why not stay the night somewhere so you don’t have to do all that driving in one day?  Sold!

I think everyone needs to be on their own at times, but as an introvert it’s a necessity for me.  I do often get quiet time each day, but it doesn’t always feel like enough, especially when one or both kids has trouble sleeping and that time is interrupted. Also, as much as I love the cats, Uzi has somehow become even clingier and the second I relax, he’s on my lap. There are times when I am just touched out – by kids, by cats, by everyone and everything and even my own skin feels like it’s too much. So, this time away was very much needed and overdue.  I drove… and drove… I think I spent about 10 hours in the car total?  I went with the intention of looking for birds and did find some, though, not as many as I had hoped.  I didn’t take any amazing photos, but I did find a very funny squirrel and most of all I found space to breathe deeply and in silence.

I mentioned in a previous blog post that I accidentally left my really warm clothes at home, so without my big hat and gloves I wasn’t able to do much of the wandering by foot I had wanted to do. It was around zero outside, and with just a light knit hat and gloves I didn’t want to wander too far.  The snow was crunchy so I managed to scare a deer or two and some other birds, but once I got farther away from a road (with barely any traffic) I just stopped and it was… perfect. I could hear birds even if I couldn’t see them, many of which I had never heard before.  I could hear the scurry of squirrels and what I imagine was another deer or two as the crunch of the snow was louder, but more delicate than my own trudging.  It was in that moment that I knew when we got our own cabin it has to be more remote. I need a place to recharge on a more regular basis.  I need my place, you know? Now if we can just find that perfect spot near a lake for Josh. Granted, my ideal place would be in the mountains, but I’ll take what I can get.

Trumpeter Swans

In this cold weather it seems especially hard to get outside, but we got out for a bit (despite single digits) this past weekend. There was a nip in the air that drove us back to the car after about 20 minutes, however. I was not made for these constant cold temperatures!

Anyhoo, last Saturday, armed with hot beverages and bundled up, we drove to Monticello to see the swans. The second we opened our doors, we knew we were in the right place, and not just because of the sign. No it was the cacophony of hundreds of swans, ducks, and Canadian geese that filled the air – feeding time was on. There’s not a large viewing area, and there are some ill-placed trees and bushes, but we managed to get some shots of the massive gathering, and will most likely go back with my tripod to get a panoramic view of the river and just how many birds can actually be there on any given day during the feeding frenzy.

Unfortunately… I’ve checked the forecast and it looks like more singles and teens are in the future and potentially more snow, so probably not this weekend. Which is all right because we’re going to be combing our offices and turning my office into an official guest/game room, which in turn could be easily converted into a nursery, but it’s unlikely we’ll still be living there when that time comes. We’re going to throw the giant love sac in there for now, but will be on the lookout for a futon or something inexpensive that can serve as seating when needed and then turn into a bed for guests.