On Black Friday after saving for several months we went up to Camp Verde Arizona to go to the only zoo we hadnt been too yet. The Out of Africa Zoo. It was pretty cool. But I got to tell you I have never in my life seen so many lions and tigers!
Here giraffe come eat from me!
O yum!
Carrot!
These zebras and the giraffe were in the timeout pen. It was funny.
Look at that tongue.
give it to me!
Up and close to a zebra.
I dont remember what these we called. But that big guy up in front is still a baby. He is only half the size he is going to be and he can jump up to 8 feet high.
Ostrichs feet! They were huge!
This was a Long Horn but not the Texas kind this is the African kind.
Lioness
Goat things.
Lion
White tiger
Bear!
Watching this guy go into his home was hysterical! He was VERY OCD about his feet and the dirt. He kept tramping down the dirt and moving it around.
We got to see a very cool show of this tiger doing tricks and stuff into the pool.
While we were in Utah we were able to visit my Grandpa John. He is the only grandpa I have alive and he is one of my favorite people. About 2 weeks before Stefen and I got married my grandpa got hit by a car while he was crossing the street. Besides the broken bones and cuts and bruises it pushed his dementia forward by about 10 years from where it was from. He now is in a home permanently and he has a hard time remembering who people are. It was tough to see him in the condition he is currently in. I havent seen him since May and he was in pretty good shape then. He had all sorts of stories to tell Stefen and I about how the place he lives in was built using the old Navy ship he used to live on. We went one day and he had no shoes on. It took me about 20 minutes but I talked him into showing him his room and we found shoes. Which turns out are not his shoes. My grandpa and another old guy sat by this big door for 20 minutes talking about all the work that needed to be done. It was hysterical.
We finally after about 5 minutes were able to talk him into a picture (the bottom one.) After we took the picture he took our camera and he swore it was a garage door opener.
We were able to go visit my grandma a couple times (no pictures :( ) and she gave me a bunch of his fishing stuff that he had. When we were little he bought each of my sisters and I our own fishing poles. I was able to get that too. I will always remember fishing and making bullets and going duck hunting with one of my favorite people.
Right after his accident. When we walked into his room in all our wedding gear he was so bummed to find out we were there to just take pictures and we werent there so he could watch us get married. It broke my heart. But we were able to give him a tie and his corsage.
Gramps and I on December 27th 2012. He didnt know who I was but agreed to take the picture anyways.
We are finally in Oregon. After a lot of packing and moving I can finally try to catch up on Blogging.
Halloween was pretty low key for us. Stefen had school and I had to work. But I got to go trick or treating with the boys I nannied. We were yodel people for Halloween. Unfortunately we didnt have anywhere to go all dressed upped. So we put on our costumes and headed to a friends to hand their kids a special bag with goodies.
I want to do just a quick update of our moving status. At this point in exactly 5 weeks, we will be homeless.... We thought we had a job in Portland and it fell through. The disappointment of that one has been ringing through our ears for the past several weeks as our friends and family excitedly ask us where we are going. We have applied for Henderson, Colorado and we are waiting to hear about another town in Oregon. We also found out that a job here in Phoenix has opened up. And as much as we dont want to stay here, because of the place not the people we will take anything right now. The desperation has gotten slightly out of control for me. I struggle with not knowing where were going. I am a planner through and through. I am such a planner that I am pretty much OCD about it. I am trying with all my might to calm down and realize that something will come but God is defiantly teaching me patience. Someone told me the other day that God waits till the last minute. I rolled my eyes but I think God needs to push me to help me realize that I dont need to plan things 3 months in advance. (Told you it was bad) We have started packing and since we both have a lot of this week off we are packing quite a bit this week. Its not something I really want to be doing. I have come to fall in love with the people in this state and although the heat is not my thing this place does have good things going for it.
Well unfortunately thats all for now. Hopefully after a couple phone calls Stefen is making today I will have more news.
This post is really for me to help me keep track of my progress. But if you care to read it I have made it as entertaining as possible.
Stefen and I for the past month walk 2 miles a couple times a week. However my big goal in life is to be a runner. However I am not a runner. Have you ever seen the Friends episode where Phoebe and Rachel start running together? If you haven't here it is.
Yep folks that is pretty much how I run. With no class and all over the place. Stefen probably runs that way too. My point to all of this is I am not a runner and I really dont know how to do it the right way. Stefen likes walking with me but he has not motivation to help me run or even run himself. So thats where my new running buddy, Courtney, comes in. She wants to run a 5K in January and needs a motivator. So we started tonight! I did 3.4 miles overall and about half a mile of that was running. Now mind you I did NOT run a half of a mile straight a little here and a little there. But I did it! I ran! I looked like Phoebe I am sure. But I did it! According to the app I used i burned only 325 calories which is equivalent to an avocado. I also did some kicks in the pool tonight. I feel like my whole bottom half is going to fall off. I was having a hard time walking home after I left Courtney. But I did it! Ragnar here I come!
(one day I hope!)
