BYOP Party!

After several years of talking about holding a Halloween party, the Asst. Zookeeper and I came up with a great idea!  All families with small children carve pumpkins at some point during the month of October.  Why not gather all the families with small children in the same place and carve the pumpkins together?

And so, WE DID!  The Asst. Zookeeper and I invited everyone we could think of with small children and we provided food.  Everyone else brought a dish to share and their pumpkins!  We had a GREAT evening!

We had a FANTASTIC night and we can't wait to do it again next year!

Stay Puffed!

I love Halloween.  Not "like" it.  LOVE it.

This year, Heathen #1 was a member of the high school marching band - which meant he got to march in the annual Halloween Parade in town!!!  The band decided they wanted a Ghostbusters theme.  The students were told they needed to wear a costume, preferably that fit the theme, but they had to be able to march over a mile with their instrument in whatever costume they chose.

And I said, "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"  I created a Stay-Puffed Marshmallow Man that could be worn over Heathen #1's drum harness.  I had so much fun making it and he was actually excited to show up for the parade wearing it.  He looked awesome!

Outside the school before the parade.

Heathen #1 was very tolerant of my
picture taking!

The Asst. Zookeeper and I snagged Heathens #2 and #3 and headed downtown.  Then it was a matter of keeping those Heathens in one place until the parade started.  We had a great evening!

Waiting impatiently for the parade to begin!

Heathen #1 marching past with
our high school's band!

Chalkboard Chaos

One of my greatest joys in life is my job - something most people are not able to say honestly.  However, I truly love what I do - which is teach at the local community college.  Each semester I get to meet a new array of people.  And some of them are true characters.

This semester, I travel between two campuses.  My first two classes are at one campus.  I then have just enough time to travel to the second campus for my third class.  Because I am usually running in the classroom door just in time to begin teaching, my students are always there before me.  One of them entertains himself be doodling on the chalkboard until I arrive.  Three days a week, I find an entire chalkboard of different doodles.

Today was the second test of the semester.  My doodling student chalkboard art:



When I asked why the people at the bottom were on fire, my student kindly explained.  The people were not on fire.  Their brains were on fire after attempting to study for the test.  He said he felt as though his brain had melted and would run out of his ear if he tipped his head to the side.

My response?

"Excellent!  You studied!  Did you bring a pencil?  Here's your test.  Please don't let your brain drip on the test before you hand it in - it would be gross to have to grade that.  Good luck!"

I left the doodle on the board during the class.  After I graded the doodling student's test, I was quite happy to see a respectable score.  His brain didn't drip out of his ear and the studying paid off!

Bicycle for Malaria

This past Sunday, the Heathens and I joined our church in preventing malaria.  We bicycled 14 miles!  The Heathens had a great afternoon and you can see from the pictures that we had beautiful weather.  We are really hoping the church does this again next year!

Serious.

Not as serious.

Strike a pose!

Ready to head down the trail!

"Casting" Call

The Zoo will be starting another school year with a Heathen in a cast.  Heathen #1 managed to break his right arm on the third day of kindergarten.  Apparently, Heathen #2 decided it was his turn!

Yesterday, while at the park, he managed to fall off the monkey bars at the playground and fall on his right arm. 

We were about thirty minutes from home so we ended up going to a different hospital than we normally frequent.  Once there, the arm was promptly declared broken and splinted. 

For the first time ever, Heathen #2 was given something for pain that was more than just Children's Tylenol.  He was much more comfortable after the medication kicked in - he was also quite goofy!

We'll head to the orthopedist's on Monday for the actual cast.  What a way to start 5th grade and Middle School!

Heathen #2 - splinted and with pain
medication working!

  

Marched to Death

 Band Camp started this week.  Starting on the field by 8 am and finishing around 4 pm, Heathen #1 has been coming home exhausted.  Today, I took him to his Grandma's because the other two Heathens were swimming.  After realizing that Heathen #1 had been quiet for a few minutes, I looked over at him - only to discover this:

He looks SO comfortable!

I have a feeling Heathen #1 will be going to bed early again tonight.

The Zeus Arrives

While we were driving in Richland, my mother called me.  She informed me that a little dog had followed my father home from the mailbox and that I should come get him and keep him.

Although the Zoo already has two canine members, I made the turn off the highway and headed for my mother's house about 20 miles away.  This is what I found:

 

Although I was mentally planning to simply transport the poor dog to the SPCA, after seeing him, there was no way he wasn't going to be a Zoo member.  He was overly thin and you could tell he had been stray for a while.  But he desperately wanted to be loved.  My mother said she was "gifting" him to the Asst. Zookeeper so that he had to keep the dog.

We took him home and began the discussion of what his name should be.  After introducing the Asst. Zookeeper to his "gift," he said that such a small dog should have a big name.  His suggestions were Gigantor or Zeus.  Zeus was immediately chosen and seemed to be a perfect fit.

Turns out Zeus is a snuggler and a cuddler!  And he loves belly rubs.  He also loves to eat Twizzlers or anything else that you will let him, although he begs silently.  Although he is by no means overweight, his ribs no longer are showing.  He has managed to find his place in the order of things here at the Zoo and it is hard to imagine life here without him.

Welcome to the Zoo, Zeus!