Wild Animal Sanctuary

So Pauline has been here about a week now and so we thought we would do some site seeing. Since Jody and I had never been to the Wild Animal Sanctuary we thought it would be a good place to take Pauline. They are know for having several big cats like lions and tigers and I have to say that I have never seen so many tigers in one spot. I think they have about 25 of them.

This is one of the 40 acre parcels where they keep the animals. This one should have a lion in it, but I think they are inside at the moment.

This is one of the jaguars that lives there.

One of the sections of where they keep the tigers. They put them in small groups so that they can get used to one another and then they move them to larger pens as they become socialized.


The walkway to view the animals is above them, so you can look right down to them. Here are two LARGE tigers just sleeping the day away...

They had some lions too, but they were sleeping...


I didn't get any pictures of the bears because they were in a far away area that you could not get real close to. They also had some wolves, but by the time I got closer to them, they had went back into their den.


So hope you enjoyed learning about the Wild Animal Sanctuary.

Chicago adventures

We had a good time in Chicago and while I was there for work, I did get out a little bit. Kevin showed you the Sears tower outing...those glass boxes are cool...but what a strange feeling to be standing over "nothing".

While at the work meetings, I received a nice surprise in that I was given the Vice President's award from our VP of our Vertical. (a vertical at our university is several schools together). What an honor to be recognized for my hard work. Though at times my job is stressful, so on Thursday evening, Kevin and I am some of my faculty went down to Navy Pier for a walk. My faculty thought I needed to spend some time with Bob Newhart....so here I am telling him my troubles. LOL

Here is Kevin and I as we entered into the Navy Pier area

We also got to go the the Harry Potter exhibit....this is outside the museum.

Before we went into the exhibit we saw the flying car that Harry and Ron took to Hogwarts.....sooo cool, I wanted to sit inside....

Once inside the exhibit you are not allowed to take pictures...but the movie memorabilia was AMAZING. They put such detail into the witches and wizard robes, the school robes, the quidditch uniforms...and it was really neat to pull a mandrake up and hear it scream, play quidditch and throw the quaffle, and sitting in Hagrid's giant chair. For me one of the highlights was seeing Snape's things....He is my absolute favorite character!

Saturday morning before we heading home, we attended graduation. America Ferrera (Ugly Betty star) was one of the graduation speakers.

Graduation was also at Navy Pier...This is my assistant chair Heather and I outside after the ceremony. Heather is new so last week was the first time we had met in person.

After graduation we headed home, and we were even lucky enough to catch and earlier flight, we were at DIA, before our original scheduled departure from O'Hare...awesome!

Willis Tower

So we went to visit the Sears Willis Tower since Jody had never been there. So we had to try out the new skyboxes.

Here is a view from the one we are in to the other.


But before you step into it, taking that first step takes a little nerve, but once you get over it, it is really cool.


So that was our excitement for the evening.

Chicago....

Well we are on our way to Chicago....

I have to go for work, we have graduation on Saturday morning and then we will be home. I will be in meetings most days and evenings, and Kevin will be working from the hotel room. Not a vacation trip, but we do hope for a couple of fun things.

1. tonight we hope to get in in time to go to the Willis (aka Sears) Tower
2. Friday we are going to see the Harry Potter Exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry That should be very cool!

Hope you all have a great week!

New Garden Tractor...

As you all know we have a large area to mow now and Jody keeps breaking the tractors. We decided that we might need a new one and had been kinda looking, but I was hoping to wait until next year and hobble thru this season. It was not to be so, as our tractor would not start. We decided that we had, had enough of broken garden tractors. So we went down to Sears and picked out a 26HP tractor with a 48" mowing deck.

Eventually, we'll get a snow thrower for this tractor so we can remove the snow just by driving around. But we need to get a shed to put it in first.



Mert decided that even in the 95+ degree heat that he needed to get out there and use the new tractor to mow everything down to where we want it to be. Jean thinks he just wanted to run around with the new toy, but it is good for him to get out an do stuff like this.

Central Coast of California

Kevin had his 20th high school reunion last month in California, and so here are some of the pictures from the trip. So before the big BBQ, we decided to have a couple of days relaxing. San Antonio was fun, but since you can never have enough vacation we spent a couple more days in Solvang, CA. Now when Kevin was growing up all this area was, was a Dutch themed vacation spot. However, with the growth of the wine industry in CA, the Santa Ynez valley is now becoming a world renown area for wine.

We flew into Santa Barbara and then drove to Solvang, but before we got there we had to stop and have dinner at Pea Soup Anderson's.

Just stopping for some cheese and bread is enough for me, but the soup is good too. Normally I don't even bother to look at the menu as I just order the "Traveler's Special". But this time we decided to the soup in bread bowls, which was also very good.

The next day we roamed around Solvang doing quality control for the bakeries around town. It was a hard job, but someone has to do it. We did determine that Mortenson's was our favorite bakery, and they are welcome to send me some cream cheese danish anytime they choose (hopefully, very soon).

While were were there we stayed at the Wine Valley Inn, which is in the old Tivoli Inn building. The accommodations were great. If you stay there over the weekend, they even have a complimentary wine tasting, in the evening.

The room we stayed in was up on the 3rd floor, and there was no elevator! But it had a nice view and was very quiet.

San Antonio.... the Alamo

You can't go to San Antonio and not go to the Alamo. Kevin and I actually went to the Imax movie about the Alamo first, and then we walked over (yes it is literally across the street) and went for a walk through the Alamo. You aren't allowed to take pictures inside so there are only a few outdoor pictures....

San Antonio....the River Walk

We spent a lot of time walking along the river walk. The evenings were great and there were a lot of people there. Here is a view of the city skyline from our hotel balcony

Looking down to the river from our hotel balcony

This is Marriage Island. This is a very small island on the river. They say there are over 200 weddings a year here. There wasn't a wedding today, but it really is a nice place.

It is supposed to be good luck to get married on this island. So for sure it is good luck to have your picture taken on your 10th wedding anniversary....

This is from the boat ride on the river. The colorful umbrellas is the restaurant Casa Rio where we had a great dinner.

Another picture from the boat...the umbrellas here are from the "Republic of Texas" where we had lunch.

Isn't it serene here?

San Antonio.... the Food

What trip is complete without good food and drink? San Antonio was no different.

We had dinner at Casa Rio on Friday night....this is the oldest restaurant on the river walk. And it was packed....the food was great....

I had cheese enchiladas....


Kevin had green chicken enchiladas.... notice the margaritas.....when in San Antonio.....

Homemade chips and salsa

For one afternoon we had lunch at the Republic of Texas....no pictures...why? Well we were sitting outside by the river....we said "lets take a picture..." the food came...and we dug in...no pictures :) There are pictures on the website...you can check it out there. LOL

We also decided we wanted to have a really good dinner out. A romantic dinner if you will....we needed to celebrate our 10 years of wonderful marital bliss.... so we decided to go to The Little Rhein Steak House....again no pictures...but you know there are some places taking out your camera to take a picture just does not seem appropriate. :)

Kevin had a cesear salad, the petit filet, and Chocolate Cake

I had the Beef steak tomatoes with red onion and blue cheese, the filet with gulf shrimp and finished up with Creme Brulee.

We also shared a bottle of Texas Wine. what a great dinner, and the company was even better.

San Antonio.... the Animals

We arrived in San Antonio on Thursday night, so Friday morning we got up and took the bus to Sea World.

First up .... Feeding and petting the dolphins....

We also watched a couple of shows.....

This guy sat for over and hour (I know I could see him from our seats at the show above). That sun must have felt really good to him....to me...100 degrees and 80% humidity was too hot.

Of course there is the Shamu show. I remember seeing the original Shamu in San Diego as a kid. It is still just as amazing. These are such beautiful and powerful creatures.

Ever since I was little, I have wanted to ride a whale like this. I guess I should have studied marine biology instead of education....

Do you see 3 tails waving at you?

On Sunday we went to the Zoo. This is a really old zoo it is about 95 years old. I love big cats and so here is picture of the one I wanted to take home..... I keep asking Kevin if I can have one....he always says no :(

We were walking along this walkway and this zoo guy comes up and he has a 5 gallon bucket and he says "you guys have a camera" well of course we did. So he said "get it ready" He had a bird that had died and he was going to feed it to this Alligator.

It really was hot in San Antonio, but we enjoyed getting outside and of course just relaxing and spending time together.

Welcome Joslyn

I am a little late in getting this one out....on June 8th, my niece Desirae and her husband Tim welcomed a new little one to their family...Here is Josyln and proud Daddy




It looks like big brother Caelum is also pretty proud. Dez and Tim had trouble deciding on a name, but Caelum knew she was Joslyn :)

10 years!

Spending time in San Antonio

Had a great dinner

More to come...

Tornados near the Ridge

So on Saturday Jody and I decided to go out for dinner and movie. So we went to Mavericks, for dinner and that was good. After that we decided to go see "Up". So we went to the theater and found our seat, the lights went down and the previews started going. Everything is going well, next thing you know that lights come back up and the previews stop. Jody and I look at each other and say "great, something is broke". The manager of the theater comes in and announces to the 10 of us, that there is a tornado warning and asks us to come to the lobby.

Once we go down to the lobby we can hear the warning sirens and someone says that 3 tornadoes have touched down by the airport. Since we live less than a mile from the airport we ask the manager if we can get passes and she says yes and we head home. On the way home there are State Patrol blocking the road about 3 miles from our house, but they don't even stop us as we drive right on thru.

We get home and everything looks normal but the dogs are a little jittery. So since we are home we decided to stay home for the night and watch some TV. But then another storm comes thru and disables the satellite system (due to the rain) and we get hard rain, wind and light hail for about 15 mins. The hail would hit the deck and the wind would blow it around. Scary, but everything is ok and the TV came back.

We then get the paper on Monday and find this article. Come to find out, there were no tornadoes that touched down and that it was all just a precaution. But we did find out in that article that the Storm Chasers where here again as someone took a picture of the "tank" Sunday morning. It is June in Colorado, which is when we get the majority of our severe weather.



But on the bright side with all this rain, everything is really green and pretty and afterwords the air smells so nice and clean.

Fixed the Tractor

Well on Monday I called the local John Deere place and they happened to have a drive belt for the tractor. So Jody's parent went and picked it up. So Monday afternoon I tore apart the bottom of the tractor to get everything out of the way to get the belt in. The guy at JD who designed this thing ought to be taken out back, way to much stuff to take out to replace a part that is gonna break. I got 90% of the way there and got stuck, so I had to ask Doug, and he came over on Tuesday and figured out how to get the belt in. Took him like 5 mins. Anyway after that I finished up putting the thing back together, and I didn't even have any parts left over. So I took the mower out and did a couple of laps before the rain came... I'm never gonna get this yard mowed...

Outside day

Today (Saturday) was an outside day for us, you know that big room off the house with the bright light that is on part of the time. And yes mom we put on suncreen, I had on SPF 55 and still got a little sun. Anyway, today we went over to Doug's and got the garden cleaned up and did some planting. We planted sunflowers, corn, pumpkins, tomatos, squash, cabbage, lettuce, jalapenos and carrots. And there was already onions, rhubarb and mint from last year growing. So we thinned things out, got rid of the weeds, and finally did the planning. Doug then got the watering started. So wish us luck on our crop.

After that Jody and I came home and worked in the yard. I ran the smaller mower and Jody ran the big mower until she broke it. Actually the drive belt broke cause it was just worn out. So gotta get that replaced now.


Yup, that is Jody out in the yard making big cloud of dust. Luckily we had the other cart so we could tow the mower up to the house. And not have to push it up the hill.

Flat Tire

Jody and I were going into town yesterday to do some errands (pick up dog food, go to the bank, etc.). So as we just got into town, I heard this odd sound coming from the back of the car but I was not sure what it was, and since we were in a construction zone we were driving slow... well next thing I knew the car was driving very odd and then the light on the dash came up saying the tire pressure on the left rear tire was low.

So I turned off on to a side street and pulled over. Yup the tire was flat. So I get to change a tire. I can't remember when the last time I did this, but it took about 15 mins to do, so not too bad. While we had the broken tire off we checked it and the side wall was split rim to tread on the inner side of the tire, about a 3" long split in the tire. So I wonder if I hit something in the construction zone. Anyway, that set of tires has about 55K miles on them and it was getting time to replace them anyway. So "Andy" gets new shoes tomorrow.

Confirmation

Today, after we dropped off the Captive Free group back at the Church, we headed out of town to a different church service. I have been sponsor for my cousin's daughter. Her name is Aly and today she was confirmed in the church. Here is a picture of the confirmand with all her sponsors from left to right: Katie (Aly's aunt, Jody's cousin), Doug (Jody's brother), Me, and Aly. So proud of her, and I can't believe how grown up she is......I am getting old

Captive Free

Last night at church we were fortunate enough to have a great group of young men and women come and perform for us. The group is Captive Free, and we had the west coast team. Kevin and I then hosted 3 of the members overnight. So after their concert, they came home with us, and we had a great breakfast with the team this morning and they will be leading worship service at church this morning. It was very fun to meet this team of people that travel together for a year, helping promote youth ministries.

We enjoyed having them stay with us and we hope they had a good stay.

Canada!

Yes! I am in!

We are pleased to inform you that the Program Committee of E-Learn 2009--World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education, after rigorous peer review, has decided to accept your submission for presentation.

E-Learn 2009 will be held in Vancouver, Canada, October 26-30, 2009.

That means I will be in Vancouver to present at this conference! Yea!

Now I have to write a paper to go with it :(

All these posts....

How is it that I have been able to do all these posts? After all lately you hardly hear from us at all. Well, for those that I talk to often you know how crazy things have been for us. And some days, by the time we are done with work, the last thing we want to do is sit at the computer and type.

But....if it is something fun...that is different. We have some trips planned this summer (and hopefully in the fall....I will get to go to Canada...I will keep you posted). So I wanted something smaller to travel with. So, I decided, that I could treat myself to a new machine.... I got one of the cute new netbooks. I got this cute little Dell. I get a small discount from work, and work also sent me Office 2007 to load on it...so that makes it great to travel with.

Right now I am in the car and we are heading back home after having our dinner out. If I had to wait till I got home to do all this blogging, I wouldn't get it done....there are just so many things at home that I get sidetracked.

While I have only had this a week, I would recommend it if you are thinking of getting a netbook.

Now I can really hardly wait till we do some real traveling......sigh....3 more weeks till vacation....(I can make it...I think I can...I think I can....I think I can...)