ZOOLOGY 101- GIRAFFES IN LOVE -OH MY!!!

My daughter, Mimi, and family 

came to town last weekend

for Halloween.

We decided to take the kids to the 

local zoo.

I picked CJK up from school

so he could join his cousins

for a fun day.

First up was the lions.

They are BigBoyE's favorite animal

in all the world.

Since he has been old enough to talk

he has said he wants to be a 

ZOOKEEPER.

I always felt that was my calling which is

why I had 4 kids-

the last 3 born in less than 4 years.

You will notice, of course, 

that MAMA was alert and on watch

while the lazy daddy other lion rested.

Baby Bright Eyes was absolutely 

FASCINATED by something!

What was it you ask?

Well- absolutely the 

MOST FASCINATING ANIMAL

in the whole zoo---

Yes- it's a 

SEMI-BLIND BADGER!

Only in Wisconsin, folks, only in Wisconsin.

We could barely drag her away

and on the way back out

we stopped once again for another

peek at this 

FASCINATING ANIMAL!

As you can SEE, he was equally 

impressed with us!

I could bore you with hundreds of pictures.

But I won't.

You're welcome.

I will skip right to the 

GIRAFFES IN LOVE.

OH!MY!

You get up on a platform so that you

can see them up close and personal.

For the measly sum of 

ONE DOLLAR

you can let them eat lettuce out of your hand.

We get up on the platform and

pony up our bucks.

We feed the giraffes.

If you are easily offended

PLEASE STOP READING NOW

AND COME BACK TOMORROW.

Apparently, MS. Giraffe is in heat.

MR. Giraffe knows 

JUST WHAT TO DO.

He proceeds to TRY to do so in

front of the pre-schoolers,

SweetCheeks, age 9 and Ria, age 12.

I thought SweetCheeks' eyes were 

gonna pop out of her head.

Add about 5 years to this picture

and you will get an idea of her expression.

To be honest-

I was quite impressed myself!

Apparently, Ms. Giraffe had a headache

and wanted NO PART of 

Mr. Giraffe's fun and games.

EVENTUALLY 

(after about a zillion minutes)

he left the 

Arena Of Love

and went back to his hideout.

Meanwhile, the guide is telling 

ALL THE KIDS ABOUT

BREEDING HABITS OF GIRAFFES.

You will forgive me if I started 

laughing hysterically and walked

off the platform.

I WAS going to show you a picture

of the FUN but then thought

NAH--Even I can't do that!

Well, I could!

But I won't.  m'hmmm

You will have to use your imagination!

The highlight of the day for me

was watching the human animals

at play.'

From This---

To THIS-

in the blink of an eye!

You will notice how 

the youngest fashionistas

wear 

THEIR SWEATERS!

So, if you are looking for a

bit of an education,

feel free to check out 

your local zoo--

make sure it is mating season-

otherwise you might as well

stay home.

Have a 

GREAT WEEKEND.

I will be washing

the kids' eyes out with soap.

FINISH IT UP-FIVE ON FRIDAY

You know I've been gone awhile

and while I am usually a picture-taking fool

I didn't take many pictures this summer.

However, lucky for you,

(that part was a joke)

I have lots of photos to 

show you that I have 
hoarded over the past few months.

First and foremost!

I LOVE FALL.

I love decorating for Fall 

almost as much as I like decorating for Christmas.

Here is something you MIGHT see at my house.

For some reason I always set this up in the same little cubby hole. 

I painted the little slate about 30 years ago.

Geez- Am I getting old, or what!

The little turkeys are paper mache  and held candy.

They are almost as old as I am ...

that is OLD, folks!

What is NOT old around here?

This NEVER gets old!

Three cousins on a swing....

Now WHY is the 

MONKEY IN THE MIDDLE

the only one looking at the camera?

Love that SweetCheeks 

still wears bows in her hair!

I might have spent a little tine in another state.

A special present for you 

if you can figure out what city 

we are in.

okay- I mighta lied about the present

That, folks-is blurry because it is 

what I like to call an 

ACTION SHOT.

It has nothing to do with the camera's user.

(I mighta lied about that, too)

After INDY I came home to Mr.Excitement!

Yeah- sometimes he's a little shy.

Did you notice that he has a GIANT left hand?

One day, I am going to get paid back 

for all of this you know....

but not today!

Why?  Because TODAY he wants me to
COOK FOR HIM!

Yesterday we started a WHOLE 30 food program.

It means lots of cooking.

I didn't think this was going to be easy--

nothing worthwhile ever is, is it?

This is how I feel about the whole thing!

AMEN!!!!!

Hope you all have a great Friday.

Bear with me as I get around to

visiting your blogs and playing catch up.

Please Send Sweet Wishes To My Wonderful Cousin Jane

Last Fall I took a few days off

to enjoy a visit from three of my cousins

and one cousin's spouse.

It was a wonderful time to reconnect

and find out some family facts that

some of us younger -ahem- cousins

did not know.

My cousin, Jane, 
or DUMPLING, as I like to call her,
is the oldest cousin in our family.

She is 83 and sharper than people that

are 40 years younger.

No one is going to put anything over on her.

Of course,

being a redhead (a NATURAL redhead)

her whole life gives her an edge.

Some call that feistiness. 

She was my father's favorite niece.
The first born child of his 
redheaded sister.
Wow-hope his other nieces 
(my other cousins) aren't reading this.

Anyway,

Here she is with her beautiful little

GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER,

Portia Ann.

Aren't they both just gorgeous?

Isn't Portia a living doll?

Cousin Jane has had a rough year of it.

She downsized and moved and gave away

a lot of her precious things that had memories attached.

She has had some health scares here and there.
She adored my brother that passed away
last year, too.

So, if you have a moment leave her a

SWEET HELLO DUMPLING

here because she reads my blog...

which means I have to be on my best behavior
because she has some stories she could tell
you about me that would.....
well, we won't go there. 

HA!

Happy Sunday to Sweet Cousin Jane

and to all of my blogging friends
for visiting and commenting.

Love you!!!!