Campground Critters

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/mb/news/local/jacksonville-zoo-and-gardens-opens-new-all-rescue-animal-show/437181143

I am so proud. This show came together wonderfully. I am so proud :)

Moving South

Williamsburg Virginia to St Cloud Florida (for now). I have been given the opportunity to open a new show in my company. I know its going to be a lot of hard work and I am sure I will get stressed and pushed to my limits but I am so excited. It is so reassuring to know that I am on the right track. JSPA is getting to be a very large company and out of all the people around the country hoping, just like me, for a chance to open a new show they picked me. I know I have a lot to work on but it makes me feel really good that Joel, who has the last say, has confidence in me to do the job and to do it right!

Our company has been asked to do a show at the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida. Now I am not 100%  sure about the details, this show has changed 3 times in the past 2 months, but it is going to be mostly a bird show. So we will probably have 10 macaws, 3 cockatoos, 10 ducks (Indian Runner Ducks and Peking), 8 cats. 8 dogs, a flock of pigeons, a pig, an African Crested Porcupine, a Kookaburra, a Red Legged Seriema, an African Crowned Crane and an Eurasian Eagle Owl. The theme of the show will be based around a summer camp with the trainers and animals as the camp director and counselors. The set design is looking pretty cute too. I'm not going to go into much more detail mostly because nothing is set in stone yet. But each of those animals have a behavior in the show and I get to train those behaviors, not every single one mind you, but a decent chunk of them. It's a lot to take on. I am a little overwhelmed just because I am starting a little bit later than everyone else so I have some catching up to do!

Let me 'splain…No, there is too much. Let me sum up...

Just like the quote from the movie "Princess Bride" my post title says it all, I have a lot to catch up on. My last post was over two years ago when I was on my way to Virginia and now I am getting ready to leave this lovely state and start on my next adventure (but that will be another post).
Its going to be hard leaving Virginia. It has been a wonderful place to live, it's been my home for 2 years.  I've done a lot of growing up while here, having to fend for myself and all. But I've also had a lot of fun. 

(Now I don't have a ton of time to write this so the ending might be a bit abrupt. But I wanted to make sure I wrote this all down somewhere!)
One of my favorite things about living here in Williamsburg is being surrounded in American history. The beginning of this country is literally in my backyard. You can't throw a rock without it landing on some historic ground. I have loved having the opportunity to be a tourist and exploring all of it. My first spring here is when I really started exploring the area and that was mostly due to my Grandma and Grandpa Evans. They made a trip out to the East coast to see me in shows and while they were here we went to Jamestown and Yorktown. It was so fun to have them here and to go sight seeing with them. After they left I continued to go to museums and historic land marks and  I am so glad that I did! I think it would be hard to leave if I hadn't done such a thorough job of that.
I also was able to visit Washington DC on two separate occasions. There is so much to do and see that I don't think that I could ever get my fill. But I always leave with a heart full of gratitude for the people that have sacrificed to make what I have and where I live possible.
I also got an unplanned tour around Philadelphia. This past summer my family (all except my mom) were lucky enough to fly out and come and spend a week on the beach at Ocean City, New Jersey. While they were out here we took a day to go and see the LDS Temple in Philadelphia. It had not been dedicated yet so we were able to take a tour and go inside. It was beautiful and loved seeing how they brought the history of the city inside the temple with how it was built and how they decorated. The detail they put into everything was amazing. But after we did that I was supposed to catch my flight home but of course it was delayed so my dad took us around his old stomping grounds. We saw the liberty bell, ate a philly cheese stake, saw boat house row and the Rocky statue sitting outside of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Speaking of family and Philly, I have definitely been spoiled with how "close" my dad's side of the family is to me. Sure six hours doesn't seem close to a lot of people but it sure feels that way when you grew up seeing them every other year because they lived across the country. I tried to take advantage of this and would drive up and see them for a weekend every couple of months. I am sure that I am going to miss them the most. It was nice knowing that I have family that close. It was a sort of reset button for me to go "home" and be with family. They sure knew how to make me feel at home and feel loved!
But before I start getting emotional lets go back to Virginia, I was just telling a girl in my company, who works at the Sea World San Diego show, just how much I have loved living here. Sure there isn't big beautiful mountains like I am used to but I am surround by green and water here. And don't even get me started on fall, it is by far my favorite season! Even before moving here I loved fall, but being here has solidified it. The leaves on the trees here turn amazing colors and stay on the trees for months, that's right months. So you are surrounded by that lovely season for so long.
But besides living in this great place, working at Busch Gardens Williamsburg was the perfect niche for me to grow and develop as a trainer and performer. With such a small team I was given more responsibility sooner than if I worked at a show with 20 people. And that has obviously paid off. This past summer I was given the opportunity to go and put on a show at the State Fair of Texas which got my foot in the door for this next adventure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHB2UBDouRk&sns=em
http://www.fox4news.com/news/209270330-story

Missing Pictures

I have not logged into my blog in a very long time, and since that time it seems as though almost all the pictures I posted have gone missing. Don't worry it's not just you if you can't see any of the old pictures either. If I ever find myself bored I'll go back and see if I can't repost the pictures but until then just bare with me and use your imagination!

2472 Miles

2472 miles. That is the final distance I drove from Logan Utah to Newport News Virginia. Of course I had a couple of pit stops along the way but that is what my odometer ticked out at. I honestly don't feel that far away but I'm honestly in the other side of the country. But I have to say that I sure like it here!
So I left bright and early the morning of September 2nd. I was driving all the way through to Omaha Nebraska to stay with an "older sister" of mine who is going to law school out there. It was a long boring ride in which there was nothing to look at. But I made it late that night without a hiccup. I was going to stay the next day to spend with Alisa  and then head out and keep driving on the day after.
The day after arriving Alisa had school  so I spent the morning at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo. It was amazing!  After working in the animal field you go to zoos with a different outlook and this zoo blew me away! After spending most of the day there I headed back to Alisa's place. After she got home from school she took me and showed me around her school campus, "the sights" of the city, and the Omaha lds temple and visitor center! We then went to eat at an amazing Bohemian cafe and then home for a movie. It was so good to see Alisa and to see where she is living. I wish I could have stayed longer but I was on a mission and was super excited to get there so back to the car the next morning. 

Driving the next day was pretty uneventful but it was the longest day I had. I was driving to a hotel in Ohio. I got there, got checked in and got back in my car to go fill up gas so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning. When I pulled back into the hotel parking lot I noticed my check engine light was on. Shoot! Things were going so well and I wad in the middle of nowhere!  I called my dad to see what he had to say about it. After a chat and checking all the different fluid levels, we decided it was probably nothing and to keep plugging on. It was nice to sleep in a hotel but I think ludicrous was more happy about it then I was. Honestly I think he was just happy not to be in the car.

Friday morning I got up and couldn't wait to get driving!  I was headed to Perkasie Pennsylvania. And I was going to stay with family that I miss so much and I could hardly hold in the excitement!

When I was close to the house I text my grandma's saying to watch for me. I kinda expected them to be outside waiting or looking out the windows or something. But when I pulled up to the house I didn't see anyone. So I parked my car, got out and walked up to the front door. Still no sign of anyone. I went to open the door and it was locked!  Now I'm sure that I had the right house. So I rang the doorbell. It was that moment that I'll never forget. I hear screaming and yelling from the other side of the door. Ha then the noise of feet running to the door! I was then swallowed in hugs! It was the best greeting ever! 

The Next Chapter

This is the beginning. The beginning of the next chapter in my life!
Work was going kind of rough at the Cache Humane Society. There was a lot of unneeded drama going on and it just wasn't a place that I was looking forward to going to every day. Don't get me wrong I loved the difference I felt like I was making. I loved all my animals and being able to be there for them, but I was ready for something new. I was getting burnt out, really fast. I had started looking for a new job a couple month previous but not wasn't being super serious about it. I had applied to maybe 4 places when I heard back from this JSPA in mid July. They said there were really interested in my work history and that they wanted to do a Skype interview. I was so excited to hear back from this company, I had heard a lot of things about them so you can believe how nervous I was for the interview! A week later I had it and thought that it had gone very well and was anxiously awaiting to hear back from them. A couple of days later they contacted me with the good news that they decided they wanted to do a second, in person, interview. Boy you should have seen me when they said that! I was jumping up and down out of excitement. On August 13th I flew down to Sea World, Orlando for my Interview with Joel Slaven's Professional Animals at the Pet's Ahoy show. The interview went really well and lasted almost the whole day. At they end of it they gave me the good news that they did want to hire me! What came next threw me for a loop, they were not going to hire me for the Orlando location but instead they were going to send me to the Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Virginia location! I had no idea where that was and had never heard of this Busch Gardens but I was ecstatic nonetheless! The rest of the day and the morning of the next I spent with two of my friends enjoying Sea World, catching up with each other, and celebrating my new job.

Peace in the apartment

Annie, the poodle, is so excited to have a new playmate. Ludicrous is so patient with her.