back to my dirt tan

So here I am, back in Texas and glad to be! I'm here working at TGR Exotics for the next couple weeks and loving every second. It's a lot of fun but it is a lot of constent, hard dirty work. Last night I finally got a chance to take a shower around eleven. Before the shower I was just admiring how tan I already was from the hot Texas sun. But I soon realized that it wasn't a sun tan, it was nothing more than a dirt tan. What a bummer. But I am sure I will get tan here. Most if not all of the work we do is outside and it has been nice and hot not to mention humid.

Well there is always a million thing that need to be done so here are some pictures to sum up what's been going on :)

 This was my first job getting back, brush out the mini horse Sassy. She's really old and has a hard time rubbing off her winter hair, so I gave her a hand. This is about a 1/4 of  the hair I brush off and she needs to be brushed again!

Our goats don't climb on rocks, like normal goats, they climb on fences. But smart little things; trying to get to the juicy leaves.

This is a new addition since I've been gone. This is Walter the Warthog. He's just a baby but he already measures up to my thigh. He doesn't know me and doesn't like me so every time I walk through his enclosure (you have to go through it to go outside from the kitchen so I do it quite frequently) he comes over and tusks me and pushes me around. I really don't like him very much, I decided.

Some of our girl llamas. It has been raining quite a bit. And the llama's hate getting wet, so when it starts to rain the llama girls bolt for the barn and hang out there until it's over.

This is Sam and Chuck two of our five camels. Silver Lining's Boy the llama. And Buffy the baby water buffalo. Buffy is a sweet heart but she thinks she's a dog. She doesn't realize how big she is so when she gets excited you better watch out.

It is definitely spring time here. There are baby animals everywhere:

She was born the day before I got there. This is Niobe and her baby Sati. They are Tamanduas or also called Lesser Anteaters. The baby just grabs and hangs on to mama all day.


Last year someone dropped off a  pair of baby rabbits. We though both of them were males but lo and behold there were baby bunnies in the cage one morning. And ever since then it seems we always have a couple baby bunnies laying around. Right now we have 7 rabbits! That is way too many for me.


My favorite, Kangaroo Joeys. There are two inside, that I get to bottle feed, and there are two outside that are big enough to jump in and out of mom's pouch. They are fun to watch and are soooo stinkin cute!

A little baby goaty that was unexpected birth.

Kune Kune piglets! So cute and fun to have around. They LOVE being pet and are just the cutest when you rub their bellies.

And our baby Aardvark, Winky! When baby aardvarks are born they come out all naked and wrinkly and their ears are all floppy; we think they look like House Elves (from Harry Potter). So the first baby we had we named Dobby. The second Kreacher. And this on is Winky!

Well thus is life here. Busy. Tiring. Dirty. But I love it.

i need a break. we all need a break

I am in the middle of packing to go back to Texas for a visit :) I am so excited and I'll most likely post about it later. But right now I want to talk about taking a break from technology. For the past little bit phones, ipods, computers, ect have really gotten on my nerves. They are driving me crazy!! Ya they are amazing and I am so glad we have them but we do need a break from them once in a while. And last night was a great brake from all of it. Katie, Michael, David, and I went up the canyon. Katie and I went for a walk and threw some rocks and came back for treats and a fire with the boys. It was a fun night but it was so refreshing to have people who carry a conversation with you without pulling out their phone during the middle of it. It was refreshing to have people interact with you instead of sitting by them self texting someone else who is probably next door! The other thing that just breaks my heart is for the past two days I have been taking Eliana on a walk. She is so cute and gets very exited when we are outside. Whenever she sees someone, no matter how far away, her face will light up and she will start waving like crazy! Now if I happened to walk past a cute little girl waving at me it would totally make my day. But the people we pass have no idea we are there. We have yet to have someone wave, smile, or even acknowledge that we are there. They are so into their texting or their music. It's really sad to see. Those people miss so much and they don't even know it. And poor Eliana never gets a response back. Most the time she will turn around and look at me with this sad little face of confusion. It's sad to see how some people's lives revolve around technology. They act as though they would die without it. But we need to simplify our lives sometimes. Take a break and look at the world around you! You'll be so glad you did

it's here

The house is clean.

I'm back in Dianne and Kristin's room.

I painted two posters yesterday.

We've bought a new bed spread.

There is a clean empty room.

We've charged the camera and camcorder.

The welcome home posters are taped up.

We've put gas in the car.

We're just waiting to leave,

to go pick up Michael :)

It's been two years since we said goodbye at the Mission Training Center. Two long years that have gone by rather fast. I think about how short two years are compared to the rest of your life. But I also can't help but think how much has happened in those two years. I know that I have sure changed. When Michael left I was a senior in High School. I look back to then and almost don't recognize that girl. Speaking of recognizing people, everyone around her has sure grown up. Dianne and Kristin have both passed me in height. They are flirty, cute, high school girls! They are fun to talk with and I enjoy spending time with them. The whole family is excited for Mike to be back. He better be ready to spend some quality time with EVERYONE for the next little bit. I've sure missed my brother, a lot.

 I can't believe this day is finally here. It really hasn't hit me yet that Michael is coming home... but he is and i'm glad.