Rus and I got to have a date this week, thanks to the combined babysitting of MaryMegan and Rus’ parents. We went to go see a Salt Lake based Celtic Fusion group called Stone Circle. It was lovely to hear a live fiddle again.
Gwen was listening to Xander tell "knock, knock" jokes, and exlaimed, "Knock! Knock!" She is taking her own sweet time, but she is becoming more verbal.
We finally got a helmet for Laurelin so she can ride her scooter outside. The weather is starting to be much nicer so she wants to ride it in the afternoons to the school when we pick up her brothers from school.
Rus’ dad went upstairs this morning and found a funny sign on the bathroom door. Isaac had apparently run himself a bath and put up a sign which read, “I am in here! If you want me, I’m taking a bath.”
Xander had a funny way of describing selfish people at school. He said, ”Their mouths say only mean things about other people, and their eyes see only themselves as the coolest.” Hee hee
Yesterday while Rus was at zoo training and Isaac at a cub scout activity Xander, Laurelin, Gwen and I raked up leaves in the back yard (i.e. raked up and then jumped in and scattered, then raked up and then jumped in and scattered, then raked up…..) and just generally enjoyed the wonderful sunbeams. We got some fun pictures.
I finally was able to begin the most anticipated phase of my training…animal handling! We got through most of the invertebrates: the vinegaroon, the giant millipede, the tarantula, and the Madagascar hissing cockroaches,. Although I have little affection for the winged cockroaches we left behind in Hawaii, I did not find the Madagascar variety at all offensive. I think it may have to do with the fact that they are detritivorous forest-dwellers, rather than intruders into houses.They are much slower-moving, as well, and they hiss when you pick them up…it’s supposed to deter predators but I found it amusing.
I am very much looking forward to handling all of the rest of the creatures…next week we should begin with the vertebrates. We also had a presentation as part of training…I gave mine on puppetry techniques. Ollie was kind enough to assist me, and I must say that I couldn’t have done it without him. He really carried the bulk of the presentation himself.
Speaking of Ollie, he and Skizzard (portions of Mary Jane and Tyson are slightly visible as well) were recently featured in a local newspaper, the Daily Herald. We did a puppet show at the Provo Library, and ended up with a color photo spot. (Thanks to Ash for finding it and saving the page for us!) I will include the scanned version of the photo here, but you can see the original version at the Daily Herald website, as well as read the caption, by clicking here.
(click photo to enlarge)
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