best ten bucks EVER.

Have I mentioned that I have an unhealthy infatuation with "Groupon"?  The first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning is the new day's deal.  Sometimes I'll even get up at midnight to see what it is!

A few weeks ago we purchased a family pass to the African Wildlife Safari Park in Port Clinton for a mere ten bucks.  It's the best ten bucks we've spent in a long time. I would even venture to say that the craziness we experienced would have been worth FULL price had we paid it.  And I rarely think anything is worth full asking price!

I took hundreds of pictures- literally.  I've included a small (comparatively) smattering of them.  I hope that you they paint a small picture of the joy we experienced.  

Of all the pictures I took, this is possibly my favorite. It describes our day perfectly.  A mix of terror, amazement, and stupefaction combined with pure amusement (kent and I were amused anyway!). 

 

This one tells the story, too.

As soon as we entered the safari gates (think tall giant reinforced gates like those on Jurassic park!!) we were literally AMBUSHED by the most ridiculous herd of female elk you've ever seen.  Holy Smokes.  They need to have some warning that informs you to NOT unroll ALL four of your windows at once. We seriously were under attack from every side.  The kids were SOBBING.

Kent and I were beside ourselves laughing. We couldn't roll up any windows.  We couldn't drive forward or back because we were surrounded and we were all being squished.  I'll be honest- I usually laugh really hard when I shouldn't.  This was one of those times. I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't quite terrified myself.

Somehow I pushed giant elk heads out of the car while Kent tried his best to inch forward and inch the widows up.  After a few minutes of terror- we got passed the 'elk zone'.

Next came the little deer looking critters.  They are all from Africa so I'm assuming they aren't deer- but we'll call them that to make things easier.  These little guys were really cute and far less combative.  They loved nibbling on the free pellets we got to hand out.  They waited their turn and didn't try to steal fingers.

 

Ike definitely enjoyed these guys the most.  I think it helped that they were too small to fit entire body segments in our car.  Some of them could barely reach the windows.

 

Next came the llamas and alpacas. Or at least what looked like llamas and alpacas.They were nice- but Zeb was still scared by the elk behavior and didn't want any more animals in the car. He was full of all sorts of requests.   "Would you please just put up my window, dad?"  "can we please just go to the zoo instead, dad?"  "I'm all finished with the African Safari now, dad"

This guy was Kent's favorite. 

We quickly entered another danger zone.  All sorts of animals with really large horns and really big bodies. Buffaloes/bison, these giant things that looked like texas longhorns, and some unidentified antlered creature.

We were worried that this guy was going to damage the car. I bet his horn span was six feet.

And the buffalo/bison were just humongous.  When we went around a second time we made sure to keep our windows closed around these guys.  They were just too big and could have literally picked up our car.

 

They had carrots you could buy to feed the animals- but they were priced like gold.  Luckily I'd read reviews ahead of time and we'd come prepared with our own bags of carrots.

I'm really glad we did bring our own carrots- because they saved the best animals (the giraffes) for last and they would ONLY come to your car for carrots. They wouldn't take the pellets.

I could not believe how close we could be to the giraffes. They were AMAZING and SO BIG!!  This guy was trying to eat my camera.

Both boys actually really loved the giraffes until this one tried to lick zeb's stomach. He was all smiles until that tongue went crazy.

 He was really just trying to get the carrot- but Zeb was too scared to figure out that he just needed to let it go.

here's a shot of the giraffe coming in past me in the front seat to get a carrot from Kent. Check out that tongue!!  I was close enough to see the saliva.

and check out the eyelashes.  These creatures are really really amazing.  And so so big.

 Our afternoon was so much fun.  I'm pretty sure Zeb will remember it forever.  We figure since he's three- and the day was so eventful/traumatic/fun- it will probably be one of his first good memories :)

Our car is now in desperate need of a car wash and vacuum but we all had such a blast. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!

Everybody keeps asking what we've been doing since Kent's been home!  I feel like we should be doing all sorts of exciting things- but the best part of having him around is just relaxing.  Today we put the kids down for nap/quiet time and we just sat in bed and read.  It was heavenly.  I love that right now he has no tests to study for- no crazy long days anywhere- and nothing early in the morning. We can stay up late watching movies, reading books, and eating ice cream. It's fabulous.

We have been using a few of the gift cards we've had sitting around. Last week went to Granite City Brewery w/o kids and this week we celebrated the completion of Kent's colon fast with a trip to Texas roadhouse.  Kent was only a few hours post procedures so he was still a little tired- but very hungry :)  Zeb LOVES to talk to him with his tongue sticking out. It's this funny little language they have.

 

 The kiddos are loving the time with Kent.  Early in the morning Ike shouts 'daaaaddy' from his crib. Zeb demands that all of his questions be answered by dad only.  They also both prefer he pushes the shopping cart.

It's also really nice to have kent here to help clean up messes.  The other day we heard Ike shake something out of a bag and then found this. He loves pushing around his favorite objects in this stroller. Usually it's just balls, bobo, or trains and racecars.  This time it happened to be Quaker Oat Squares.  He is such a rascal.

  

 We've also just been sticking to our regular schedule.  We do walking group and playgroup- and still go the Y a lot. I've loved being able to go to book club and cooking groups without stressing about a babysitter!

Today at walking group we found a snake on the trail. The kiddos loved it. Most of the mothers did not.

  

 I picked it up so Ike could have a turn holding it- but it just kept trying to slither into his shorts. He finally grabbed it and just chucked it out of the stroller as far as he could. 

I realize that I talk about it incessantly- but I love this time of year. Who could live happily in a world (or state!) with no autumn?! I'd be depressed.   Leaves are starting to fall. Apple picking is in full swing. The aromas of pumpkins and cinnamon and cider are beginning to fill houses and grocery aisles. 

Our Halloween decorations are out and Halloween planning is in the works! However, in all the fabulousness of the season I have realized that I need help!! Does anybody have any suggestions for costumes? for kent and myself.   I know what the kids are going to be (does any body have an extra Mike Wazowski costume for a little boy that I could borrow?! I'm going to have to make one if I can't find one to borrow!) but Kent and I have NO ideas on what to dress up as.

Last year we went as infectious diseases (swine and bird flu).  I thought they were pretty good.

We'd love to do another couples costume- but I'm at a loss for ideas.  We need easy/inexpensive but clever.  Any suggestions? what's the best couples costume you've seen?  send all of your great ideas our way, please :)  Mom- I know you've got to have some good ideas!!  I'd be willing to swap ideas we've already used in the past for any ideas you are willing to share.

I'm not sure why he's smiling in this picture. I've been borderline vomiting all night as Kent has diligently slurped down his gallon of 'go lightly'. Not to mention he's been on a liquid fast all day today.  I'm never getting a colonoscopy. Seriously .

Tomorrow morning Kent's going in for an egd scope (down the esophagus) and a colonoscopy.  The fabulous double whammy.  Hopefully he can get some answers to his plaguing GI issues!  All of his trouble today had better not be in vain! 

The rest of us had a pretty pleasant day today!  We went to the park this morning with friends and got soaking wet in all of the puddles.  Good thing Zeb has galoshes.

He's been so grown up lately.  He's very independent and has a wild imagination. And he's getting funnier.

This kid is getting harder by the day! He's in full 'scream' mode. One day at the Y kidzone this week he got THREE timeouts. The employees did tell me that "luckily he was just screaming at and hitting Spencer".  Spencer is his pal from church and they know I'm friends with his mom so I guess that makes it better :) Sorry, Cyndi!  I guess I am glad that he's not attacking some stranger with an overcrazed protective mom!

Here he is swinging and getting SOAKING wet this morning, too.

Here are some pics from our favorite free family fair! Every year the local Lutheran retirement village puts on a HUGE fair. Everything is free and buckets of fun. They've even got tons of food and prizes.

This is the first year Zeb has let them paint his face. He asked for a green snake with blue spots!

and he always loves the pony rides.

The kiddos won these glasses at a bean bag toss.  I love their faces.

And here they are at the Air national guard booth flying a jet.

It was the perfect day for the event. We went in the morning- headed home for naps- and then went to the airport to get Kent! I'm glad we had something in the morning to keep us busy that day.

Welcome home, Lt. Miller!

I feel like we're on the home stretch! Kent leaves again in a couple weeks- but this time it's only to Dayton (2.5 hrs away) so hopefully we won't go an entire month without seeing him!  He took his last written boards and got his scores back (way to go, myzh!) and has almost his entire application turned in.  He'll interview down in Dayton and then we wait until December to find out where we'll be going for the next chapter of our lives.  I love the excitement and change- but I get all nervous and sick to my stomach thinking about leaving Toledo. I love this place. I love the people. I love everything about it (minus the humidity).

Last night we went to the airport to welcome home Kent!  It was so great to finally see him!  He ended up having a friend on the flight coming home from his navy duty so I ended up waiting with his wife at the airport!  There was also a family waiting for their son who had been gone to Afghanistan for NINE months.  Our one month was nothing!

The rugrats LOVED waiting for Kent.  Zeb was so excited about holding the sign. When Kent went to hug him he wouldn't put it down.

Both rugrats had the biggest smiles on their faces as soon as they saw him.  The whole airport thing made his departure and arrival FAR more dramatic than your average 'going away for a medical rotation'!  The uniform didn't help much, either :)

I do really love his Blues, though.

Today has been the NICEST Sunday!  The best part about it all was Kent getting up at 5:45 with Ike while I slept until 8!  I missed Kent tremendously (his hugs, holding his hand, talking to him, him tickling my back every night, etc, etc) and I am so happy to have him back.

Long sleeves, jackets, plants...HERE WE COME.  It's fall and the only thing that makes me happier is that Kent's month long active duty tour ends in THREE DAYS!!

I love getting out the fall clothes and seeing my kiddos in clothes they haven't worn in months. This little dude is pretty cute. Too bad we had a major face plant with blood gushing from his mouth. We haven't had a bloody mouth for quite sometime and I thought we made it past the face plants. Not so it appears.

Today for playgroup we took lots of wheeled toys and let the kids run wild in the church parking lot. Who would have thought it would be such a hit?!  The kiddos loved it.

Zeb especially loved riding down the handicap ramp that leads to the door.  He has been the perfect child today. I really think he knows that Kent is coming home soon and he's happy about it.

Happy Labor Day!  We celebrated with a good run, nice naps (while I finished mockingjay!), and a fabulous picnic in the park with lots and lots of friends!

Ike somehow found a sucker. He LOVES suckers. I HATE them. They are sticky and make messes and only create madness.  But Ike had a fabulous night. He ran around trying to play frisbee and soccer with all of the big kids and adults!

Zeb found his FAVORITE dirt pile and played there for a few hours.  The kid loves dirt and mud.  I bet he spends at least 3-4 hours a week in this very spot at swan creek park. 

This week is our last without Kent!  Only five days to go and I'm so happy. I'm crazy busy with seminary starting up again and all sorts of other stuff.  I'm hoping it FLIES by.  I'm so sick of talking on the phone to him!!  I just want a real conversation face to face!!

See you so soon, муж!  Don't get stuck in the hurricane and make sure to keep your rental car is something crazy happens on Saturday :) !!!

Last year I ran the boy scout half marathon and loved it. This year I decided not to run it because Kent's been gone all month and I didn't think I'd be able to get ready. Plus I didn't know what to do with the kiddos and I didn't want to run it without Kent there to cheer me on and rub me out afterward :)  After a slew of friends (from church and The Y) decided they were going to do it- I decided it would actually be a great month long distraction while Kent was gone!  I put in some extra runs this month and ran the race yesterday! I ended up hiring a babysitter and left the kiddos at home to sleep in.

It just happened to be the coldest day since May (definitely an answer to my weather prayers!!) and it was cold and PERFECT.  Well- besides the insane downpour that hit us at mile seven and the gale force winds that tried to knock us down all morning :)  It was pretty crazy for awhile out in the corn fields- but I prefer the rain to the heat and humidity.

Here are my pals from church! 

I beat my last year's time by almost five minutes! I ran with some friends for the first few miles and then decided to find my own pace.  I settled in near a random girl who looked to be running the speed I wanted.  I asked her where she was from and she answered 'Idaho'.  It turns out we went to Ricks together. She had driven up from Columbus where her husband is going to Dental school! And she graduated high school with my cousin, Zack. Crazy small world when you're mormon.  We ran together for the next eight or so miles and then I had to pick up my pace so I could reach my goal!

Alison said that her husband has some 'great action shots' of me and  I'm a little nervous about them!  I'll post them later if they are presentable :)

Surprisingly I am almost not sore at all- so it's not as bad that Kent's gone.  I really missed him with the boys cheering me along the course, though. Luckily there were some other people to cheer us along! Thanks, Cyndi!

grubby little hands

We have four little hands in our house that cannot seem to stay out of trouble.  Let me share some examples of our grubby little finger woes.

Zeb learned to open the car door while we are in motion. His first time was on the FREEWAY.  Child lock was swiftly clicked into place and did wonders until this week. Zeb unrolled his window and it never went back up.  I had to get all white trashy and DUCT tape the window into place so that the rains we had wouldn't saturate our car.  Then yesterday morning the car wouldn't start. This takes us back to child lock. We had to switch cars and drive Kent's and I forgot to put on the childlock.  At least this time when he opened the door he let me know that I needed to quickly shut it because he didn't want 'his brains squished all over the road'.  The first time he did it I told him that would happen if he opened it again.

and this monkey. my, oh, my. His little hands are terribly naughty. Yesterday morning I found him standing at the toilet dipping his hands in and then rubbing them crazily all over his head. Toilet water was dripping down his neck. Then at costco he threw his train into the toilet while Zeb was peeing. Then as I was washing the train- he escaped and ran off into the men's bathroom where I found him with his hands in a URINAL.  And then to top it all off, at the pool, he threw my entire bag into the water. We won't even discuss it's contents.  Luckily I was sitting at the pool's edge when he did it and quickly retrieved the bag. Nothing was irretrievably damaged- just wet :)

I can't tell to whom these fingers belong.  These boys are looking more and more alike.

goodbye summer! hello beautiful fall days!  I shouldn't be cursing myself but I think today was the last day of heat and humidity.  This summer has been near hellish and I can't wait for the crisp fall days, the beautiful colors, and the amazing outdoor runs through swan creek.

We spent this morning out at our pool with friends for playgroup. It was a really good pool day and we had lots of great snacks.

Ike is SUCH a turkey about water. If he's not in it splashing around then he throws EVERYthing in it. 

I only got this post-pool pic of Zeb lounging in his undies. Little boys in undies are pretty darn cute.

With Kent gone we upped our cell phone contract to include unlimited texts for the three months and I've been sending lots of cell phone pics to him.  I think that's why my blogging decreased so dramatically. I've been texting him constantly and talking to him on the phone for at least an hour a day- so he gets the updates and I don't have as much post kid bedtime to blog.

But- here are a few of the picures I've sent to Kent.

Just this morning I told the kids to give each other a hug and I'd send Kent the picture. They totally rammed heads and went into hysterics.  Made for a much better picture at least.

Here's one of Ikey with his 'bobos'.  He has named all of his stuffed animals 'bobo' and it's adorable when he asks for them. There's a pediatrician that kent worked with a few times named Dr. Bobo- and every time he got paged Kent says he'd imagine a giant brown stuffed rabbit coming down the hospital hall.

And look at this all grown up kid. He's giving his 'thumbs up' about the tool belt.  I love this picture of Zeb. Just today a friend commented about how much older he looks lately- and I'd have to agree.

And here's Ikey at the dentist. Contrary to the look on his face in this picture- he actually did a really good job and enjoyed his visit!