This episode of The Kerrie Show is brought to you by ... my mom (Tutu) ... because she buys us a platinum membership to The Kansas City Zoo every Christmas, which got us into Utah's Hogle Zoo half price (about $25 for all 7 of us).
We finally made it to the zoo. We LOVE zoos! First we drove over the mountains, a way we've never gone. It was AMAZING ... so gorgeous, just as pretty as Colorado. It got down to 33 degrees up there and snowed on us! It took us 2 hours to get to Salt Lake City to the zoo, but the kids loved it and everybody was happy with their Blo-Pops on the trip. I love going new places and finding new ways ... reading a map and discovering things on my own is something I really dig. So enjoy the pictures from our fun day.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Staying Longer/Need Zoo Guest Posts (Wyoming Day 19)
We'll get down to business in a moment.
This day has made me start a new Category of posts on the blog: Zoos. I've been to 10 and the kids have been to 9 ... I think we need a new goal of hitting a zoo in every state (hell, why not in every COUNTRY?!) before we die. Until then, I'm happy to take guest review posts of any zoo you've been to (photos are a plus!). Here are the ones I'm writing about (Hogle Zoo will be another post full o' pix) or have written about, and you can take over the rest:
So here's the "spoiler" I was talking about on The Kerrie Show's Facebook page.
This day has made me start a new Category of posts on the blog: Zoos. I've been to 10 and the kids have been to 9 ... I think we need a new goal of hitting a zoo in every state (hell, why not in every COUNTRY?!) before we die. Until then, I'm happy to take guest review posts of any zoo you've been to (photos are a plus!). Here are the ones I'm writing about (Hogle Zoo will be another post full o' pix) or have written about, and you can take over the rest:
- Kansas City Zoo
- San Diego Zoo
- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
- Houston Zoo (2015)
- Phoenix Zoo
- Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
- Deanna Rose Farmstead (it counts!)
- Topeka Zoo
- Dickerson Park Zoo
- Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City
- St. Louis Zoo
- Does SeaWorld in San Diego count???
So here's the "spoiler" I was talking about on The Kerrie Show's Facebook page.
We are staying an extra 10 days.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Wyoming Day 18: Bear River State Park RiverWalk
This post is about Thursday and I'm frantically writing it Thursday night because Friday we are finally going to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City!!! So we will be gone all day ... it takes 1.5 hours to get there from where we are so we plan to close the place down then drive home. I want to make sure you have something to read on Friday so here goes.
The morning started nice and slooooooooooow. The kids slept in, so I snuggled with Sam while I read a book (the 2nd Sweep book ... which is actually books 3-6 ... yes, it's about witches ... it's a young adult book and an easy read until I can find something else to read that's not as hard as War and Peace but not as easy as Twilight). I felt guilty for laying around in bed reading until I realized I NEVER do that at home. Like ever. Why is it hard for moms to treat themselves sometimes?
After breakfast we watched a little of the movie Backdraft ... Billy Baldwin, Kurt Russell, DeNiro and more. The point is Sam is CRAZY over firetrucks and firemen so it was a decent movie for him to watch parts of. It's too dang long, though, so we took off to see the kittens for a while. Ting-a-ling, Milo, Pepe and Piss (because he is pissy, but when Callie holds him he is quiet as a mouse and content). Got an email from my mom ... AN EMAIL! She does not send email! It contained many cuss words (she gets that from me) about how much she misses us and how we can't leave for this long ever again. Such is the life of an only child :-)
We don't have pictures of the rest of the day because we left the camera at home. We headed straight for McDonald's again since it was a chilly day and played inside for quite a while. I got to talk to my friend for a while and the boys talked to her kids. Did you know you can buy Happy Meal toys by themselves for like $1.25? A shout-out to Candace, who is the sweetest person there and puts up with us coming to the counter like 500 times each time we go.
After that it was warming up a bit so we headed to Bear River State Park ... the RiverWalk. It's so cool. I posted some pics of it from the first weekend we were here. We walked along the river forever. I finally got Aron on the phone and he told me they are still giving him trouble about coming home with us on Monday. I think he should tell his boss that my DAD will kick Aron's and the bossman's bungaloids if I am sent home in a rickety van with 5 kidlets. That almost happened on the way here, and my dad was ready to follow me if he had to. You don't mess with a woman's father.
He also told me that he probably can't go on our lake vacation with my family. I get all stoic and strong and "we can make it work no matter what" but sometimes I am a human woman and I do get emotional and I do break down. After we hung up, I walked behind the kids crying. Not sobbing, so as to scare them. Just sad, quiet crying. I'm not so much crying for myself (kinda; I love my man and would love to see him more ... have barely had time with him since February). I'm crying for the time the kids are missing with him. I'm crying for the way his bosses do not seem to be able to read a vacation request in advance or know what "we are leaving in 3 weeks" means. Aron is a hard worker, a good man. He bends over backwards for his employer and has for 15 years there. I'm wondering about the future.
Shake it off.
Oh, when we first got to the park it was a total scene from The Birds ... seagulls EVERYWHERE flying low and going nuts! Michael loved chasing them away and being loud. It was only in the 50s here today. I ran into a woman at McD's who lives here now and she wore a KANSAS shirt. She said she lived in Overland Park and that she would move back in a second! I'm torn; it's gorgeous here but I miss everyone so much.
As we walked the final part of the walk, Sam and I held hands and I looked at our shadows. I cried a little more when I realized someday his shadow would be taller than mine and would we still hold hands? We drove a little in the park and saw baby buffalo ("in captivity" says my smart son Joel) and elk. I miss home, yet I will so badly miss it here.
Let's just say we played chicken in the road some more with the cows when we got back to the ranch. Aron got home by 8 p.m. and made sure the big kids got showers before dinner so I could type up this bloggy post! He's making brownies with Sam and Eva right now, it's about 9:30 p.m. and more is brewing that I can't discuss now, so stay tuned.
If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming. And if you aren't following The Kerrie Show on Facebook, you are really missing out on spoilers!
The morning started nice and slooooooooooow. The kids slept in, so I snuggled with Sam while I read a book (the 2nd Sweep book ... which is actually books 3-6 ... yes, it's about witches ... it's a young adult book and an easy read until I can find something else to read that's not as hard as War and Peace but not as easy as Twilight). I felt guilty for laying around in bed reading until I realized I NEVER do that at home. Like ever. Why is it hard for moms to treat themselves sometimes?
I made bacon and omelets for breakfast, with two little helpers on the counter. |
A Lincoln Logs creation by Joel displayed on the ping pong table. |
Two kitties in my jacket! They give me my Baby Fix! |
We don't have pictures of the rest of the day because we left the camera at home. We headed straight for McDonald's again since it was a chilly day and played inside for quite a while. I got to talk to my friend for a while and the boys talked to her kids. Did you know you can buy Happy Meal toys by themselves for like $1.25? A shout-out to Candace, who is the sweetest person there and puts up with us coming to the counter like 500 times each time we go.
After that it was warming up a bit so we headed to Bear River State Park ... the RiverWalk. It's so cool. I posted some pics of it from the first weekend we were here. We walked along the river forever. I finally got Aron on the phone and he told me they are still giving him trouble about coming home with us on Monday. I think he should tell his boss that my DAD will kick Aron's and the bossman's bungaloids if I am sent home in a rickety van with 5 kidlets. That almost happened on the way here, and my dad was ready to follow me if he had to. You don't mess with a woman's father.
He also told me that he probably can't go on our lake vacation with my family. I get all stoic and strong and "we can make it work no matter what" but sometimes I am a human woman and I do get emotional and I do break down. After we hung up, I walked behind the kids crying. Not sobbing, so as to scare them. Just sad, quiet crying. I'm not so much crying for myself (kinda; I love my man and would love to see him more ... have barely had time with him since February). I'm crying for the time the kids are missing with him. I'm crying for the way his bosses do not seem to be able to read a vacation request in advance or know what "we are leaving in 3 weeks" means. Aron is a hard worker, a good man. He bends over backwards for his employer and has for 15 years there. I'm wondering about the future.
Shake it off.
Oh, when we first got to the park it was a total scene from The Birds ... seagulls EVERYWHERE flying low and going nuts! Michael loved chasing them away and being loud. It was only in the 50s here today. I ran into a woman at McD's who lives here now and she wore a KANSAS shirt. She said she lived in Overland Park and that she would move back in a second! I'm torn; it's gorgeous here but I miss everyone so much.
As we walked the final part of the walk, Sam and I held hands and I looked at our shadows. I cried a little more when I realized someday his shadow would be taller than mine and would we still hold hands? We drove a little in the park and saw baby buffalo ("in captivity" says my smart son Joel) and elk. I miss home, yet I will so badly miss it here.
Let's just say we played chicken in the road some more with the cows when we got back to the ranch. Aron got home by 8 p.m. and made sure the big kids got showers before dinner so I could type up this bloggy post! He's making brownies with Sam and Eva right now, it's about 9:30 p.m. and more is brewing that I can't discuss now, so stay tuned.
If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming. And if you aren't following The Kerrie Show on Facebook, you are really missing out on spoilers!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wyoming Day 17; It Never Ends, Does It?
Ventured out of the old homestead around 2 and encountered closed gates in two places on the gravel road. That's where a 10-year-old son comes in handy: he hopped out and hitched a ride on the gate as he opened it for us to pass through. The reason the gates were closed was because it was apparently mating season a while back. There are calves EVERYWHERE.
We hit the McDonald's Playland for the 2nd day in a row. Yes, we got Happy Meals ... a splurge! Notice the seats! The McDonald's off I-80 in Evanston, Wyoming is the best! There are TVs in the bathrooms! Why they show CNBC in the women's bathroom is beyond me. Shouldn't they be showing SoapNet or something? I know, I'm sexist. Anyway, it's clean and everyone is nice and it's a huge play area and they have WiFi of course.
Stayed there 2 hours then hit the grocery store, which takes forever since I don't know where anything is and I'm herding cats the whole time. Then, OH MAN, see the picture below because after we drove around for a bit we hit major rush-hour traffic. Can you believe this?! Bumper to bumper.
If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming. And if you aren't following The Kerrie Show on Facebook, you are really missing out on spoilers!
A brown cow hung with 7 black calves. Do you think they cross-nurse? |
Gorgeous snowy mountain with a bazillion cowels on the grass (that's what Sam calls them). |
We hit the McDonald's Playland for the 2nd day in a row. Yes, we got Happy Meals ... a splurge! Notice the seats! The McDonald's off I-80 in Evanston, Wyoming is the best! There are TVs in the bathrooms! Why they show CNBC in the women's bathroom is beyond me. Shouldn't they be showing SoapNet or something? I know, I'm sexist. Anyway, it's clean and everyone is nice and it's a huge play area and they have WiFi of course.
Later, some ice cream. Mommy is a pushover! |
Stayed there 2 hours then hit the grocery store, which takes forever since I don't know where anything is and I'm herding cats the whole time. Then, OH MAN, see the picture below because after we drove around for a bit we hit major rush-hour traffic. Can you believe this?! Bumper to bumper.
The kids immediately got into our grocery store booty of froot rollups. Why must the sit on the table to eat? Oh, right, because I allow it! |
We call this kid Sammy the Olive. He loves to put massive olives on his fingers and partake. |
The night ended with me writing and Daddy (who got home by 9 p.m.!!!) reading to Sam. |
If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming. And if you aren't following The Kerrie Show on Facebook, you are really missing out on spoilers!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
All Hell Breaks Loose on Day 16 But Music Saves the Day
Here's what we woke up to this morning. Did I ever feel like a wiener for being upset with Aron last night for not bringing home milk. He woke up at 6 a.m. like always, drove 20 minutes to the store, 20 minutes back and then 40 minutes to work. That, folks, is what a Good Husband looks like. Burn it into your memory.
Because he bought sunscreen, we got to go to the River Beach. Otherwise, we would have had to have stayed mostly inside or in the woods (I know, poor us!).
Here was my Facebook status at night, with a bunch of stuff added for clarity and a few cussin' words taken out.
So the Boss misunderstood and thought we were staying here INDEFINITELY with Aron (apparently with the money I will pull out of my butt; do normal people max out their own credit card to pay cash on a place to stay or empty their savings account to do so?). He thinks Aron is staying while me and 5 kids return home in a rickety van (still not fixed because the dealership wanted to fix a $1,200 thing that Aron can do himself cheaper and they never did find the real problem). THEN Boss wants Aron to miss my family's annual vacation, which has been planned and paid for for months. My suggestion: shackle his cute buns to the desk here in Wyoming for the months more it will take to finish this job. Will everybody be happy then? Because in his 15 years working here he has NEVER had a situation like this. Maybe he's just been spoiled. Don't worry, I won't gripe about this forever, and if we experience a job loss, I am not above getting a job at Hooter's.
Aron got home at a great time last night, with Domino's pizza, which was a huge treat. After Sam woke up from a late nap, we all piled into the minivan that hasn't been fixed but will be when Aron can get a real day off at home to do so. We picked up his rental at the Chevy dealership (where they tried to sell us a $1,200 part plus labor when Aron can do it at home for tons less; so everyone please pray that the van makes it home!). Then we trucked it over to (about 20 feet away) the McDonald's, which DOES have a playland, people. We were told it does not and we never even looked when we went through the drive-through. Which brings me to:
SIDENOTE:
Don't listen to people, or at least take everything with a little disbelief. Like we were TOLD there was no Playland there, so we just didn't even look. So if you are TOLD that someone is crazy, for instance, find out for yourself. This goes for things that I tell you, as well, of course. We all have our own perception.
Moving on ...
I got to drive the Buick back home with Callie and Michael in the back. I made a HUGE and MAJOR and GROUNDBREAKING discovery: Aron has XM satellite radio in the rental and he didn't even know it. This is BIG, folks, because I was brought up on music and love it and it's the equivalent of a little Prozac to me. I got to listen to CURRENT music which I have not heard for over 2 weeks (again, poor me). Did you know there's a group called Imagine Dragon ... hmm? I've decided the soundtrack of my days is "Last Night" by the Mar-Keys or "Green Onions" by Booker T and the MGs. If you get the blog in email form, you might not be able to see this and will have to come to the blog to click on it. Enjoy!
Quote of the day from me:
"Good thing I know where EVERYTHING is or how to find it because I have three sons, and they can't find crap with both hands." I used to love that show My Three Sons, by the way.
If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming. And if you aren't following The Kerrie Show on Facebook, you are really missing out on spoilers!
Because he bought sunscreen, we got to go to the River Beach. Otherwise, we would have had to have stayed mostly inside or in the woods (I know, poor us!).
I present to you ... Princess Samuel. |
Michael and Callie are snuggle buddies! |
So the Boss misunderstood and thought we were staying here INDEFINITELY with Aron (apparently with the money I will pull out of my butt; do normal people max out their own credit card to pay cash on a place to stay or empty their savings account to do so?). He thinks Aron is staying while me and 5 kids return home in a rickety van (still not fixed because the dealership wanted to fix a $1,200 thing that Aron can do himself cheaper and they never did find the real problem). THEN Boss wants Aron to miss my family's annual vacation, which has been planned and paid for for months. My suggestion: shackle his cute buns to the desk here in Wyoming for the months more it will take to finish this job. Will everybody be happy then? Because in his 15 years working here he has NEVER had a situation like this. Maybe he's just been spoiled. Don't worry, I won't gripe about this forever, and if we experience a job loss, I am not above getting a job at Hooter's.
Aron got home at a great time last night, with Domino's pizza, which was a huge treat. After Sam woke up from a late nap, we all piled into the minivan that hasn't been fixed but will be when Aron can get a real day off at home to do so. We picked up his rental at the Chevy dealership (where they tried to sell us a $1,200 part plus labor when Aron can do it at home for tons less; so everyone please pray that the van makes it home!). Then we trucked it over to (about 20 feet away) the McDonald's, which DOES have a playland, people. We were told it does not and we never even looked when we went through the drive-through. Which brings me to:
SIDENOTE:
Don't listen to people, or at least take everything with a little disbelief. Like we were TOLD there was no Playland there, so we just didn't even look. So if you are TOLD that someone is crazy, for instance, find out for yourself. This goes for things that I tell you, as well, of course. We all have our own perception.
Moving on ...
I got to drive the Buick back home with Callie and Michael in the back. I made a HUGE and MAJOR and GROUNDBREAKING discovery: Aron has XM satellite radio in the rental and he didn't even know it. This is BIG, folks, because I was brought up on music and love it and it's the equivalent of a little Prozac to me. I got to listen to CURRENT music which I have not heard for over 2 weeks (again, poor me). Did you know there's a group called Imagine Dragon ... hmm? I've decided the soundtrack of my days is "Last Night" by the Mar-Keys or "Green Onions" by Booker T and the MGs. If you get the blog in email form, you might not be able to see this and will have to come to the blog to click on it. Enjoy!
Quote of the day from me:
"Good thing I know where EVERYTHING is or how to find it because I have three sons, and they can't find crap with both hands." I used to love that show My Three Sons, by the way.
If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming. And if you aren't following The Kerrie Show on Facebook, you are really missing out on spoilers!
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