… demonstrates how to climb aboard an elephant (at the Dallas Zoo).
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Even temperatures of 100 degrees can’t stop the most intrepid zoo-goers. Here’s our day, from the carousel, to the penguins, to the African savanna, complete with alligators, lion and jaguars. Tommy spent the past week at Dallas Zoo summer camp and he was our guide through the exhibits and took the photos of the animals. Then he got drug by a baby elephant while holding onto its tail, and somehow managed to get his head stuck in the mouth of an alligator. For your own visit to the zoo: Oh yes, and speaking of science, I’d like to recommend a new blog: It’s called Tommy’s A to Z Science Blog and I heard about it from Hammy Jr., who knows all the best science blogs. Ok, this is from a year ago, but I just have to post it, because it’s so cool. This was at a Science Day event at the university. Sofie encountered some very strange green goo, and Tommy encountered a creature that I think was some kind of large lizard, or reptile, or something.
After our $100 investment in gardening last year — only to get a single pepper out of the deal, Sofie and I opted for a simpler approach this year. We spent $1 on a packet of wildflower seed, including Zinnias, and threw it into the dirt pot built into the mailbox. The results have been spectacular and far exceeded our expectations. Take a look. This is my idea of gardening.
Next year we may have to try for some old-fashioned Morning Glories. Remember all that snow last February, and all those trees blanketed with snow? I think they might be the reason the Crape Myrtles are busting out all over with more flowers than I’ve ever seen before.
Not every public pool has taken out the high diving board. While visiting Grandpa in Kansas over Fourth of July, we traveled eight miles north on the chalk road and found the public pool in Kensington — previously home of the “Goldbugs” when the high school was still Kensington High School (John’s alma mater). While the town has merged schools with another neighboring town and renamed the high school Thunderidge High, the pool has kept the tradition of the high dive. Tommy and Sofie had never been off a high board before. Tommy took me by surprise when he not only jumped off the board, but then began doing flips. See the image below. Sofie walked to the edge of the board several times, like I remember doing as a kid, before she finally took the plunge. Darn, somehow I didn’t get a picture of that. 
We saw the best fireworks show ever in Smith Center, sponsored by Jiffy Burger, our favorite place to eat — and home of the largest bag of French fries you’ll ever find. Yes, I did say French fries. Memorial Day we headed north to Kansas, but made our usual stop in Guthrie, Okla. at the Sleep Inn where they have some of the best climbing rocks. It was a quick trip but we managed to work in a lot of fun visiting Grandpa at the farm in Kansas. And we even managed to do a little work. Here’s a slideshow that sums it all up — a 48-hour trip from Texas to Oklahoma to Kansas and back. All packed up and ready to go — and light enough to wear on the back. Tommy and John took to the campgrounds in May, this time hiking in (from the parking lot) with a backpack.
Why not a little skateboarding before mass and singing in the choir? Out on my morning walk, this was the view just a block from the house. I’m so jealous!
Sofie rounded up some fun with a Girl Scout horse ride. Nemo isn’t normally the sort to sport an Easter hat, but the pretty wild roses growing in the backyard sure look good on him!
(Spring Break Road Trip continued … ) Hi. I’m a wabbit. I like the drive-up. Sure, everybody thinks a wind tower is awesome, but how often do you see a weal wabbit at the drive-up? How ’bout a large order of hay, with carrots and celery on the side? Aw heck, it’s Spring Break — supersize it! Why do all the girls at the window make such a fuss over me? I like road trips. Traveling to Western Kansas over Spring Break our mouths were agape at the giant wind towers that now pepper the High Plains. We could see 100 or more from Interstate 70 just west of Salina. Our snapshots show the Iron Giants side-by-side with their predecessors — much smaller versions built in the last century. Lake LaVon is just a hop and a skip from our house, and it’s the perfect place to find some nice flat stones to practice rock skipping. I think we counted as many as 7, 8 or 9 skips. Toward the end of this slideshow you might recognize someone who looks like Mr. Bean. How did this happen? Doesn’t matter — we loved it. Here’s a slideshow of our historical snow day. This is the ‘hood around our home. As the year winds down and the Christmas cards begin to arrive in the mail, we are thankful to hear from all of you. Our hope for each and every one of you is that 2010 will be a year filled with blessings. This “Christmas letter” blog is to let you know how our year has unfolded, at least from the time when I started it last spring. Upon hearing from you all in recent weeks, we’d like to say:
We hold all of you in our thoughts and prayers, but especially my mom, Gladys Allen, whose fractured leg has her in the hospital in Plainville; my sister Mary, who will have surgery Jan. 12; and my sister Marcia. On Christmas Eve we’ll be watching Norad’s Santa tracker … Wow! $100 worth of seeds, pots and potting soil — and five months later we have … one pepper!!!!! Now that I think about it, I’ve heard this same tale of woe from my friend Glenda, who gave me the idea to try a container garden in the first place.  A pepper |
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