New Memory Card

Finally, the new memory card arrived. I even upgraded from 2 GB to 8 GB, so now I can take movies that are a lot longer (please contain your enthusiasm).

Here was a test run. Note Bode is suddenly camera shy. If you look close, you can also see Harley running around.

Very hot here...seems like we went from 60 to 90 in just two days. Oh wait, that is exactly what happened :-) Pleasant week.

Columbus Zoo

We had a great day today. Unfortunately, there are no pictures. Our camera's memory card has malfunctioned. It's a 2 GB card, but if I take one picture on the lowest resolution setting, I get an error stating the memory card is full. After trouble-shooting for a couple hours, I couldn't make it work. I went to the google, found a replacement card, and fired off an order. Sadly, the card didn't come in yesterday's mail, so it's going to up to me to color by numbers with words and illustrate our outing.

First, it was cold. Not Nebraska-winter cold. More like Seattle. Damp and misty. This actually turned out to be a good thing because if it had been steaming hot, the animals would not have been near as active as they were. We first checked out some bears. The black bear was puddling around in his water hole. He then got out, shook himself off, and waddled right towards us. I wondered how thick and strong the safety glass was--with a running start, Yogi could have smashed right through it. Instead, he ambled on, sniffing the same ground he'd walked on probably a thousand times.

The polar bears were a bit of a disappointment, as they were asleep. The brown bears were perched up on a big rock, looking like big dogs sitting in their yard. The grizzly bear was walking around. Huge, scary claws that wouldn't leave a mark if you got hit by them. Bode seemed to like them.

Next up was the elephants. They were outside, all three of them. Mama, Papa, and little baby elephant. He was so cute--reminded me of Harley. Their trunks are amazing muscles, the way they grab onto grass and feed themselves. The lions and tigers were all sleeping--do the big cats ever move in zoos? Bode pointed out the lions are supposed to go, "Roooaaarrr!" Darn those lions.

I loved the apes. There were scale models of gorilla and orangutang hands and feed. They have some big mitts--double the size of my hands and feet (although I wear a size 8, so maybe their hands are more like Shaq's...) One orangutang was climbing around. I wondered how many pull-ups he could do. The gorillas always remind me of people, with their facial expressions and quizzical looks. I'm expecting them to starting talking ("Get you hands off you me damn dirty human!")

The highlight for Bode (sadly) had to have been the play area. It was this immense climbing/sliding/tunneling structure. Kids were everywhere, running, jumping, yelling, and having a wonderful time. I'm always amazed there are so few collisions. Bode had never shown any climbing skills until today. We watched him try to climb up these levels. He got stuck, and we thought he was packing it in. Then, he saw another kid jump up and lean forward, getting his chest and stomach on the ledge and leveraging his legs up. Bode saw this, and he was off and ascending like a mountain goat. He got to the top and took the big slide all the way down. He loved it. However, as we left, he said, "I need a nap. I played really hard." So the little Jabba wanted me to carry him out of the zoo. This was cute two years ago. It's a horrific workout now :-)

All week, Bode has been having an accident at school. We know right away when we show up to pick him up if he's had one because he'll be in his backup clothes. Yesterday, Ashley picked him up, saw that he wasn't in the clothes he had on when we dropped him off, and said, "Did you have an accident?" Bode answered, "No, Jonah peed on me." Huh? Ashley thought he was confused until Miss Betty explained, "Bode was using the potty, and Jonah suddenly had to go, raced back, and, well..." So our boy was peed on (and all I could think of was Blackthorne and Shogun... :-)

We've no major plans for Memorial Day. I think we're all exhausted, so hopefully we can sleep it. Pleasant weekend.

Shortly

I can't believe we've had Harley for over a month. Since we see her every day, we don't realize how quickly she's growing. Friends that see her every couple of weeks are amazed by how much she's changed. Here are some recent photos. This first shot is from a few weeks ago. Note she still seems small next to Ashley, but she's a lot heavier than the 11 pounds she was when we got her.

Next we have me and the girl in a tug-of-war. I'm still able to win these battles.

Finally, here are some cute shots of Harley taking a nap. She'd been up and about all day, so poor little thing was exhausted.

Evidently she likes the pillows we have in the living room.

Despite the lack of photographs, Bode is still the jewel of the family :-) He's really becoming this little person, and we wonder where he learns to say certain things. For example, Ashley asked Bode for the camera. His response: "I'll give it to you shortly." It's also funny when he gets a bit confused. Ashley said, "Boy, Harley is pooped." Bode was very worried Harley had gone to the bathroom in the house. It took some time to convince him she hadn't. Ashley then tried to explain that words can have multiple meanings (i.e. homonyms). He's not quite there yet...

Four-day week for us, as we are taking Friday off. Pleasant week to all.

Bode Jackson, Egg Hunter

For Easter, Ashley was kind enough to "hide" eggs from Bode in the backyard, even though it was somewhat damp. Here's a movie of the little man finding some eggs in plain sight.

The little fellow gets sooo excited when he finds an egg. He's also quite fond of the chocolate inside. He must get that from his mother...

Harley was a big (no) help. She kept chasing after Bode trying to nibble on his shoes. She's getting better in terms of biting, but she'll still put her needle-sharp teeth on you just to say hi. She is getting better with potty training (didn't we just do this?). Just this morning, she finished breakfast and took herself out the doggie door and peed. Such a good dog (she then peed in the hallway, so she's got a ways to go...)

Ashley's parents were here for Easter weekend. Bode managed to get his mitts on the camera and started snapping away. Here are some of the better shots. First, a goofy one of Ashley.

Next, here I am walking down the hallway.

Finally, here are Nana and Papa getting into the X-terra. Yes, the garage is a mess.

Raining (again) here in Dayton. Something like 8+ inches of rain this month, with more forecast for tomorrow. Saturday, Ashley is going to build us that ark. Pleasant evening.

Happy Easter

We are drowning this spring. Dayton has received over 6.5 inches of rain this month alone, with nothing but rain in the five-day forecast. The positive side is things are green, and everyones' lawns are looking spectacular. Last year, we didn't get enough rain. Such strange weather. Like all things that are bad, I blame the lawyers (sorry Uncle John, Cousin Meghan).

In preparation for Easter, Bode and I decided to color some eggs. Here's a picture of Bode anxiously waiting for the color pellets to dissolve.

Next we have the Mad Scientist in action. Note the multiple eggs "brewing" at the same time. It was a pleasure to watch a master egg-dyer like Bode at work.

Here is a cute shot of Bode and me.

Afterwards, the little Dude needed to wash his hands.

Aunt Geri got Bode an Easter present. I didn't know a gift exchange was part of this holiday, but Bode was thrilled. Here he is hopping around.

If you can't tell, it's a little frog with an inflatable ball. Bode can bounce up and down on the thing and scoot around the house like an amphibian. Ribbit ribbit.

Harley update: She's growing. Seems like every day the beast is getting bigger. She does have a lot of the rottie qualities we've seen before: smart, inquisitive, lazy, and loves the belly rub. Here's a shot of the laziness in action.

She's got a little belly on her already (kind of like us all :-) Pleasant Easter to all.

Harley

With winter finally leaving us (we think), there will no longer be any lazy afternoons, curled up beneath a warm blanket. Then again, maybe not...

Hopefully they are both well rested, because we have a new addition to our home. We were going to wait a bit before getting a new dog, but we were missing having a dog in the house, and the right opportunity presented itself. Therefore, I'm proud to introduce Harley, our lovable 11-pound, 6-week old rottie.

We picked her up today, and are slowly adjusting to life with a puppy. Tonight will be tough, as puppies tend to cry (a lot) their first night away from Mommy. We know we have to be firm, but puppy cries are hard to ignore...here's hoping for some good sleep. Pleasant day.

What Do Tigers Dream of?

Time for some comic relief. After the winter we've had, we can use a good laugh. As many know, I play the piano, and have been doing so for going on ten years. After watching the movie, The Hangover, for about the tenth time, I decided to learn "Stu's Song." Below is my rendition after a little bit of practice. Before you comment, yes, I know, my singing is HORRIBLE. Ashley encouraged me to put this on the blog for entertainment purposes (not musical entertainment; comedic). Hopefully you enjoy it.

I just finished a pretty brutal travel schedule. Since St. Patrick's Day, I have been on four trips (St Louis, California, St Louis again, and Atlanta). I'm ready to be home for awhile (but I think Ashley has some travel in April...)

Bode is doing great. He made us proud the other day and peed in the sink at daycare. Yes, you read that correctly. Little man peed in the sink. The teachers thought it was hilarious because they don't think he meant to do it. It was right after nap, and they think he was still in that awake/sleep state. They helped him unsnap his pants, and next thing they knew, Bode was firing away into the sink. At least he found some sort of drain.

We are looking for a dog. We went to a rottweiler breeder. They had 13 rotties in their barn. I thought it was pretty cool, although they barked all the time, and the smell was a little different than that which my suburban nostrils are accustomed. They have two litters due some time in April, so we'll see if we find a puppy we adore.

Pleasant week to all.