Exotic Resort

Most of these animals are on the endangered list.
Many of them are from Africa and India.

One of the many kinds of dear took a
liking to Abby's shirt and started chewing
on it with grass in its mouth...
and left a big green stain!

The petting zoo portion was really big,
and they milled around us. For "wild" animals,
they are tame and will eat from your hand. Most
were born on the property.

She said, "Not again!"
The first time was funny, but not the second.

Bambi?

Baby!

Thief!

The antlers were furry, like velvet.
Pretty cool!

Here you see the Llamas running for the
food they know the visitors will be throwing
over the side. Buckets of food were $6.
We ran out before the end of the tour.
Oh, well!

Feed me!

Very tame, see?

They were so sad to see the meal train take off!

I call this one BUCKY!
It wasn't Bucky, but one of the Llamas spit
on my mother and it stunk BAD!

The camel's name is Goober. For real.

He's huge! And very lovable !!

Will dance for food!

Staying cool.

Here two are fighting, antler to antler....probably
fighting over a woman!

Goober racing back to the tractor pulled
train as it turns a circle
and makes its way back to the station.

The beast weighed 2500 pounds!
Tame as a big old friendly dog.....

....complete with a black tongue.

Resting in the shade.

Eating the food tossed from the train.

More, please!

Goober following the train. He is fifty
years old.

Here he is going to the woods for some solitude.
The zebras make him nervous.

Later that night we ate at Souper!Salad!
and Liam turned his shirt around backwards
and was shaking his hands in the air, acting
crazy as usual, when he banged his fingers on
the table top. He yelped and people turned to
stare, thinking we were breaking his arm or
something. Why, you ask, was Liam wearing a
long sleeved shirt when it was 103 outside? He is
always cold! WOW! He's lucky!

Tired (and grouchy) travelers.
The funniest part of the day?:
They wanted to spend the night at a hotel
so bad! Mom thought, sure why not?
Johnson City isn't far enough away
to need to spend the night, so we spent the
night at a LaQuinta right near where I live.
Abby, who can read street signs, was asleep
when we arrived, so they never knew.
Cool trick!!

When I First Held You

When I first held you,
the wonder of your arrival
filled me with awe.

You were -- and are --
such a miracle to me!
I had such high hopes
and fervent prayers for you,
and I still do.

You teach me something
every day,
and you remind me that
prayers and hopes
are often surpassed.

I am so thankful
to be your parent --
and I'm blessed
to have a
child
like
you.


-Dena Dyer

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far, Afterall....

Our A/C's been out since Saturday when we returned
from a go-and-come-right-back-trip to Ft. Worth.
As a result, I have been agitated due to the 89
degree temp in the house.
I found myself fussing at Royanne, inquiring why
her attention span is so short, why she jumps from
activity to activity,
toy to toy,
room to room,
project to project.....
never finishing A THING!
ALWAYS leaving a grand mess
in her wake......

As I stomped off (in my mind),
I took ice from the freezer for my
breakfast shake;
went to the washer to start a load;
went to gather more towels;
found my shoes in the hallway
and put them on;
gathered the towels;
stopped to clean the toilet;
stopped again to sift the cat's litter box;
picked the towels back up;
dropped them on the kitchen floor;
made my breakfast smoothie;
fed the dog;
tossed some junk mail;
added to towels to the machine,
along with the soap....

Then I realized I can't complete one thing
before starting another one, either!

Fish in Water

Royanne really enjoyed her swimming lessons this
summer. Her instructors were Calvin and Katie.

Going through the hoola-hoop was a favorite.

Full of new information after class!

Jumping far, going under.

Learning to float. They had to be able to do this
with minimal assistance to pass.

Relaxing during class, playing red light, green light.

After swim class, she wanted to "practice".
But you can't practice in 10 inches of water!!
Here she is throwing Toto in for a swim, even though
I cautioned her to not.

Drippy!!

When you can't practice your floating, you
improvise!!!

Gettin' rowdy!

Using the foam bar bells facilitates learning
how to kick properly.

Floating.

Kicking perfected.

Listening to instructions and guidance.

Here Annie has an egg that was used under the
water, teaching them to be able to see: they had
to fetch them.

Learning how to use her arms in swimming....the
instructors called it ice cream scoops.

Here we see a mate about to jump in right after she
did, although they were supposed to jump one at
a time!

Royanne's sweet teacher, Miss Maray, had to go to
west Texas to care for her sick grandmother. One day after
swim class, we took her a present - it was her last
day - and got some hugs. It was a sad day; Miss
Maray is really gonna miss her kids!
(As you can see, we got there barely before nap time!)

Birthday Party

I chose the theme The Three Little Pigs
for her birthday party, and enlisted Kay's
artistic assistance.
I purchased a display board and we
brainstormed. In the end, Kay and Amanda
completed it...I was very pleased!
Here you see the wolf's windy breath
knocking down the fence.

In this picture you can see the wolf peeking
through the window. The curtain is made from an
old blanket, the wolf from fur from another project.
See the little pig in the house of sticks?
Too cute!!

This house was made from sticks found in the yard.....
very adorable!

The brick idea came from a friend who had her whole
family dressed up like the three pigs and the wolf
for Halloween. We dyed sponges the color of bricks!

A close up of the house made of sticks...

...and the straw house.

Completed brick house!! Notice the pot the
wolf fell in when he came down the chimney,
hanging on the fence.

The only thing that is hard to see/understand is
the pathway to the straw house.

The three little pigs! Bruce made these cakes.

Asleep on her big day.......

......requested breakfast......

......requested activity.......

......big big big mess!

When she opened her very own ironing board, she
said, "OH! I have my first machine!"

BLOW! BLOW!

With Abby!