Christmas was hectic, but good. On Christmas eve we went to Ryan's parents for pot roast. We were able to open one present. Then on Christmas I had to work...dolphins still need to eat. Three of us worked 6am-2:45 pm and got everything done. We basically did the least amount of work and played with the dolphins a lot. Then Ryan and I headed to his parents house were we had a big turkey dinner with the whole family. After that we did presents, which is always a hectic experience at the Monson household. Besides that party we had three others: friends of the family, Ron's side and Gayle's side. On Sunday we are heading home to see my family. I am SOOOO excited. Our kitties are making the long journey with us. It should be fun.

The holidays have also been rough this year too. Of course Ryan's grandmother passed away. I found out my grandpa had a heart attack on Christmas. Last I heard he is stable, but that was 2 days ago. To top things off Ryan's parent's cat, Charcoal, has cancer. So what, some of you may say, however, he is my favorite cat (besides my own of course). It's cancer in the mouth so we don't know yet what the course of action will have to be.

Ryan's grandmother's funeral went well. It was simple and honoring to her. There wasn't a casket, so that always makes things easier. Ryan's sister sang and Ryan read the Bible passages picked. It was nice to spend a few days with his family whom we rarely see. On Friday morning the sun was shining so we went in the pool and hot tub and played a lot of foose ball. Then went swimming some more. I think we were out there for a good 2 hours. Even got a little sun burn on my face. We also went to a Mormon temple that had a ridiculous amount of lights around the property. I can't even explain it, but it was amazing. I never thought I'd see palm trees with Christmas lights. Rachel, Greg, and I flew back on Friday. Rachel and I had lifetime-long games of War going on. At least is was something to pass the time. Oh, she had an ultrasound last week so I got to see the picture of her little baby. And on the flight home I got to feel it kick! I never got to feel a baby kick before because anyone I know that has been pregnant, I'm either not around when they baby is old enough to kick or I'm not close enough to them to ask if I can put my hand on their belly. That might be a tad awkward.

Ryan's grandmother passed away on Monday night. On Sun. we went to Ryan's parents for dinner and found out that she was given 12-48 hours to live. She has had cancer for 10 years. Around Thanksgiving she got pretty sick and got an infection. Due to the cancer she couldn't fight the infection. We are flying to Arizona tonight for the funeral tomorrow. I'm coming home on Friday with Rachel and Greg, and Ryan is staying until Sunday with his parents. Please pray for a safe flight (MN just got slammed with snow) and for the family.

It's been awhile since I wrote. I realized I didn't even have anything about our Thanksgiving. I had the day off so Ryan and I headed to DeGraff, MN where Ryan's grandpa lives. We got there on Wednesday night. This parents, brother, aunt, uncle, and the three other kitties that belong to the same litter as Triton and Obi. On Thanksgiving I just basically sat around with the kitties, watched the parade, read a bit. Then we ate. Good food of course. Gayle and I went on a mission to find a paper with the ads in it. After driving to two neighboring towns, and searching for two hours, we arrived back home, unsuccessful. Ryan and I had to head back home that night because I had to work the next morning.

Last week we decorated for Christmas. We had the first fire in our fireplace. Very cozy.

Our baby, Triton. Photo taken by Chad. 

Our baby, Obi Won. Photo taken by Chad. 

Compliments to our kitty photographer, our friend, Chad Pruden.  

This is me with my two new kitties. As you can see we have to cover the couch with blankets so thier little claws don't ruin it.  

This is Triton. 

This is Obadiah Wan, or Obi Wan for short. 

Semo and I doing the "peek". These pictures were from my second waterwork I did during a show.  

Semo and I doing the waltz. 

Semo and I doing a dorsal tow. 

Me and Semo. 

We got our kitties on Friday. They acclimated well to the new home. Well, the first day we just kept them in the bathroom. When they got here they ate right away, then curled up on our laps, then played later in the evening. The following day we introduced them to the bedroom, so now when we are home they have access to the bedroom, bathroom, and connecting closet. They enjoy the extra space. They chase each other a lot and wrestle a lot also. But occasionally they'll come and check on mom and dad, by climbing up our chest and rubbing their noses on our faces. Our black one we named Triton. Our orange and white cat we named Obadiah Won, or Obi Won for short. Ryan always wanted to name our future child Obadiah, but I wouldn't let that fly. So I compromised and allowed him to name the cat that instead. We will get some pictures up here as soon as I get some loaded from the digital camera.

Today I did my first waterwork during a show. It was a lot of fun and went really well. I am doing it tomorrow when the guy, Ryan, comes to the zoo to take pictures, so hopefully he'll get some good ones so I can post those also.

I got two kitties today for my birthday! Ryan's aunt and uncle foster kitties for the humane society. We actually played with these cats a few weeks ago when they were about 2 weeks old. Then we went there today and I was told I got to pick out two to keep! What a hard choice. We chose one black one and one that is orange and white. They don't have names yet and we will probably get them in the next week or so.

Why does the first snow of the year have to come on my birthday? It's not fun to wake up and look outside to see the ground white for the first time.

We went to the MxPx/Relient K concert yesterday. MxPx was great as always. It seems as if Relient K has lost some of their stage presence. It was still a good concert, but what happened to their fun antics? Like having a giant buffalo on the stage.

At Brookfield Zoo, Tapeko had a baby girl! This is a picture of Tapeko and her new baby. 

I am pretty much done with my waterwork training. I have about 3 more things to be cleared on, but I have enough behaviors now to be cleared for shows. I just have to meet with another trainer to plan out a waterwork routine for shows. Very exciting.

I have two days off of work. What am I to do with myself?

This past Friday, a band from Mt. Pleasant, Anathallo, came to Minneapolis to play. It was great to see people from CMU again. There are 3 members that Ryan and I know pretty well, so it was fun to catch up. Then this Friday we are going to the Relient K/MxPx concert. Then on Monday we are going to the David Crowder Band concert. Lots of fun stuff coming up...not to mention my BIRTHDAY!

I did my first training for waterwork. I got to get in with Semo and Chinook and work on basic points and stationing. Then I did some vocals, layouts, and the waltz with Semo. That's where he comes out of the water vertically and I hold onto his pecs as we spin around. I really like the layouts with Chinook, because it's just a dolphin laying in your arms in the water. Very cool. I think tomorrow I will get in and learn some more stuff. :)

Gorgeous fall day today. On my lunch break I took a walk at the zoo by myself. It was one of those days where the sun was shining, but the air was brisk. The leaves around the zoo were beautiful. Since it was a Thursday, there weren't many people so the trail was very quiet. I can't explain it, but it was one of my favorite times at the zoo.

In the past two weeks or so Harley has progressed nicely. He is always looking for a trainer when we go to feed his mom. And when you play with him during the session, he is letting us touch his head and is letting us rub down his side a lot more. He is still quite the biter, but we are trying to get him to target on our hands without nibbling on us.

I found out I get to be trained in on waterwork this week. Waterwork is what I got to do at the end of my internship, where I got in the water to do behaviors with the dolphins. Once I get trained, I'll do it for shows and stuff. I'm so excited!

I got another raise at Vanity. This is the second one in a month. I must be doing something right.

Fun day today. Ryan got to come to the zoo and pet some dolphins for the first time. Well, for the first time at this zoo. First he played "vet" with Ayla and one of the trainers. Then he got to go with me and Spree, do some behaviors with her, rub downs, and feed her. Then we fed the boys. I had Chinook so Ryan got to feed him, do behaviors, and rub downs, too. Ryan enjoyed it and so did I.

So, two minutes ago I was talking to Ryan on the phone. He was a block away from home saying there was a cop behind him. Well apparently he got pulled over right outside of our apts. He just called me now and he got pulled over for when he turned left, he didn't pull in the first lane. Instead he pulled into the far right lane. He didn't get a ticket, luckily. Crazy driver!

I may have said this before, but one of my favorite times at the zoo is in the morning when I'm opening up the stadium. The dolphins follow me around, trying to get my attention, and watch everything that I'm doing. It's hard to explain, but I love those moments.

I started to do dolphin encounters at the zoo. They are programs we have on weekends where people pay money and get to spend 20 minutes with the dolphins. Ten minutes is in ankle deep water where you get to learn about dolphin anatomy, feed them, touch them, do behaviors. The other ten minutes you get your picture with them doing what is called a pectoral fin shake. Then you touch, feed, and do behaviors. I am now one of the picture-person trainers. I did two this weekend and they both went really well. Before I was always the timer and just watched, so it's nice being able to actually do them now.

Before when I got my whistle, I could use it with the females in the back pools and with stationary behaviors with the boys during the shows. But when I would send my dolphin out on behaviors the other trainers would bridge for me. It's just common practice, so I can get the gist of it and stuff. Well, I can now bridge all my behaviors. Moving on up...

Work, work, work. That is what my life feels like right now. And when I do have free time, I'm too tired to do anything. The problem is Vanity is short-staffed so I am getting more hours than I want. This week I worked 30 hours at Vanity, plus 40 hours at the zoo. 30+40= too much work. I know I am at least employed at the zoo until Christmas time. I have Thanksgiving off but have to work Christmas. I will be able to get some time off around Christmas to go home. I actually had a day off about a week ago. Ryan and I had a great time. We had breakfast at Baker's Square, then went to the Mall of America, then went out to dinner. Vanity actually called to see if I could work that day, but for once I said no. Some good news...Ryan got a job! He will be teaching a physical science, and 4 math classes. It is a private school with kids with disabilities that couldn't assimilate into public school. Class sizes vary from one student to three, so it's very individualized attention. He gets benefits and everything. He started yesterday and it's going good so far.

A friend from the zoo came over tonight to see the apartment and to watch "My So-Called Life" episodes on DVD. We watched an episode then some how started talking about church. She asked if I had one here and I said there was one that Ryan and I liked but haven't really gone much due to work schedules and lack of motivation. I was telling her about the service and she seemed really interested because it's a contemporary service and later at night on Sun. so work no longer interferes with it. (Our schedules have all changed so nobody works later then 4:30 now). We were talking about how we should go together. Then she asked me where do I think people go when they die. I quickly said a prayer, "God, I know I haven't talked to you in awhile, but I need you to give me the right words." I have faith that he did. So we talked about death, heaven, angels, ghosts, how to do a Bible study, etc. It was a conversation that I needed to have. First, to hopefully kick start me back into the mind set of God's. Also, to let a co-worker know where I am coming from and what I believe, since I haven't been an A+ witness for the past 9 months at the zoo. Thank you, God, for allowing this conversation to occur. More will come, I'm sure. We are going to see Sara Groves tomorrow and Heather, another co-worker who let me know about the concert invited this friend also, so hopefully she can go.

I finally got to touch Harley today. He has been really interested in our hands when we put them in the water. So today I got to play with him and when you put your hands in, he targets his rostrum on your hand and then tries to nibble on your fingers. It's very cute. Speaking of biting dolphins, Chinook tried to bite me today when we were playing. That's the first time he's nipped at me, so I was pretty surprised. One of his teeth got my thumb, but it didn't break the skin.

I was supposed to start part-time at the zoo starting on Saturday, but the supervisor was able to keep me on as full-time until the end of October. I've very excited about that.

So, here's a fun story. Ryan and I went to the Twin's game on Monday. We were noticing that our car was getting really hard to put into gear. (it's a stick shift). Any time we would be stopped at a light, the car would almost stall when it was in first gear. Well, we made it fine on the free way, then pulled onto the highway that takes us to our house. Of course we had a red light. The car wouldn't go into any gear, so Ryan had to get out and push it down the street where I steered it into the Target parking lot. This car has a lot of miles on it and a lot wrong with it, so since this happened, we decided we aren't spending any more money on fixing it. So, we'll spend our money on a NEW CAR instead. We've actually been looking before the car broke down, so it came at a good time. We got a good deal on a Hyundai Tucson, which is a smaller SUV. I'm super excited about it. We get to go and pick it up tomorrow. I'll be styling.

This is our new car. Well, not the actual car, but a picture of the same one, color and everything. It's a Hyundai Tucson and we get to pick it up tomorrow.  

Joy, this one's for you. A co-worker at the zoo has a friend that is friends with Sara Groves. Anyway, they were at the zoo the other day together, but they had the kids with them so they didn't stop to say hi to Heather. But, one day when they do, Heather knows she has to come and get me so I can meet Sara. Ryan and I are actually going to her cd release party on Oct. 2 here in MN. Yipee!

I am sick with a cold now. It's no fun. Everything from the chest up hurts, is plugged, etc.

O.K. Update time...
1. Ryan and I are all moved into our new apartment. We were able to save up money the past few months so we got a bedroom set (bed, 2 dressers, 2 night stands) and a couch. I feel like a grown up. Soon I will be sending out a mass e-mail with our new address. We are really enjoying living there even though there are many things that need to be put away still. It's hard when we are both working so much.
2. Last weekend I was able to get 2 days off of work and head home to Hancock. A friend from highschool, Becky, got married. It was so nice to see people I haven't seen for a long time. And of course we had to stop by and visit the different parents also. I also got to see my brother and sister-in-law and their little doggie, Gracie. Such a cutie. I wanted to steal her, but I didn't think Josh and Amy would like that.
3. I'm still working full time at the zoo. Still temporary, so we'll see. But I'm still loving every minute. It's so interesting watching Harley (the new baby's name) learn new things, like how to slap his tail on the surface, and blow bubbles, and that when he breaches, bubbles form underwater for him to play with. He's darn cute and I love watching him learn more stuff about his environment.
4. There is probably more, so I may have to add more later. Peace.

I started to write stuff and then decided I'm not in the mood. I'll catch up some other time when I'm not so darn tired.

Ryan and I are officially moving out. We were apartment scouting and found an apartment that we couldn't pass up. It was a great deal. It is a 2 story apartment, fireplace, patio, lots of storage, sauna, racquet ball, tennis, indoor pool, outdoor pool, exercise room, and washer and dryer in our apartment! It's in a great location. It's in Burnsville which is near the zoo. There is tons of shopping and food nearby. There is a mall a block away with Vanity in there, so I may transfer at some point. We get the keys on Sat. so Ryan is going to go in while I'm at work and paint. We are going to add some color to the boring white walls. It's just time that we get out on our own again. It's been great living with his parents, but it was originally going to be 3 months, which turned into 6, which turned into 9. We are only 40 min. from them, which will be nice.

I'm going to be an auntie! Rachel, Ryan's sister, is pregnant. More reason why we want to stick in the Twin Cities.

-This week my dad came to visit. It was a quick trip, but it was still really nice. On Thursday he came to the zoo and got to see me do two dolphin shows and get a behind the scenes tour. I always love when people I love can visit and experience a little bit of what I love so much.
-Ryan and I had our four year anniversary on Thursday. We had a barbeque with the family to celebrate our anniversary along with Rachel and Matthew’s. Ryan and I are celebrating on Wednesday…he won’t tell me where we are going.
-I had to work until 1:30 am this morning, so I’m pretty beat. Our Vanity store moved locations, so we spent from 6pm-1:30 am moving the whole store. One wall of merchandise needed to be finished and then the registered moved down, but the head people were going back at 7 this morning to do that before our 10:00 opening.

Baby boy playing at the water's surface.  

Rio and Baby. How cute! 

Action shot...Chinook's long back tail walk from the side.  

Action shot...This is Chinook's breach.  

Tuesday was very refreshing for me. Whole day off...what to do? Well, I only slept until 8:30, which wasn't really sleeping in, but I had plenty of sleep for the night. Then I watched some Dawson's Creek, laid in the sun a bit, watched more t.v., took a nap with the kitty, stamped a lot, then went out on the boat with Ryan and his dad. My chin has the battle scars to prove it. Ryan and I were tubing and I punched my chin three times when we went over some waves. And, wow, did my muscles hurt the next two days.

I also got to SCUBA dive with the calf two times now. Last week Robyn and I went in together. It was the first time two divers were in the pool together since the calf was born. Then I went in again yesterday with Heather. Rio brought the calf near a few times. I can't even tell you how cool it is to look up and see a month old dolphin staring at you underwater. I am very blessed.

P.S. A co-worker I often times didn't get along with has quit. It makes my life easier.

The baby dolphin is still doing great. We are actually having a naming contest for him. I don’t think relatives of zoo employees can participate, but friends can! So go to www.mnzoo.org to submit a name. Just PLEASE no Flipper, Fins, etc. Trust me, those names will not get picked. (I think staff gets to pick the final name.) He has started to play now. He will blow bubbles out of his blowhole, spin around, and bite at them. It is very cute to watch. We think he has also discovered his reflection because he will swim straight up and bite at the surface of the water. There are some gross things too. Let’s just say mom is teaching him how to reproduce. Ewwwww. If you want to know details, just ask.

I have started to narrate the dolphin shows. The first one was very scary, but I got through it. I’ve talked 7 shows now. Public speaking is one of my fears and I’ll have to say that it is now conquered.

We had a mini-vacation last week. I had to work at Vanity Tuesday morning and Wednesday night, so in between we went up to the camper with Ryan’s family. We played three rounds of golf, went shopping at the flea market, had a barbeque, went swimming, and make smores. Fun times. And this Tuesday will me my first day off in a month and a half. I plan on doing nothing productive. I’ll stamp, read, lay out in the sun, etc.

I'm here to clarify the entry from two times ago. People keep wondering about it, and that's ok. Basically I'm in a spiritual slump. Nothing in particular has got me here, I'm just here. Nothing bad has happened; my life is wonderful right now. It's just for some reason it's so hard for me to talk to God right now and I haven't even picked up my Bible for weeks. Especially when I'm at work I thank God for my job and thank Him that I get to do what I love every day. But that's about the extent of it. It's like I don't have the energy to say anything else to Him. I'll be riding to work in the morning listening to Christian music and hear songs, and think, "That's exactly what I'm going through" or "Yes, I know, God, that you are still here and you love me." But that's extent. After work I do nothing to right the situation and feel like I don't have the energy to. I know I'm not strong enough to do this on my own, but when I ask for God's strength, I don't wait around for it. I hope this makes sense to some of you, at least. This is why I need your prayers.

Quick update. The calf is still doing wonderfully. He is getting to be quite the adventerous one. He tries to leave mom all the time, so poor Rio has to go chasing him around the pool all day. He'll even try to hide behind the other dolphins in the pool to get away from her. He has lost his "baby skin", meaning he has sloughed off his dark skin and now is normal dolphin color. He has some beautiful white markings on his side. He is also making eye contact with us in the windows more often. He even let a trainer touch him the other day. She was giving rubdowns to Rio, and the calf swam on that side so she give him a rubdown too. Apparently he got really excited and kept coming back for more, but then Rio didn't want it so she kept going between the deck and her calf.

I am stuck behind a wall. I'm on one side, God on the other. I've tried to go around it, over it, under it, but can't seem to get to Him. Then I found a door. I knocked on the door, but I didn't stick around long enough to hear an answer. Please pray.

"Sprout" from above. He won't be named for a few months, so for now he's Sprout. But can you really see an adult male being called that? Yeah, we couldn't either.  

Rio and the calf. Mom's tend to do this a lot to their calfs. It's called body propulsion. One idea is it helps the calf learn how to nurse, but then again, you will also see males doing this to other males, so that hypothesis doesn't always hold true.  

Rio and her new baby boy. 

This is me and Chinook. 

This is me and Semo. Notice the whistle. It makes me feel like a real trainer.  

After all those highlights from my past week, I forgot the most important. I got my whistle at the zoo! Ok, some may think, "what is the big deal?" To me it's a big deal, therefore it should be a big deal to you too! So you can send your congratulation cards, flowers and gifts directly to Ryan's parent's house. :)

I'll give some highlights of the past week or so...
1. Josh got a full time teaching job for next semester! Go, Josh! He'll be teaching at an alternative school up in Calumet, MI.
2. This will be the first Cornerstone Music Festival I'll miss in what would've been 9 years in a row going. Sad week. To me, it is the best place on earth.
3. Baby dolphin (Sprout is what we've been calling him...he won't be named for many months so we need to call him something) is doing GREAT. He is getting pretty adventurous. He tries to swim away from mom to see how far she'll let him go. He also bit Spree's tail already, but it was probably well deserved.
4. Last week at the zoo four different kids asked for my autograph. Strange, but cool at the same time. I remember when I was at Cornerstone last year and people asked some members of Anathello (a band who I know some of the members) for their autographs. I remember the look on their faces...mine probably looked the same.
5. I am officially cleared on all of Chinook's behaviors. Today I got cleared on the four "big" show behaviors: Long back tail walk, long back from the side, bow, and breech. Do those terms mean anything to you? I guess you'll have to come and visit to find out.
6. I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, but oh well.

This morning at around 7:10 Rio gave birth to a beautiful baby boy dolphin. I got the call around 5 am that she was going into labor. When I got to the zoo at 5:30 (which it takes 35 minutes to get there normally, however I was speeding…sorry officer…there is a baby dolphin being born…can I go?) they were not sure yet if the rostrum (meaning it’s breach) or if the flukes/tail (the way it should be) was coming out first. You could just see her genitals open and something coming out, but you couldn’t tell what end. When the flukes popped out we all screamed/cried/thanked God. Labor was fairly short. I was above the water and we didn’t really have any indication that it was coming. An intern and I were leaning over the pool because Rio was passing and we wanted to sex the baby so we could win a free steak dinner from the supervisor. Then all of a sudden, Jenny yells, “It’s here!” Someone plowed me over in the mass chaos. I pick myself off the ground and ran to my station. There were probably 15 people stationed around the pool to make sure the baby didn’t hit the sides. Rio did a good job herding it. It took its first breath, we all cheered.

The day didn’t end without any close calls though…It was around 2:00 and Rio was about to pass the placenta. We were all standing guard so we could catch it in a net before it sunk. I saw in the monitors that she passed it, so we were trying to find it. Meanwhile I look up and the calf is on the deck, with Rio putting her head on the side, trying to get her baby back in the water. A poor zoo volunteer who didn’t know what to do was over there so an intern and I run over to push it back in the water. He got back in safely, but it was one of the scariest experiences ever. And to see Rio trying to get her baby back was heart breaking. Obviously some of us were upset, but also glad it was safe again and ok. Then I hear a co-worker commenting on how some people are too emotional. Sorry I’m not heartless. O.k. That’s off my chest. Another thing that was hard about it is the public could see it and probably scared the crap out of them too.

On a pass by the underwater viewing Robyn and Lynn were able to see the baby’s genital slit with no mammary slits present, telling us it’s a boy. He also nursed a couple times throughout the day. I had to leave at 3:00 to get to my other job, but he was doing well when I left. Oh, and I got to touch the dolphin placenta. How many people can say that? Oh, and did I mention that he is the CUTEST THING EVER!

Crazy day at work today. The 2:00 show was cancelled because we had to evacuate everyone due to a severe thunderstorm. We were going to do it at 2:45 instead since the storm passed. During the middle of that show we lost power, so we had to evacuate people again because the dolphins can't do behaviors in the dark. Then at about 3:30 there was a huge water leak in a room near the pools that contains huge tanks to fill the pools. It was washing this mulch stuff into the pool so we were doing everything we could in order to stop the inflow of crap in the pool. So, the 4:00 show was cancelled because we were busy trying to clean up everything. And...Rio didn't eat anything. We think the birth will occur later tonight or tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

I'm still alive. Again, no baby dolphin yet. Ryan and I are currently going through the process of deciding to move or not to move. We went apt. shopping today and are now deciding. We have limited it to one place but now it's the decision to move or not. GRRRR.

Still no baby dolphin. Yes, the staff is really frustrated. Just have that darn thing already, Rio. I am completely trained on all of Semo’s behaviors now. His breach (huge impressive jump where he lands on his back) was finally taught to me today. I got to do it twice. It’s a crowd favorite.

Memorial Day is great. All though everyone else in the country had the day off, I worked. The zoo was packed. During lunch I got to enjoy the sun, and then when I got home, I got in my bathing suit and laid (so Josh, I probably also put the form of this word wrong, but you’ll have to get over it. Just face the fact that I will never understand some grammar rules) out for a while. Ryan grilled us steaks so we sat outside and had those and salad and baked beans. Yummy yummy. Then the neighbor girl (16 years old) and her dad came over and we played two games of PIG (which I won) and two games of around the world (I won one, Ryan the other). Now we are waiting for the family to get home from Star Wars so we can get going on a poker game.

whom thinks me bro is an nerdy teacher of english? OOHHHH! Me do!

Still no baby dolphin. The ultrasound showed the baby is still breech. Sometimes Rio is completely normal, other times she is a very snotty. Who knows when that calf will come. Today I was answering questions after a show I did and a little girl came up to me and said, "you are really pretty." How cute! And a couple weeks ago at Ryan's school one of his students said to me, "you are really pretty." To have a high school student say that to your face was strange. And then one of his students told him in class, "your wife is pretty. If you tell her will she let me pet a dolphin?" Nice try. Anyway, it was a much needed confidence booster.

The zoo is still going good. I am almost all done learning Semo's behaviors. I've also been learning Spree's behaviors. Yesterday I was getting trained on Chinook, who I was surprised to learn. They told me my first day I wouldn't learn behaviors on him. Oh well. I'm not complaining! I have learned how to do observations, which is fun since we couldn't do them as interns. We had a pregnancy scare last weekend. Rio was acting like she was going to have the calf anytime. She was showing all the signs of early labor. So we all got calls to give us the head's up, then she started acting completely normal again. We know the calf was breech, so we were thinking when Rio was acting strange, the baby was flipping around. They are doing an ultrasound today, so I guess we'll find out. Now I am full time at the zoo since we are on the 24 hour observation schedule.

Josh, as to that comment from that guy...I have no clue.

Ryan and I have been trying to attend some of the events at the high school that he is subbing at. Last week we went to a play called "the lady pirates of captain bree" or something like that. Very enjoyable. Tonight we went to a talent show with singing, dancing, poetry, etc. There was a lot of booty shaking. I don't think that stuff would have flew in my high school. And teachers saying "damn" and that they got lucky on their prom night. It's like a completely different world then how I grew up. Besides the initial shock, it was very entertaining.

Tomorrow Ryan, Matthew, and I head to a Twin's game. I have become quite the baseball fan, which for those that know me, that should be a shocker since I usually hate sports. Once I get my pink Twins t-shirt, I will be all set!

If you are reading this and do not have my new cell phone number, either e-mail me or reply to this post so I can e-mail it to me. I may be blonde, but I'm not dumb enough to post it on here. What do you call eternity? 4 blondes at a 4 way stop. Tee hee hee.

This past weekend I got to go to the Brookfield Zoo to the IMATA conference. It was good to see the trainers and animals again. And I learned some stuff at the conference. It was a quick trip, but it was good.

I started working at the zoo on Monday. I was getting trained on all of Semo’s behaviors…cues, what the criteria are, etc. I got to dive with the three females to clean the pool. It was a crazy experience. You can’t make eye contact with them and can’t interact in any way. When I was cleaning around the edges, they left me alone, but once I started swimming across the bottom, Spree was showing a lot of interest in me. I was once bumped by someone’s rostrum, but I don’t know who the culprit was. Rio also had a hissy fit during the dive, but Lynne, the other diver, was watching to make sure I was safe. Later that day this metal speaker cover rusted and fell off in the pool so Lynne and I had to dive again to put a new one back on. This was about 5:00 pm, and the lights are almost out in the stadium and it’s getting darker outside. We had to put these nuts and bolts on this ring. Since it was hard to see, Lynne used the Jedi force and closed her eyes to help her feel her way to putting the nuts in. It was pretty silly. On Tuesday I went over more behaviors and also went over observation stuff for when the calf is born. I also got to sit in on a staff meeting for once. I also got to do a show. Diane stayed by me and bridged my behaviors (blew the whistle when Semo did the correct behavior). I think it went really well. The girls are in the back pools so it is just the Semo and Chinook show.

Today at Vanity was my first day opening by myself. No problems. Tomorrow I close by myself for the first time. Fun stuff.

I ended up getting job offers from both Bath and Body and from Vanity. I chose Vanity because of more steady hours and it is a guaranteed job past June. Plus at Vanity I am part-time management, so that is always fun. I am considered a team lead, which is the position I had when I worked at Vanity before. I will be in charge of openning and closing, as well as the normal duties. I went into work on Saturday to do paperwork and today is my first 8 hour day. I also will work 8 hours tomorrow and Wednesday. On Thursday I am heading down to Chicago for an IMATA (international marine animal trainer association) conference at Brookfield Zoo, where I did my first internship. I will be staying at my mentor's house. I am really excited to see everyone again. The girl, Becky, who interned with me will also be there so it'll be fun to be with her. At least there will be two new trainers there. I get back from that on Saturday. I have training at the zoo on Monday and Tuesday. I will be working there one day a week until the calf is born, then I'll work 40 hours/week there. I am really excited to see what I get to do. Robyn said I will be doing shows, which now we have 4 shows a day. Fun fun! Gotta get ready for work.

Recently I have been applying to part-time jobs so I will have work before and after my zoo job. I would also work while working at the zoo. Last week I had an interview with Bath and Body Works. Tomorrow I have an interview with Vanity. Wednesday I have an interview with Maurices. Is this God's way of telling me I should work retail for the rest of my life and skip the animal thing? I sure hope not!

I have picked up a new hobby...card making. It started when I went to a stamping party. (Which Rachel and I are actually hosting tomorrow.) I don't have any stamps yet, but I have this shape punch thingy and I have made 11 cards already with just that. I must say, they look pretty darn good.

I got a job! One that actually pays! I was hired today at the Minnesota Zoo as an "emergency employee". It'll be this summer when I start. Probably the second or third week of May. I will work for only 45 days (not consecutive) and then my time is up. My supervisor says it will be 40 hours a week. Rio is expecting her calf mid-June or before so they want me starting before then to get into the swing of things. I'll probably only work 1 or 2 days a week before the calf is born, so I don't use up too many days. I'm excited!

I am currently visiting my family in the U.P. Since I'm currently unemployed, I figured I'd go home to visit for a week. I came up on Tuesday. Tuesday night Josh, Amy, Courtney, and I went to InterVarsity at MTU. We then went out to coffee with one of the staff workers, who I actually knew from 5 years ago. After that Court and I talked till about 1 am. Yesterday mom and I finished painting the computer room. We sponge painted it and it looks really nice. We also went out and bought some curtains. Then I took a trip down memory lane by going through my box of old school stuff..awards, newspaper clippings, papers, etc. Last night Courtney and I went to Nutini's to see Josh's (my ex-boyfriend) band play. It was kinda strange seeing Josh since I hadn't seen him for about 4 years, but nice at the same time. He is still his goofy self. Court and I were there until about 2 and I got to bed around 3:00. Late nights for me! Today I am heading to my dad's house for the day. I'm really glad he was in town this week.

I've had a busy, yet exciting couple of days...

Thursday…Saw Sin City with Rachel and Matthew. It was very interesting and I actually enjoyed it. Normally I wouldn’t like such a violent movie, but since it was the first of it’s kind, it was interesting to me. And the blood didn’t really look like blood. Since it was in black and white, most of the blood looked like bird poop.

Friday…We were planning to go to the Twin’s game, but it was sold out. So instead, Ryan, myself, and Sarah (Chad’s girlfriend) went to Chad’s where we grilled burgers and brats. We just watched the game on tv, wishing we were there.

Saturday…Woke up and did a lot of painting. Then me, Ryan, Rachel, Matthew, Chad, and Sarah went to a Twin’s game. They lost to the White Sox, but it was very enjoyable. After the game we went to Applebee’s to get some appetizers. So much food! Then we went to Rachel and Matthew’s to play with the puppies and watch Matthew play some video game on the old Nintendo.

Sunday...Woke up and helped Gayle with more painting. We finished the downstairs’ bathroom and started on the upstairs’ one. Took a break and ate grilled steak for lunch. Yummy. Then we went to the driving range. I was actually hitting pretty good. Then we went to Menard’s to get more tape to tape off the bathroom. Then it was off to Cold Stone Creamery for some delectable ice cream. (cake batter flavor with cookie dough) While there I got a message that I did not get the Brookfield job. That was my guess, but it still sucks. Then Ryan and I headed to Chad’s. We had dinner and then we headed off to church. We went to a contemporary service called the “upper room”. Ryan and I really liked it. It’s just so far away to drive each week.

I am no longer missing a tooth. After an almost 2 year process (not to mention the numerous surgeries since 6th grade), I have a tooth. It looks amazing and you can't even tell that is is fake. When you see me next, I even bet you money you can't tell which one is the fake one. I was supposed to get it done on Tuesday, but I got there and got all numbed up, and apparently the screw they got from the lab was stripped so I had the joy of going back again today. I was not happy on Tuesday, but today I'm super happy with the results.

Tonight we are going to see "Sin City". It should be interesting.

Spring is my friend. The past few days were absolutely gorgeous. It even got up to 71 degrees! Ryan and I took a nice stroll through the neighborhood. I had no dogs to walk or anything when everyone was at work, I took that cats out by just holding them. That was a bad idea, considering all they wanted to do was jump out of arms and frolic around.

Today I took a nice snooze in the sunroom with both kitties on my lap. Ah, how nice. Once we move out, it is mandatory that we get a kitty.

Still no word from Brookfield. It is getting really frustrating considering I called once and e-mailed once and still no word. GRRRRR!!!! I am trying to be patient, but come on! It's been over a month.

Like I mentioned in my last blog, I was able to SCUBA dive the past two days. Today will be going on the third. Unfortunately Ayla has been sick at the zoo. Each day (today will be the 7th I think) about 12 divers get in with a big net. Four divers hold it against the side and the others swim down to the bottom and hold it there and slowly swim forward, causing Ayla to go into the medical pool. Yesterday they needed more divers so Ryan went and dove also. It was a strange experience. You could see Ayla swimming on the other side, completely uninterested in us. You could hear her whistling. It has been a great experience for me, being able to do this. I am broken though. I some how pulled my muscles down my right side. The back of my head kills because the tank smacked it so many times. AND my knuckles are all scrapped up from the net. Fun times.

Ryan and I got back from Miami yesterday. We left on Sunday, but our plane from Minneapolis was delayed 2 hours because of the weather in Newark, NJ, where we were going to land. This caused us to miss our connecting flight in Newark, so we got to spend the night in the airport. That was a fun experience. We were able to get on a plane on Monday morning and be in Miami by 10:00 am. On Monday we went to the SCUBA dive shop that we were going to get certified through. We got fitted for wetsuits and all that jazz. Then we went to a beach in north Miami. It was a nice calm beach, with families and such. Then we decided to take a stroll down the beach before we headed out. As we were walking along the water, Ryan points out a guy wearing a pink thong. My first thought was that we were at a gay beach. (I’ve been to one in FL when I had my marine biology class…it was the prof’s doing, not mine). Anyway, I looked past him and saw a large naked old guy. I told Ryan that we were on a nude beach and we needed to turn around. In the process of doing that, I spotted another nude old guy about 20 feet from me. Yuck! We got out of there fast. As we were walking back to the original beach we saw a sign that said, “clothes must be worn past this point”. We wish we would’ve seen the sign warning us that clothing was optional. It was a tiny sign way up on the beach. That night we went down to South Beach and ate at Senor Frogs. Food isn’t that great there and costs way too much. Never again.

On Tuesday we had our first dives. The first site was about 22 feet and the second site about 18 feet. On this day we did all of our skills so the second day we could just dive and not have to do any skills for the certification. We saw a ton of fish, which I can’t tell you what they are. So much for learning anything in my marine biology class. J We say two brilliantly colored lobsters. They were white and blue. Very cool. Ryan saw a shark when we were doing our compass skills. I was behind him and I am really thankful I didn’t see it because I probably would’ve freaked out. Poor Ryan got sick on his second dive. It was probably a combo of seasickness/swallowing too much salt water/dehydration/swimming in surge. So the big question is, was I scared? Heck yeah! On the first dive when we rolled out of the boat and swam to the anchor line, I felt like I didn’t have any breath and that my regulator wasn’t giving me enough air. One I got down I was fine. It is just freaking bobbing up and down on 3 foot waves in the ocean, about to go under for 30 minutes and breathe out of a tank.

On Wednesday our first dive was at 60 feet. Down there we saw a ton of fish and a brittle star. I was starting to get a hang of everything by that dive. For the second dive we were at a place that was about 20 feet deep. Here we saw puffer fish!!! My favorite! We say two smaller ones that were puffed out, and then one HUGE one, about 2-2.5 feet long. He was huge! Poor Ryan got sick again and I was miserable because I had to go to the bathroom so bad and I couldn’t make myself go in the water. (Aren’t you all glad I’m sharing this) Finally I did and was able to enjoy the rest of the dive. There was a lot of live coral on the bottom so I’m glad that dive was last. By that time I was able to keep myself very controlled and not accidentally hit the bottom. We passed with flying colors and are now SCUBA certified!

We ate at some other places that week: Bennegin’s, Outback Steakhouse, some 70’s dinner across from the beach called Jonny Rocket’s, and a great bar called Wet Willie’s.

On the last day we went to the Miami Seaquarium. We got in free since I’m hooked up with the MN Zoo. Then the admissions dude had a trainer give us a tour. On that we saw some exhibits and then behind the scenes for a few minutes of a tank with the juvenile dolphins, who were all playing with various toys. Listen to this. We even got to feed and touch a manatee! We got to go right over the tank and put these protein pebbles in their mouths. Their whiskers would tickle your fingers. They are amazing animals. I had never seen one before and now I got to feed one! I am very thankful for everything I get to experience. Ryan got to feed also, which was super cool. We then saw the dolphin show and the sea lion show. After the sea lion show we got to stay after to get our picture taken with a sea lion. Then we saw the killer whale/pacific white-sided dolphin show. Why they have that combo, you got me. After that we headed to the beach in south beach. Not my cup of tea. Too many spring breakers. At least we only saw one topless sunbather. I like the calm family beaches. Not the beaches where everyone is super close to you. We didn’t stay too long. So Miami was fun, but I don’t know if I’d choose to go back again.

So I am technically done with my internship. I am heading into work today though. I first was going to help out with another intern’s waterwork. I called work yesterday and Ayla is sick, so they have to net her to feed her. If there is enough gear, they asked if I wanted to SCUBA dive with them to net her. I’ll let you know if I get to do it or not. The other intern can’t do her waterwork today because of this sickness and the pregnant dolphin, Rio, is acting really crabby.

This is Semo giving me a dorsal tow.  

This is hard to see, but it is Semo and I doing a waltz. 

This is Rio and myself, doing what is known as a peek. She is pregnant, hence the big belly. 

It has been an exciting couple of days. On Friday my mom, Josh, and Amy came from Michigan because Saturday was my “big day” at the zoo. On Saturday the 12:00 show was pretty normal. I did points with Rio and Chinook. Well points with Chinook during a show was a first. For some reason they don’t let us feed him, and nobody quite understands. Anyway, then after the show Josh and Amy got to meet Semo, while Gayle and Rachel (Ryan’s mom and sister) got to meet Chinook. They all got to do rubdowns, feed them, and do some behaviors. Then we all went and ate at Chipotle, but I was too anxious/excited/nervous I didn’t even eat. And for those of you who know me, that is a huge thing for me to pass down food at a restaurant. Anyway, I got to do the 2:00 show, where I did all the behaviors with Semo. One thing I did was his “ball toss to crowd” where I go on the public side and throw a ball in the water. He grabs it and has his famous 10 second wind-up, then throws it in the crowd. The cutest thing you’ll ever see. The show went pretty flawless. Then I got to do waterwork, which is where I get in the water and do behaviors with the dolphins. I did a hula, water squirt, waltz (the dolphin pops up in front of you, you grab the pecs, and he spins you around), dorsal tow (grab on the dorsal fin and hang on for life as he pulls you across the pool), layouts, and peaks over the acrylics. It was an amazing experience and I’m so grateful that I got to experience it. I am also very grateful that my family was able to come and also a lot of Ryan’s family came. I have some pictures, so once I get them on this computer, I can post them on here.

What else? Oh, I did not get the job in Florida. Such is life. It seems to be a pattern with me that facilities think they call me to tell me I don’t get the position, but they don’t really call me, so I call them to find out the bad news. Dumb. I also got my hair highlighted yesterday. I am once again a blonde. Yipee! I only have 7 more days left at the zoo. Crazy!

I just wrote a huge blog about my waterwork with the dolphins this weekend and of course it didn't go through. When I have more time today or tomorrow I will re-write it.

I miss my friends. Last Thursday I called Krista's during their weekly Survivor party and was sad that I wasn't there. Talking to some of my friends for about a minute just didn't cut it.

I had my phone interview with Dolphin Cove in Key Largo, FL yesterday. I think it went really well. I am stupid and didn't catch the name of the guy that was interviewing me. I remember the two females' names, but not the guys. The reason this is important is that Ian from Survivor is a dolphin trainer from Key Largo, FL that does dolphin-human therapy. I know that this facility only had 1 male trainer and this is the only place in Key Largo that does Dolphin-human therapy. So, next time I hear from them I'll have to ask what his name was because that would just be weird. But, I won't hear back for a couple of weeks. I'll keep you all posted.

I know. I know. It's been too long. Things have been pretty exciting here. First off, last Tuesday I had an interview with Brookfield Zoo for a temporary seasonal position. It would be from April to September. On the same day that I got a call for that interview, I got a call for another interview with a facility in Key Largo, FL called Dolphin Cove Research and Education center. It is a facility that does swim with dolphins programs and dolphin assisted therapy. That interview is this Tuesday over the phone. Ryan and I also completed our confined water SCUBA, meaning we passed all the SCUBA stuff in the classroom and in a pool. It was a lot of fun and a weird experience breathing underwater. A lot of the skills I was a little scared to do at first, but when I got there, I knew they had to get done and they were not bad at all. So, the next step is to do four open water dives to get certified. However, Brookfield could not even consider me if I didn't have the dates for those open water dives, so to help that situation, Ryan and I are flying to Miami Florida right when I'm done with my internship on March 20th for 5 days. Two of those days we will do the open water dives. We will get on a boat at 9:00 and they will bring us to the dive site where we will do the same skills we did in the pool and arrive back at 1:00 pm. Then we will be certified. Nothing like a last minute trip to Florida!

March 5th...mark your calendars. This is the date where I do my first full dolphin show where I get to do all the hand cues and everything. I also get to get in the water and do what is called waterwork, where I do different behaviors with them in the water. This will be the first time I get to do this, and I am super excited. My mom, brother, sister-in-law, Ryan, Ryan's family, etc. are coming and it should be great. So if you want to make a last minute trip, come on out to exciting Minnesota!

Yummy fish! This is Rio. If you are wondering what that bright orange thing is, it is a frisbee. When I do points during a show (meaning the trainers will point me dolphins to feed temporarily) I put the food in the frisbee and feed from that. That was the first thing my brother-in-law asked, so I figured I'd clarify.