Ryan and I at Melissa's wedding. 

This is my niece, Hailey, at her first Twin's game. 

I hope everybody had a good Labor Day weekend.

On Friday, Ryan and I met Joy, Laura, and Thor at Joy's place for some sloppy joes. Then we played some games of UNO and watched part of "Big Fat Liar."

On Saturday Ryan and I went furniture shopping. We would like a kitchen table, a chair for the sunroom, and a futon for the guest bedroom. We were unsuccessful. You'd think that since High Point is the furniture capital of the world, furniture would be cheaper. Well, it's not. It's more expensive that in MN. I want IKEA again! That evening Joy, Laura, and Thor came over for tacos and we watched "She's the Man." I was VERY skeptical. I would have never rented it, but we watched it and it was REALLY funny. Then Thor headed back home and Laura and Joy spent the night.

In the morning we went to Joy's church and then ate some Vietnamese food-yummy. That night Ryan and I rented "Poseidon." We enjoyed it. I finished my "Freeing Keiko" book and now I'm on to "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." I read half the book in one day. I also got some little things around the house done that I needed to do. So, here I am. Tuesday morning...watching Regis and Kelly in my pajamas. What I life. I need job...bad.

Yeah for Internet!

I whole lot has changed since I last wrote. Ryan and I are now living in North Carolina. We are in High Point, which is outside of Greensboro. So far we like it. It has been raining the past 3 days, but at least it cooled down some. Josh called me yesterday and said, "batten down the hatches. Ernesto is coming." My reply was, "Is that a storm or something?" That is uninformed me, not having internet, t.v., or looked at a paper for a week.

Here's how it went down. Everything worked out with Ryan's math license. (Well, at least I hope so since we are here now.) We packed up the U-haul on Sunday, with the help of a lot of great friends. On Sunday we stayed at Ryan's parent's house. We wanted a bed to stay in and also we though it appropriate to start and end our stay in Minnesota at their house. We headed out on Monday morning. That first day we made it to Louisville, Kentucky. We made the rest of the trip on Tuesday. The cats were GREAT in the car. I was very proud of them. We arrived in Greensboro that evening and met up with Joylynn and Thor for some dinner. Ryan had to start work on Wed. because the students came Friday. I was busy looking for apartments. We found one and moved in Friday. Well, I moved as much as I could while Ryan was at work. When he came back he helped with the rest. It is much easier with 10 people as opposed to 2. We love our apartment. It is 2 bed/2 bath, big kitchen, and a sunroom. The cats are enjoying it so far. We bought a washer and dryer and got that on Wed. We got our internet and cable hooked up this morning.

We haven't had much chance to scope out the scene of High Point. We did go to the Arboretum with Joy and Thor last week to have a picnic. This weekend Laura Griffin is coming up to spend the weekend up here. She is teaching in North Carolina now as well.

I have applied to two jobs at the North Carolina Zoo. We shall see.

If you did not get the e-mail that I sent out with our new address, let me know so I can get it to you.

We still aren't positive about what we are doing or where we are going. It still looks like we are heading to North Carolina, which we really want to do. There were some problems with a math license in that state, but Ryan thinks it is all worked out now.

I got my hair cut today. It is chin length in a cute bob cut. I like it so far. We'll see when I have to style it myself come tomorrow.

Today when I was packing I found an old journal from senior year of highschool. It is very humerous to read. I really should be packing. Instead I'm reading that and Ryan is watching football.

This past week we headed to Michigan for Melissa's wedding. Ryan and I flew out on Wed. We stayed at Phil and Sandy's in Garden City on Wed. and Thurs. night. We played some Super Mario Brothers, ate a lot of good food, played a lot of cards, and went to a comedy club. On Friday morning Ryan and I drove to Port Huron. I went to lunch with the females from the wedding party and the mothers at Olive Garden. Then Ryan and I met up with 2 friends from CMU, Krista and Laura. We got some desert at Bob Evens. Then we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I had some raspberry beer-very good. Excellent steak and veggies. After that we headed back to the hotel. The girls from the wedding party plus Maren met in Melissa's hotel room and we laughed all night. We were up until 2:00 I think. It's always a good time when me, Allyn, Melissa, and Maren get together and reminisce about old times.

The morning of the wedding was busy. One girl did 6 girls' hair. But she got us all done in time, for the most part. The girls loaded in a big conversion van with the wedding dress and sped to the church. We quickly got dressed and got some pictures done. Let me tell you...get married in an air conditioned church. This church wasn't and it was HOT. During the ceremony we were all dripping sweat. And poor Melissa who had about 10 layers of dress. The ceremony was beautiful and so was Melissa. It was so cute how Ryan (groom) watched Melissa the whole time and won't take his eyes off her during the ceremony. It was really sweet.

We took a limo bus to the reception. There was really good food there and we danced the night away. The Cipriano's, old teachers from highschool, were there. It is strange being an adult now and having old teachers treat you as one. It was also nice to see Melissa's family who I haven't seen for many years.

After the reception we had an after-party at the hotel. Then we hung out with some people from the wedding in the lobby until 4 am. There was a lovely dance off between a groomsman and a 70 year old drunk stranger. It was great! "Rap is crap," as he likes to say.

Sun. we had lunch with everyone and then did present opening. We didn't stay for much of that. We headed back to Garden City. I took a nap, boys played Nintendo. Then we went out to dinner and played more cards.

Now we are back on MN. It looks as if there is a good chance we will be moving to Greensboro, NC, where the lovely Joylynn lives. I will update when I find out more.

Being unemployed has allowed me to read a lot and watch a lot of movies. Here's what I've been doing.

Books:
-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix-too long
-To Touch a Wild Dolphin
-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince-this and the Goblet of Fire are my 2 favorite
-Island of the Blue Dolphins
-Secret Life of Bees-loved it
-currently reading Freeing Keiko-book about the whale from Free Willy

Movies:
-Cabin Fever
-Hostel-dumb
-Stay-very good...Josh, you'd like it (new release at Blockbuster)
-The Hills have eyes
-Wolf Creek
-I think there is more, but I can't remember right now. The 100 degree weather is frying my brain.

After watching a few horror movies lately, I have some advice. If you are in a situation where the killer is vulnerable, don't just shoot him/her once. They'll come back and kill you. Shoot numerous times or take a the time to finish them, so you yourself DO NOT DIE. Ryan and I were getting very annoyed.

I'm still jobless. I still have been applying to jobs around the country. The two that I recently applied to are the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Aquarium of the Pacific, in Long Beach, CA. There is also a job in Florida that I'll be applying to. As for a job in MN, I applied at Petsmart as a dog trainer. If that doesn't work out, it looks as if there is still a position for me at Vanity as an assistant manager. I sure didn't see myself working retail after college. It sure makes me humble. I am not all that.

I have been volunteering at Vacation Bible School at our church this week. I have been working with the 3rd grade class and it has been a lot of fun. Lots of kids made first time commitments to Jesus. Please pray that they are true commitments and that they understand the huge decision that they made. Pray that God will place Christians in their lives to help them learn more about Him and what it means to live for Him.

I am back in MN now. I had a good drive back. Uneventful, which is good. I saw a ton of motorcycles cruising down the highways in MI and WI. Apparently that is the choice of transportation when it is 90 degrees outside.

I had a good time at home. I went out to dinner a few times with my mom. One was on a deck outside by the canal. Very pretty. Then mom, Josh, and Amy and I ate at my favorite place to eat when I'm at home to get the BEST pizza ever. I went out to my dad's house again. We went to Horseshoe Lake and took the doggies swimming. We also took a dip...very refreshing. I got to see my friend Courtney. We went to church together, ate out, and bummed around. Court, how's your head?

I completely forgot to write about this. We aren't leaving the Twin Cities. On the Wed. Ryan was supposed to let Arizona know, he got a job offer for a school in the cities, so we are staying! We don't have to move!

My massage the other day was lovely. She told me I have to go see a chiropractor for my back. It's not a huge surprise. After the massage I went out to my dad's for awhile. I got to see Storm and his new dog, Mushka. I'm not sure how to spell it, but ok. We went out to eat at a very nice place by his house. Yesterday mom and I went on her friend's boat for a few hours. It was a gorgeous day. We got to see two bald eagles. Then I met an ex-boyfriend from 6th and 10th grade, Brandon, at the Strawberry Festival in Chassell. It was great to see him. It's nice to see people as adults now. It is amazing how people change over the years. But then there are others who haven't changed at all since high school...very sad. We are about to head up to Calumet to have dinner with my brother, go and see my grandpa, and then go to a monk service. It shall be interesting.

I am officially done at the zoo now. My last day was on Monday. It was a fun day, but as soon as the 4:00 show ended, the tears came. After that I got to say bye to each of the dolphins. They came over for a last rubdown from me. They were probably wondering why I was crying. I am going to miss it there so much.

For the 4th of July me, Ryan, Rachel, Matt, Hailey, and the doggies went up to their parent's camper. We took a walk to a lake so the dogs could swim, went golfing, got dairy queen, and ate too much.

Now I am home at my mom's. Since I am currently unemployed :( I had some time so I figured I'd come up here for awhile. I'll get to see some people I haven't seen for awhile. And I have a massage in 1 hour! Yippee!!!

There are some big things going on in our lives right now. First off, I am done at the zoo on July 3rd. I am very sad about it. I am really going to miss the dolphins and my co-workers. I've been there for a year and a half now. It'll be hard to leave. I have my going-away party tonight. I also have quit Vanity. My last day was actually yesterday. I am taking the month of July off. I am heading home for awhile to visit the family. In other big news, Ryan got a job offer in Yuma, Arizona. We aren't sure yet if he's going to take it. He had some more interviews, so we'll see. There is no zoo there, which is hard for me. I'm happy for Ryan, but not so excited for my own "future" there. It will only be for a few years, but that's still a long time.

Funny story. At work Jenny, Heather, and I look kinda similar. Not to people who know us, but it's understandable that the public confuses us. Blonde, short, similar hair styles. We were just talking about this before the 2:00 show today. After the show I was in the stadium putting toys in and a little boy comes up to me and says, "Where is your sister?" I told him my sister isn't here, but that I have some friends that I work with and pointed out Robyn and Heather. He said, "But there was two of you!" Simultaneously Robyn was getting a funny comment, but let me back it up first. Robyn and Heather were out with the boys during the show. Jenny and I were in the back pool with the girls. During our training segment I took Chinook from Heather so she could help Robyn with Semo. So anyway, this lady says to Robyn, "Is there a reason that Chinook was given to a trainer (me) that looked just like the first trainer (Heather) and not given to you (Robyn) because you look different than them? Do the dolphins have to only work with people who look alike?" Robyn just started laughing because we had JUST had this conversation a few minutes ago.

Happy Birthday, Harley. We'll be thinking of you. 

If the little dolphin Harley was still around, we'd be celebrating his first birthday today. We really miss the little guy. He was a lot of fun.

It has been a stressful, tiring, and eventful week at work. Don't wanna write details on a public thing. Have questions, e-mail me and I'll update you.

Ryan's Grandpa Monson came to visit. He flew in yesterday so we headed to Ryan's parent's house to see him. The last time we saw him was in December for Grandma Monson's funeral. Rachel, Matthew, and Hailey were there, so there were four generations of Monsons.

It looks like I'm at the MN Zoo for at least 3 more weeks. I'll take what I can get! The dolphins have been a bit crazy lately so work has been a tad stressful.

My kitties are doing good. It's funny because they both have a certain item that they love to steal and hide it. For Obi it is a make-up brush. It hasn't been used for a long time, so there's no powder on it, but he kept digging in the closet to get it and would grab the bristles with his mouth and run downstairs to hide it. For Triton it is a contact case. We have three in the medicine cabinet, but there is one specific one that he knocks down with his paw into the sink, then grabs it and runs and hides it in my pile of zoo uniforms. Silly kitties.

The weather here as been wonderful. Well, last week it reached 96 degrees...a bit too hot. Ryan and I have been using our outdoor pool. On Thurs. I got to spend 4 hours there. Very enjoyable. I was able to finish Harry Potter 5, the one where Hermione dies...Hee hee hee, Josh and Amy. I am reading a book right now called "to touch a wild dolphin" and then I think I'll hit Harry Potter 6.

I can officially call myself a "trainer"...I trained my first behavior. It was will Spree, our 3 year old dolphin. The behavior is a mimic spit, where you squirt a squirt bottle at the acrylic windows at the stadium and she spits over the top of them. Pretty cool.

Nothing else new from this end...no job news for Ryan or I. Frustrating.

Oh, we bought a new car. Our old 94 Ford Tempo was going to die any second. We were to the point when we weren't driving it anymore...we actually had to rent a car last week. We got a Dodge Stratus. We are very happy with our purchase.

The proud aunt and uncle. Won't we make cute parents someday? 

This is Hailey Rachel on the day she was born. 

For the past 3 nights, Ryan and I have gone to Twin's games. On Wed. and Thurs. they played the Royals...won on Wed., lost Thurs. Yesterday we went to Detroit with Chad and Sarah and they lost. I never expected to like a sport so much.

Ryan still has to download baby Hailey pictures on the computer so I can put them on the blog. It's a new camera and I don't know how to do that. So, hopefully soon they will be on.

Ryan made this for me one night. I got home from the baby shower and it was ready for me. He saw it in a magazine and decided to replicate it. Very impressive. 

Sarah W., Sarah J., Rachel, and Sara M. Hee hee hee 

Rachel during her baby shower. 

I am an auntie! Rachel had her baby on Friday April 21st at 4 something in the morning. It's a girl! Her name is Hailey Rachel. Ryan and I were able to go up to the hospital on Friday evening to visit. She is absolutely gorgeous. Once we download our pictures from the camera to the computer, I will post some. On Thursday we'll get to see her again. Very exciting!

Ryan and I returned from our cruise today. Here is a little recap. I will post pictures once we download them onto the computer. However, we barely took any pictures.

Monday:
We got up at 3:15 am…way too early. We had to catch a cab to the airport. Our flight left at 6:10 and we got to Miami in a few hours. The weather there was pretty crappy. It was rainy, breezy and a bit chilly. I think the weather that day was better in Minneapolis. We got on the Carnival boat no problem. The lines are huge but actually run pretty smoothly. You are greeted by a billion photographers, posing you in front of different backdrops and will various props or dressed up people. We found our cabin and went and ate right away. Then we spent some time wandering the boat, trying to figure out where everything was. We had our first dinner. There were assigned seats and we met some nice couples at our table. The dinners consist of a five course meal. Mom, I even tried escargot. It was nasty. We went to an evening show where there was a comedian. We hit the sack early because we had to get up early the next day.

Tuesday:
We docked at Key West. Ryan and I went SCUBA diving. The first dive we saw lobsters, fish of course and a shark. It was pretty scary, but it was just resting on the bottom. The first dive had a max depth of 50 feet. The second dive was around 20 feet. We got separated from the instructors, which was kind of intimidating, but we found our way back to the boat. On that dive, when we were close to the boat, a school of yellow fish were surrounding Ryan and me. It was cool. On the trolley from the where we got on the dive boat back to the big boat, we saw some of the town. It’s a cute little town. It was formal night at dinner, so we got to dress up all nice and pretty. I wore a black dress and Ryan wore a suit. We actually made it on the official video for that cruise when we were all dressed up. That night we went to the first of two Las Vegas style shows that dancers and singers put on. It was very enjoyable.

Wednesday:
It was an absolute gorgeous day. We ate breakfast out on the deck of the boat and it was lovely. We docked in Cozumel and went to a beach were there was open bar and buffet. Don’t worry, we didn’t get crazy. Just a few daiquiris. We went snorkeling there were there were this underwater Aztec ruins, obviously man-made. So we went out to find some of these “ruins”. Then we lounged around for awhile. Then we went shopping where I got to work on some bartering skills. After a huge line to get on the small boat, that took us back to the big boat, we ended up missing dinner. But those of you who have cruised before, there are 24 hour buffets of various sorts, so we took advantage of that. Then we went to a guy that did a balancing act, where he balanced a variety of stuff on his forehead. It was impressive. Then there was another comedian. I played the slot machines. I put in $20, and walked off with $41. Not bad.

Thursday:
We didn’t make any stops this day, so we lounged by the pool for awhile. Stupid me forgot to put sunscreen on my right leg from the knee down, so it turned bright red, and still is. We went to the other Las Vegas style show, played bingo, and more slots. At midnight there was the “R-rated” comedian show.

Friday:
We got off the boat by 8 am after customs and all that jazz. Again, we were very impressed how fast the lines moved. We spent another day in Miami. We had a really nice hotel and lounged around the pool for many hours. Then we went to a pedestrian mall in south beach and looked in the windows of many swanky shops. It’s interesting how you hear English much less then other languages in Miami. We went to a bar that we were familiar with from last year, called Wet Willies. Then we strolled along the board walk with drinks in hand, since it’s legal there to walk around with drinks. Then hit the sack at our hotel to catch our early flight.

So, that was our trip. We had a lot of fun, but I was anxious to get home to see my kitties. Ryan’s aunt took care of them, but it was so nice to see them. Since I’m in MN now, I’ll probably lose this tan in about 3 days. :(

It's pretty dark, but it's a cute picture of Triton. 

Obi in a pile of clean laundry. Notice his cute little front paws. 

They love laundry time. 

The sink is one of Obi's favorite places to go. 

This is Obi and Triton. They are getting so big! 

It was a gorgeous day today. It was around 64 degrees. When Ryan got home from work we took a walk and discovered a lake behind our apartments with a nice little walking path around it. I love the spring!

This is really cool...just read:

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was
rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at
Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht! the frist and lsat
ltteer be in the rghit plae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll
raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not
raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Josh-Thanks for starting the rumors. Yes, you'd like the movie.
Joy-I went to the movie with a semi-Joy-like person and she squealed a few times. It's not too bad though. You may have to cover your eyes once or twice.

Happy Birthday, Rachel. It's my sister-in-law's birthday today. Her baby belly is getting very big. I guess that happens when you are due in a month. It's funny because I had to pull her aside today to ask her a girly question, and the first thing she says to me is "Are you pregnant?" NO. Then Gayle walks in the room and we said we were talking and pregnancy came to Gayle's mind too. NO. Ryan and I got to see "V for Vendetta" at the IMAX for free tonight. Very good movie. You should go and see it. Joy, you'll have to cover your eyes over some parts.

Here we go again...Our adult dolphin, Rio, died yesterday. We have no idea how it happened. She was perfectly fine on Sunday. On Monday she didn't eat anything, which is strange for Rio. We were doing overnight watches last night so we could keep our eye on her. At around 9:00 pm she started having trouble breathing. When I got there and in the water with Rio and the other trainers, she had taken her last breath and her heart stopped. I was able to go to the necropsy (animal autopsy), but they couldn't find anything. Everything looked completely normal. It's very frustrating. I can't believe we have to go through this again. Why? Why? Why? I'm still in shock.

Last Friday I got to go to a banquet at Ryan's school, recognizing the students. It was great to see his school and get to meet his students that I hear so much about. The students that I did get to meet were very polite and just all around interesting guys. It was a proud moment for me when I heard a few parents tell Ryan that he was their child's favorite teacher.

On Saturday Ryan and I went to a David Crowder/Third Day concert at the Target Center. It was a big venue and our seats were very high up, but it was still a good time and a place where I encountered God. That's what's important at a Christian concert, right?

I received an e-mail from someone from church asking me if I wanted to go to a Natalie Grant concert with her. First off, the woman from church I didn't know and also I'd never heard of Natalie Grant. But I figured, why not. I wanted to get to know more people at church, so this was a great opportunity. I did get to meet Johanna, the woman I went with, the week before the concert. She was very easy to talk to and I knew we would have a good time together. The concert was yesterday and we had a good time. She had tickets front row center. Too bad I couldn't sing along with one song when I'm so close!

Well, that's about all for know.

I will update you on some of the stuff that has occurred in the past month since I wrote last:

1. I got to see my sister-in-law Amy last Sunday. She had a layover in Minneapolis, so Ryan and I went to pick her up from the airport. We went to the Mall of America and had dinner and then went to IKEA. It was nice to see her, although it was too short. It was funny because when we were having dinner, a little girl and her dad came up to out booth and said to me, "Are you the one that works with the dolphins at the zoo. We saw you in a show last week. My daughter wanted to say hi." It was very cute but very embarrassing at the same time. Ryan was happy because he's been waiting for me to get recognized outside of the zoo.

2. Ryan and I are going on a cruise! We are gone April 10-15th and are very excited. We will leave from Miami and go to Key West and Cozumel. It'll be much needed sunshine and vacation.

3. All the dolphins are now combined at the zoo. We had the separated since May because of Harley. The boys are too rough on little ones. We had to wait to get Rio on some birth control and have that kick in. So we combined them yesterday. I went in because I was interested in the whole social dynamics. Semo was pretty rough with Rio...a lot of jumping and chasing. Chinook on the other hand was very calm and would just swim behind her. It'll be a new experience for me now, doing shows with all 5 animals.

4. The Harley situation is getting easier. There are still random times that I will cry, but it's not too often. One occurred when we got a card from a little girl. She drew a picture of Harley in heaven, with a halo and wings on, and he was saying "I'm o.k." It broke out hearts.

5. I'm sure there has been a lot more in the past month, but I'm tired of writing. I'll try and do a better job at updating this.

Very sad news...our baby dolphin, Harley, died on Saturday. I am just going to post a news clip about it below from WCCO. I was there, so if you want to hear a personal account, just call and ask. It's been strange since you have a routine at work that involves Harley. Then this happens. I found myself wanting to get his fish ready, get the palm pilot downstairs so I can record if he nurses, etc. Those are the moments that are terribly sad. I am doing ok. I guess that's all I can ask for right now.

This is a pretty accurate news story:

WCCO) Apple Valley, Minn. Harley, a baby dolphin at the Minnesota Zoo, died Saturday in what zoo officials are calling a freak accident.

Harley was training to "channel," or swim between pools, with his mother when he apparently struck his head on the side of a pool, zoo officials said.

The baby dolphin jumped completely out of the water, and trainers immediately put him back.

Zoo officials said Harley swam a few strokes with his mother, Rio, before they realized he was badly injured.

Divers brought Harley to the surface when he did not breathe and said there was nothing they could have done to save him.

Harley died around 2:45 p.m. from complications associated with severe head trauma and a fractured skull, zoo officials said.

Rio called for Harley a few times after the accident, but officials said she was doing better Saturday night.

Harley was 5-1/2 feet long and 120 pounds at the time of his death. He was born last June 21 and was Rio's fourth calf.

Minnesota Zoo Director of Biological Programs Kevin Willis said the zoo's staff had been looking forward seeing Harley make his public debut and was having a hard time dealing with the accident.

"This is a sad day here," Willis said. "This is hard. This is a baby that was really healthy and really doing well."

Zoo officials said it was unclear why Harley swam into the side of the pool.

The Minnesota Zoo will be open Sunday, but all dolphin shows have been canceled. Zoo officials said they were unsure how much trauma Harley's death was causing for the other dolphins.

The zoo is not planning on replacing Harley. The dolphin was scheduled to go to another zoo after he matured, in about 10 or 11 years.

Zoo officials said this was the first dolphin death of its kind at the Minnesota Zoo.

In the past seven years, two other Minnesota Zoo dolphins have died. In 2000, a dolphin died of a mysterious illness and in 1999, another dolphin died of old age.

Rio and four other dolphins -- Ayla, Spree, Chinook and Semo

Happy New Year, everyone! 2006...where does the time go. My New Year's Eve and Day was spent working at the zoo. During the evening of new year's eve we went to a friend of the family's house where we played cards, watched a movie and ate a lot of food. At about 12:03 I headed back home to go to bed since I had to work in the morning. After work on Jan 1 Ryan and I headed to my mom's house in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I had Mon-Fri. off so it was a nice stay. On Monday we had Christmas with mom, Josh, Amy, and their stinker dog, Gracie, who decided to run away for a few hours that day. On Wednesday we had Christmas out at my dad's. Ryan and I also got massages...WONDERFUL! I was able to visit with a few others as well...my friend, Courtney, my grandpa, my step-mom, and my old babysitter, Janis. It's always nice to see people when you head home, but then again, it never feels much like a vacation when you have to run around all over. We brought our kitties on the trip which was fun. They were awesome in the car for 7 hours and seemed to have a lot of fun at mom's house. Now we are back in the Twin Cities, and some of my clothes smell like mom's house and it makes me miss her. (I miss you, mom)

Two nights ago we got home from church and Obi had thrown up, was sneezing a lot, sneezing out this brown substance, was making a scary wheezing/dry heaving noise, drooling a lot. I was freaking out so we brought him to the emergency vet at midnight. They couldn't really figure out what was wrong. They figured he ate something and was having a reaction to that. The next day I brought both cats to the regular vet because they were supposed to be declawed. Because of Obi's episode, they postponed the declawing and just did bloodwork on both, which needs to be done before the declawing, and checked over Obi. When I picked them up after work, they were playing around and then Triton threw up! I think he just ate too much too fast because they were off feed since the night before because of the surgery. It was my fault for giving him too much food. Seconds after he went right back to playing and flying around the house. Obi still made that strange wheezing/dry heaving sound twice last night, but today I haven't heard it at all. Hopefully my babies will be ok.

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.