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.