To The Zoo with Grams and Uncle Ryan

Adalynn's first trip to the John Ball Park Zoo was with Aunt Jerilynn and cousin Naomi. This time, Adalynn and I visited exotic animals with Grandma and Uncle Ryan.

We discovered more animals upon this trip: the lion exhibit is now open and we discovered Wallabys (or Wallabies? i don't know.). And we love the Wallabys/ies. But we get to the Wallabies until later.

While the monkeys were not as energetic as last time, the bears showed off.

And did I mention that I want a Wallaby? I happen to love them now. Here's my sales pitch:

For starters, Adalynn just as tall as a baby Joey. And she needs a another pet, don't you think? And they could grow up together. It would be sooo cute!

Second, they are quite soft and furry. And nice, they came out and said 'Hi'. The 'lil sociable creatures.

Here's Mama Wallaby and here Baby Joey. I think this species may be the one exception to "Babies are cuter than adults".

Here's Baby Joey.

Here's Baby Joey's Wobbly Knees. He's a pretty skinny feller too.

But da Mamas. Now she was a fine creature. God did a good job on them. Check out their soft, cuddly hair. (fur?). Super Cute. and Patient. Did you know they carry their baby in a pouch for about a year? Then they kick them out. I would too. Some of those Joey's were pretty restless, and would stretch, hang out over the pouch, readjust, and basically be a pain in the pouch. It gave me flashbacks to giving birth. Not pretty, seeing as Mamas has to put up with it for a year. But I'm sure they're stretchier than humans. They've gotta be, right? I would totally get one, but Adalynn might get jealous and I don't think I'm equipped to grow a 'lil Joey. Nor would I want to. That would be wrong. Sooo, I'll stick with this one:

And by the end, my 'lil Wallaby Joey was beat. Down for the count.

Isn't life grand?

My "Save the Earth" Day

Mommy and I Saved the Earth last Wednesday, and it was FuN! First, we ran the dogs down to the Township Office for more recycling bags. Well, Mommy ran while I rode.

Can you tell I'm thrilled? It got better.

Cause then we biked down to Shelbyville to see Daddy at work. I heard a rooster go "cock-a-doodle-doo!" and sheep "BaaAaa", but then I fell asleep. And I slept. And I think Mommy peddled alot, because when I woke up I saw Grandpa Ed and Grandma Deb.

When I woke up I was happy. The bike is fun! So then we ate Pizza. And then we walked to the park.

To walk to the park on the lake we had to walk past Weicks, the only grocery store in Shelbyville. And only in Shelbyville will you see THIS parked at the grocery store:

I don't think they were saving the earth. But farmers are important people too, Mommy said.
Mommy's finger got in the picture. Seriously, isn't she talented enough to secretly take a picture AND hold me? She's gotta work on this.

I like the playground. Here's my "Yeah! I'm so Excited!" face.

Here I'm showin' off my toofers (i have 2. i'm cool.)

Here I put my nice face on.

And after my photo shoot, I played in the sand.

And then I went back to Daddy's work and Jack and Ike were there. Here I'm playing with Ike.

Ike likes me.

And then I was worn out so I took a nap. Wow. I didn't know saving the earth could be so much fun. I wanna do that again!

Tuckered Out

Why we like to take the dogs to Grandpa and Grandma's house...

Peace & Quiet

Ahhhhh. (until morning, at least.)

RYAN - fyi - there is 1 picture of you skiing on the blog. get over yourself.

Actually though, the pictures are on the desktop of my laptop, which dad has. SO, i can't get to them right now, but you can. I think they are under the "pictures" or "pics" folder. And when I get my laptop back, I will crop them and make them all special and pretty for you. Sorry for the inconvenience. But seriously? The whining? It's got to stop. immediately now.

Zoom Zoom! 7.20.08

Dreams and Determination

stock cars. speed. adrenaline. power. noise. 2-miles.

For the Ed/Deb Masselink immediate family, this past weekend is now and will forever be dubbed "Race Weekend '08". It will go down in history as a weekend beginning with weepy weather and crazy-psycho-crack-addict mosquitoes, but with a fairy-tale ending.

In the beginning, ... wait. That's the Bible. Let's try this again...

Once upon a time, there was a large, blended family headed by a very genorous and adrenaline-driven father/in-law/stepfather. For Christmas, this head honcho presented the manly men of the family with a matchbox car. "Doh!" thought the men. "We're too old to play with Matchbox cars!". But soon they discovered an envelope accompanying the small, inactive play cars. And inside of the envelope came goodies. Good goodies. Great goodies! They read the fine print and found that in the upcoming summer they would be Nascar Drivers for a Day, attending the "Track Time" school at Michigan International Speedway. And they were happy. And life was good.

(January 5, 2008)

So this past weekend was the time appointed to cash in on the Track Time Tix. We joined up at Hayes State Park on Friday night, stayed Saturday and through Sunday morning. Late Sunday morning we caravaned over to MIS where the boys attended school, then showed off their SkiLLz.

Here's how the camping went:

We ate.

And it rained.

And rained.

And rained.

But...The cousins still played.

The nasty-mean weather didn't bother them!

And Saturday Afternoon it did stop raining long enough to visit the beach.

...But did I mention the bugs?

Holy Mosquito. Wow. When I get to Heaven, I do want to ask God what the purpose of Mosquitoes are. Maybe Laura knows (Miss Smarto-Bug-Person). Really though, they make me miserable (which, anyone who is there is probably thinking is an understatement considering I was walking around bundled up like an Eskimo with the very least amount of skin showing possible). Anyway.

Sunday morn we packed up the dripping wet camp and traveled to the track.

And 10:17am, we arrived:

It's like they knew we were coming. Smart people.

The grounds are impressively large when empty. Parking extends for miles, paving the way to the track. Overhead walkways connect parking lots to the main entrace of the track. It's hard to imagine the grass, concrete, and metal crawling with people on race day. We had it to ourselves.

Through the tunnel, into the infield...

Right where we belong. Ahhhh. It's like coming home.

Happy Race Day boys!

And off to school they went....so we perfected 'chillin'

Hi Grandma Deb, Elaina, and Nik!

What's up, Griff?

Hola Miss Chica.

Thanks for helping, Caleb!

*

Oh, they're back!

What's that Travis?

Huh? I'm not quite getting it...

Whatev. go suit up.

Much better. Now you look the part.

You've got the look. Drive fast, Eddie.

And Scott.

There's the finger again. No, not that one. The #1. That's right, honey. Bring home the Gold! Not the gold? Fine. Go help your dad.

Ed's up first!

At this point all of the guys turned into look alikes. So insert your favorite racer here:

(if you want individual pictures, email me. i have them. just didn't want to post them here. because really, i can't tell the difference. except the occasional car change.)

Show me the goods, baby.

Looks like they were made for this. Naturals, I tell ya.

Don't they?

Who's your daddy? Yea...you know it! You're the best, babes.

See? This proves it.

I could totally be a racer's wife. I've mastered the lingo and I know the secret: the ego boost.

Gatorade: I'm giving you props. What you got for me?!?

Thanks Ed and Deb, for a wonderful-fantastic-thrilling weekend. We had a great time and it will go down in the memory bank for sure. We love you!