What's New....

Wow, as usual it has been quite a while since my last update.  I wish I was better at this.  The blog is such a good way to keep up to date with family and friends that don't do facebook, but I tend to procastinate so much about posting on here that many things get left out or forgotten.  It has been a bit if a stressful fall/winter for us so far.  I am hoping and praying that things are going to be less "exciting" for us this new year.
Since the last post the girls have already started and completed the first half of the 2012-2013 school year.  Hannah is now in the 7th grade and Amelia is in the 4th grade.  Hannah is doing well in Middle School (this is the second year there for her), but she misses the more carefree days of elementary school.  Amelia loves her teacher this year and is also doing very well.  They have both been on the honor roll each time they have gotten report cards this year.  I am very proud of both of them!  They are growing up so fast, and I can't believe that after next year, Hannah will be in High School!!  Although I love watching them grow and seeing the changes in them as they mature, I am also a little sad to see them leaving the innocence of childhood behind.  But no matter how old they get, they will always be my babies.
As some of you may know, a few months ago (during the summer), I started having problems with my vision.  I was seeing double if I tried to look up or to the side.  I was concerned and was planning to call my doctor to schedule a visit.  Before I had done that, I realized one night as I was looking in the mirror, that my right eye was not moving with the left eye when I would try to look up/down/side to side.  It seemed to stay in one spot.  And I also noticed the eyelid was slightly more closed than the left one.  This added a bit of urgency to the task of making a doctor's appointment.  When I went to see him, he was also concerned but said he wanted to do further testing and told me it could be anything from stress to something "terribly horrific".  Well, that was a little disconcerting to say the least.  He ordered some tests, one of which was an MRI.  Turns out my insurance did not want to cover that test, so it took some time to get that worked out.  Before the MRI was scheduled, I returned to the doctor and he was more concerned than before and he called and scheduled me to see a neurologist the next day.  From that visit, I got the orders for the MRI.  I went for that test, thinking I would have the MRI done and then return to the neurologist in 2 weeks for him to tell me the results.  To my surprise they sent me straight from the imaging center to the hospital ER. I was pretty sure this wasn't standard procedure, so at that point I started to become a little alarmed.  Thankfully I have a great boss, and she called to see how the test went, and when I told her they were sending me to the ER, she left work and came to stay with me.  I told her I would be fine, but I was really thankful to have her there.  By they time I got to the ER, I had already opened the envelope they had included for the ER doctors and has read that the MRI showed I had a brain aneurysm.  I still thought I was just going to the ER to consult with a neurologist on staff there.  However, once I got there, they basically told me they were not equipped to deal with my situation and would be transferring me to Tampa General Hospital.  They apparently deal with this type of thing on a much more regular basis, and had a neurosurgeon on staff there that is trained in the procedure I would be needing.  So one ambulance ride later, I was sitting in the ER at Tampa General with my boss and my sister, talking to doctors about brain surgery!!  That was not how I had expected my day to end.  (Thankfully, the girls were already with Steve and he was able to get them home and stay with them the entire time I was in the hospital.  That was a huge relief knowing they were taken care of and able to keep a pretty normal schedule through everything.)  The neurosurgeon told me the aneurysm was located in my right carotid artery, and on a scale of small-medium-large-huge, mine was large-huge.  They did an angiogram the next day, inserting a balloon into that artery and expanding it to cut off the blood flow to see if I could function without that artery.  Turns out I couldn't, so the option of just closing off that artery was out.  This would have been an option of last resort anyway.  Instead, I was a good candidate for a fairly new procedure (performed since 2011) where they go in thru the groin and insert a stent into the artery.  This reduced to blood flow into the aneurysm to the point that it would gradually clot off and the aneurysm will shrink and go away.  This is a slow process and could take about 6 months or so.  Thank the Good Lord above, the procedure went very well and I was home 2 days later. After one brief return to the hospital the following weekend for numbness in my left arm/hand, things have gone pretty well since then.  I was back at work within two weeks.   Unfortunately, I have had a constant headache since Dec. 17th, and nothing I have taken, including prescription medicines, has been able to make it go away.  And for now, my issues with lack of eye movement and the drooping eyelid have gotten a little worse.  This was not totally unexpected.  The doctor had said it could get worse before it gets better, but only time will tell how much better it will get.  The aneurysm pressed on a nerve and the pressure from that paralyzed the nerve and they are not sure how much it will recover.  There are surgeries that can be done to improve my vision and open the eyelid more, but we will wait approximately one year from now to see how much it will change on its own before intervening.  It is very annoying and kind of strange looking, but things could have been so much worse if this had not been found and corrected.
Aside from that, we have just been dealing with regular every day things.  Last week both of the girls came down with the flu.  I think they got it from their dad, as he started with his symptoms a day before Hannah started with hers.  Thankfully, the worst part of the whole thing was dealing with sore throats and coughing and congestion.  They didn't have the body aches or headaches I normally associate with the flu.  They both ran fevers for days on end, and missed an entire week of school, but they are on the mend now.  Aside from being a little tired they are back to being themselves.  Fortunately, they gave me a flu shot while I was in the hospital, and so far it seems to have kept me from getting it.  I am still trying to wash my hands frequently and avoiding sharing germs with either of the girls.
Over the Christmas break from school, Tracy and I and all 5 girls made the trip home to Demopolis to visit Daddy Hawk.  The girls all love going to his house.  They get to play outside all day and run free like you can only do out in the country.  Rachel (Tracy's youngest) loves to swing in the swing Daddy Hawk made from a cherry tree he cut down some years ago, and they all love driving the lawnmowers around and taking turns driving.  I used to love to do that when I was their age too, so I can understand that.  I think by the time our visit is up each time, Daddy Hawk and Grandmama are ready to have their peace and quiet back!!  It is a little bit noisy with 5 girls in the house. I just wish it wasn't so far to travel to visit, so we could do it more often.  The hard part is trying to visit with everyone you want to see while you are there....there is just never enough time.

                                   Amelia  4th Grade                                  Hannah 7th Grade

So now the holidays are over and we are getting ready for spring.  The next big thing is spring break.  Hopefully we can all stay healthy and can plan some fun adventures for that week.  It seems like it is a long time from now, but I know it will sneak up on me and be here before I realize it!

DeeDee files her nails

Here is a video of DeeDee, one of our female orangutans here at the zoo.  This was taken the other day when the weather was really nasty out, so Dee decided to stay inside that day.  She loves to dress herself in shirts and things, and she likes to have her nails done.  The keeper working with her that day told DeeDee she was busy getting things cleaned, so DeeDee would have to file her own nails.  She usually asks us to do it for her, but as you can see, she is perfectly capable of doing them herself.  :)  (I hope the video link works for you).

Time Marches On.....

Hannah on the first day of Middle School, Aug. 2011

Amelia on the first day of school, 3rd grade, Aug. 2011

Hannah ready to go into school

Amelia at her desk, ready to start the school year

Time marches on.  The new school year has begun, and we have already gotten the first progress reports.  The girls are doing great so far, thankfully.  Hannah started Middle school this year.  Here in Pasco county, Middle School is 6th-8th grade, so even though I feel like she is too young to be there with all those "big" kids, she was ready to make the move.  She has already started acting more mature, and has really gotten more responsible with her schoolwork.  Amelia is enjoying her year so far.  She likes her teacher (every year, she has the "best teacher ever!"), and has really been doing great with her work.  She was so proud of her math test last week.  She got 15/15, and couldn't wait for me to get home so she could show it to me.  I was really proud of her!  And then she told me she thought that kind of grade deserved some kind of reward.  She was going to try to get a new toy out of that deal!  She is always scheming to try to figure out a way to get me to buy her something new.  My reward to her was a big hug and a "way to go Amelia!".  Not exactly what she was hoping for....
We are already looking forward to the holidays.  Of course they are excited about Halloween and trying to decide what they are going to be this year.  Hannah wants to be Lilo from Lilo and Stitch, and Amelia wants to be Taylor Swift.  But I am sure they will change their minds a couple of times between now and then.  Hannah is already trying to decide what she is going to carry with her that can hold the most candy. 
They had their dentist appointments last week.  The dentist advised me to take Hannah to an orthodontist really soon to get the process in motion to get braces on her.  She is really not looking forward to that.  She keeps asking me how bad it hurts to get braces. I don't want to scare her, but I don't want to lie to her either, and they really hurt!!  I hated having braces!!  But she is tough, so I know she will handle it pretty well.  And she will be so glad when she gets them off and sees her new smile. 
We can't decide what our holiday plans are this year.  We are hoping to get to Demopolis either around Thankgiving or Christmas.  We did not make it up this summer to see Daddy, so it will be one year at Thanksgiving since we all saw each other.  I hope we can work someithing out so we can spend one of the holidays together. 

Summer 2011

Wow, I am always surprised when I look back at this and see how much time has passed since my last update. That could either mean that so much has been going on in our lives that I haven't had the time to update it, or that it has been so absolutely boring there is nothing to share! The girls are out of school for the summer. Hannah is now a middle-schooler!!! I cannot believe my little girl is going to be hanging out with Junior high school aged kids now. Scares the beejeezus out of me. I liked it so much better when I was the main influence in her life!! Amelia is going to be on her own at school this year. So far she has always had Hannah there to lend her a helping hand, but this next year she will have to be responsible for herself. That is kind of scary. She is just a little to carefree to ever be confused for responsible, LOL. I am sure she will be fine. She is one of those people that can do whatever she needs/wants to, but as long as someone else is willing to do it, then why bother?!

We have had a fairly uneventful summer so far. Last week the girls spent several days at Tracy's hanging out with the cousins. We capped the long weekend off with a fireworks show on the night of July 4th. Luckily many of Tracy's neighbors had splurged for the really fance fireworks, so we got a nice show and never even left the house. The girls had some really small fireworks (like sparklers and such) to keep them busy for a while. And when we left, even tho they had been there for about 4 days, they were already asking me (as we were pulling out of the driveway) when they could go back to visit again. I am so thankful Tracy is willing to put up with all 5 girls at a time every summer. It is one of the things they most look forward to every year. And even tho they are fighting with each other by the end of the visit, I really believe they are creating some of the best memories of their lives. I wouldn't trade anything for the memories of all the time I spent with my cousins when we were growing up.

The girls have also spent a good amount of time at the beach already this summer. Steve's parents have a condo at Flagler Beach, so he has taken the girls up there 3 times already, and they are going for a week long visit for Hannah's birthday next week. I will miss having them here, but I know they will have a great time. But they never take any pictures, so I won't be sharing any of those!!

Anyway, I am going to hopefully get a few new pictures uploaded to the site from the past few months. Hope everyone is doing well. Take care!!

NUBBIN

On a very sad note, we just lost our sweet girl, Nubbin this last weekend (Nov. 13, 2010). She had been with me for 14 years. I had her before I was even engaged. So she shared all of the big events of my life with me (marriage, kids, moving, new pets, etc..). She was a pit bull/english bulldog mix, and was deaf from birth. Lots of people would shy away from her because she resembled a pit bull more than anything else, but Nubbin was anything but scary! She was one of the sweetest dogs you could meet. The most dangerous thing about her was her breath! She was so tolerant of the girls when they were babies, even though she was not that crazy about babies. And she was such a help with baby animals we brought home from the zoo to care for. We have video of her trying to get an Axis deer fawn to play ball with her. She could have easily hurt him, but that never seemed to cross her mind. As a result of being deaf, she could sleep like nobody's business. This is evident in the pictures below. And nothing made her happier than to be right beside you. There were times I complained because I could not turn around without falling over her because no matter where I went, she was right behind me. But now that she is gone, I miss having her here. Every morning when I get up, I look to make sure I am not going to step on her, only to realize she is not there. We are really going to miss her, and there will never be another one quite like her. Thanks for letting us be your family for so long Nubbin.

Me, Hannah and Nubbin in Gulf Breeze

Nubbin and Leah after our New Year's Celebration

Nubbin

HALLOWEEN 2010

Since the last blog, the girls have almost completed the first half of the school year!! Is time going as fast for everyone else as it is for me? It is already Thanksgiving this week, and that means Christmas is just around the corner. I am not ready yet! It seems like once Halloween arrives, then time just flies from then until the end of the year. It doesn't help that Halloween decorations are on sale in the store right next to the Christmas decorations. And speaking of Halloween, ours was a good one this year. Hannah and Amelia were both witches, as was Chloe, my "adopted" daughter from next door. They had planned to go as the 3 Blind Mice, but somewhere along the way, plans changed. I didn't care as long as I didn't have to make a costume! They looked cute and got sooo much candy. Hannah wanted to carry a pillowcase for her candy. Nobody needs that much candy. As it is, they are still eating on it tonight as I type. I think dentist are behind the whole Halloween candy thing. It has to really be good for business. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the night, in case you have not seen them already on Facebook.

Hannah

Chloe and Amelia (and friend)

Amelia, Hannah and Chloe

Messed it up....again

I have put these posts on in the reverse order. I have tried and tried to figure out how to swap them so they are in the right order. I obviously am not smarter than the blog.

Our Summer Trip to Alabama

In August we took a trip to Alabama to see my cousin Earlene (in Birmingham) and to visit with my friend Jim in Tuscaloosa. I was so excited to take the girls to Tuscaloosa, and to take them to the campus of the University of Alabama to show them where I went to college. And they seemed excited about going. That was until they actually got there and stepped out of the truck into the heat. Now remember, we live in Tampa, FL. A sub-tropical climate, where the heat and humidity are oppressive on a good day during the summer. Well, you would have thought I had taken them to vacation on the Sun!!! It was "too hot" and they wanted "to just go home" the entire time we were at the university. I managed to drag them around the stadium and do a little bit of sightseeing before they began to melt. I enjoyed my visit in spite of the whiney-hineys I had with me! Jim was a great sport about walking around in the heat, and then he turned into the hero of the day when he suggested we go get ice cream!! We went to a place called "Yogurt Mountain" where you serve yourself and you get to put whatever toppings you want, and as much as you want, on your frozen yogurt. Then when you go to pay, they weigh the cup and charge you by the pound (ok, really by the ounce, but I think Amelia was closer to the pound measurment!). Well, I have to admit, eating a tub of blueberry cheesecake frozen yogurt, in the air conditioning, was a bit more pleasant than melting the soles of our shoes onto the stadium sidewalk!

Amelia and Hannah at Bryant-Denny Stadium

Amelia giving her honest opinion of her visit

Hannah acting like her dad (it is impossible to take a decent picture of either of them)

The next day, I once again insisted we go out into the heat and go to Moundville. It is the site of an ancient Indian civilization. I went there in the fourth grade for a field trip and remember thinking it was a very neat thing to see. I really thought Hannah would enjoy it, even if it was not Amelia's cup of tea. By the end of the day, they both were saying it had been lots of fun. I am glad we went. It is always surprising to me, however, to go back to a place that I have not been to since I was a kid. It always seems so much smaller and less amazing than I remember it. But it was something the kids have never seen, and I am sure they will have memories of it forever, just as I have. Hannah got an arrow head for a souvenier. Luckily we took a picture of it right after she got it, because that was the last time we ever saw it. We stood on the banks of the Black Warrior river and yelled across. This was the first time either of the girls had ever experienced hearing their echo! That was the highlight of the day, no doubt. I am sure the people down below trying to enjoy a quiet afternoon on the river took great pleasure in listening to my kids yell at themselves for about 10 minutes. But that is the price you pay to hang out in such a cool place!

Darn, This is Hard Work!!

I decided it was time to update the blog. That was about an hour ago. I have been trying to change my background with the new, "easy" design tools. I had to call Tracy and get her to get on her computer to try to help me figure this out. I finally gave it up, and went with the only background that I could make work!!

I am surprised every time I get on here and look back at the date of my last update. I cannot believe how fast the time flys by. The girls both finished school with flying colors, and we enjoyed the summer. We did not do many exciting things, but we did have a couple of visits from friends, and we made a trip to Alabama in August. The girls got to spend most of the summer at home this year. The last few years they have gone to visit family for a week or so at a time throughout the summer, hardly spending any time at home between trips. While this has been a necessity for me (to have someone to watch them while I was at work), they have missed just being able to hang out at home and do nothing. And I missed them while they were gone. So this year we got to spend the majority of our time together. They still spent their time with Steve every week. They got a couple of Disney trips in during the summer, and we went to the beach a few times. But before you knew it, summer was over and it was time for school to start again.

The school the girls have been going to, Sanders Memorial Elementary School, was a very old and outdated facility. Although I really liked it (as it reminded me of the school I attended as a kid), the powers that be decided it was time to tear it down and rebuild it bigger and better. So this year, they went to a new school, Connerton Elementary, that is located in the neighborhood just north of ours. It is a brand new school, with all the amenities that Sanders did not have. Their old school will be under construction for the next two years, at which time I think Amelia will go back there, but Hannah will be in Middle school by then so she will be in a different school anyway. (Yikes!) I don't think the girls like it as much as they did the old school, but I am sure once they have been there a while and have made memories there, it will be special to them too. It takes about 5 minutes longer to drive there from our house, and goodness knows, that 5 minutes can make or break you on beating the tardy bell in the mornings. And God Bless Amelia, she is the absolute slowest person in the world when it comes to getting ready for school. We race the clock every day that I take them to school. You would think that I should just wake up earlier, right? I thought the same thing. But it seems this just makes her move slower because she has more time to get ready!!! I feel sorry for her when she has to move out on her own and be responsible for getting herself to work. I truly think she is going to have to work at night if she ever plans to get there on time.

Amelia in the morning.

We spent some time at Tracy's over the summer. Daddy came down for a few days, so we went over there to visit and get in "some hang time" with Daddy Hawk. Sounds funny for a summer activity in Florida, but we went ice skating while we were there. The girls all had fun doing that. Rachel smiled the entire time she was on the ice. They had little "walkers" you could rent to help you stand up on the ice. She had one of those and she just really had a good time going round and round the rink. It made things much easier for Tracy as well! Of course when Amelia saw the walker, there was no question in her mind that she could not skate an inch without one of those to hold on to. I think we ended up with 3 of them, and the girls all took turns using them. For a bunch of kids from Florida, they all ice skate pretty well if I do say so myself!! I thought I would attach a couple of pictures from that outing, but I guess Tracy has all of those on her camera!! Well, trust me... We had a good time! Most of the visit was spent with the girls in the pool at Tracy's house. Thank goodness for that pool. It keeps them busy for hours a day, and they are not complaining about the heat. Aside from them taking turns being grumpy about who was "it" when they were playing "Marco Polo" (which is THE most annoying game ever invented!!!!), they all enjoyed swimming and worked on their diving skills as well. Daddy Hawk never got in the pool He said he would go swimming, but his "bathing suit had a hole in the knee".

Hannah, Allison, Rachel, Leah and Amelia

Rachel and Hannah

Hannah diving

Leah enjoying her turn as "It"

This is a picture of what the little bird I was caring for will grow up to look like. Quite a change from where he is now!!

Baby Bird Update

I am happy to report that the little bird was still alive and chirping this morning. I took him to work with me and was able to finally locate the nest he came from. There were six other little babies there just as "beautiful" as he was!! I put him back and within minutes, the parents were there taking care of their noisy little brood. I hope the little guy makes it and lives a long and happy life. Nobody can take care of a tiny baby bird quite like its own mother!! Good luck "Beaker".

No More "Baby Smiles" for Me

Amelia finally lost one of her top front teeth. She was so excited when she pulled it out that she was actually shaking!! It makes me sad because now she is going to look so much more grown up (which is exactly why she is so excited). I love the little smiles they have when they have all their baby teeth. And also, this means we are one step closer to braces. Aaarrgghh! I don't want to think about that! Next thing you know, they are going to want to have their own lives, and ideas and stuff. I didn't sign on for that! I want my little girls to stay LITTLE!! But, I think I am going to have to accept this growing up thing. I guess I will just have to try to make the best of it. Hannah already complained that I "treat her like a kid, and she is not a kid anymore". I said, "But you are only nine years old!!". I was immediately corrected. She is nine and a half. I don't know what I was thinking....

The Return of Roger

So Roger the ferret has come back home. We gave him to the girls for Christmas four years ago, only to realize that Amelia was too young to safely be around such a small animal. Fortunately for us, a co-worker that was crazy about ferrets agreed to take him for us. She kept him until she moved to California, where ferrets are not allowed, when she in turn gave him to another co-worker. This person kept him for the last couple of years, and now she is moving away. Since Amelia is older and more responsible (I keep saying that out loud, eventually I will convince myself!!) we decided to take him back. I must admit I have sort of missed him. Ferrets are cute little critters, even though they are incredibly nosy and mischievious. Roger didn't skip a beat. He acted as though he had been gone for a weekend. He has made himself right at home. He has even torn the head off of a barbie already!! That was his favorite past time when he was here before. He keeps Otis on his toes, too. Otis must watch every move Roger makes when he is out and about. He is simply exhausted at the end of the evening when Roger goes to bed. Aside from the unavoidable, unmistakeable odor of ferret, we are glad to have him back. Just last weekend, after I spent a great deal of time working in the flower garden, Roger decided it needed a little more work and took it upon himself to do a little landscaping of his own. I have included a quick video of his work. The hole he dug took him all of 2 minutes to dig. At least it tired him out!

Roger after a busy morning (he helped my out during the yard sale).

I Never Seem to Learn...

Here I go again. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to be a good Samaritan and help out the little tiny birds that always seem to appear during the spring. This is a Moorhen chick, and he is my latest project from the zoo. I guess I have a sign over my head, because when it became apparent that he was going to need a little help, everyone immediately looked at me. And what could I say? How could you say no to this cutie? Hard to believe he looks like this now, and will change so much over the next few weeks (hopefully!!). His feathers will be blue and his legs will be yellow, and the red on his beak will be very prominant. Assuming all goes well, of course. Little birds are just sooo hard! And by the way, I am supposed to be a "primate keeper"!!

The post following this one is very interesting and informative. I don't want to get on a soapbox here, but the rainforests and the incredible wildlife that inhabits them are disappearing at an alarming rate. The orangutans are predicted to be extinct in the wild within the next 10 years if dramatic actions are not taken. Having worked with these animals for nearly 20 years, this is particularly sad for me to imagine. There are so many things working against them, but there is hope. Please take the time to watch the video featuring Willie Smits. He is an amazing man doing amazing things. It is only by raising awareness that we can save the orangutans, and ourselves. Thanks for "listening".

Willie Smits restores a rainforest | Video on TED.com

Willie Smits restores a rainforest Video on TED.com

Where Does the Time Go?

Wow, I can't believe I have not updated this since August. I guess I have been otherwise occupied. There have been a few holidays and a birthday or two since the last posting. The girls are almost finished with another year of school! Amelia is in the first grade, and is doing great. She loves her teacher, Mrs. Rodriguez. Hannah is in the fourth grade (taking FCAT tests last week and this week). She is still making great grades and enjoying school. I am so proud of them both. Hannah did so well on her FCAT last year that she has been recommended for an advanced learning program thru Duke University. There are different areas of interest the kids can focus on to do projects they can then submit to the program for recognition. Hannah is especially excited about the possibility of having one of her stories or poems published. I am going to include a couple of pictures from the first day of school. Hopefully I remember how to add them on here...
Looking at these pictures makes me realize how much time has passed. Both of the girls have changed their hairstyles once or twice since these were taken. They look so sweet and innocent in these pictures. I wish they would stop growing up so fast!!

I guess the next big event that took place was Thanksgiving. I was so fortunate as to have to work all day, so for the first time in my life, I spent the holiday alone. Poor me. The girls spent the holiday with Steve and his family. When I got home from work I planned to have a turkey sandwich, but my wonderful neighbors came over as I was coming in the house with a delicious plate of food from their dinner earlier in the day. So I was able to be part of the day after all!

For Christmas this year, the girls and I stayed home. Last year we went to Steve's Dad's and Step-mom's for the holiday. It was our first Christmas without Steve here, so we wanted to do something a little different so that it would not be so hard for us. We had a very good time, and Jill and Steve were so wonderful to us and made us feel so welcome. But this year, we were ready to start our new Christmas traditions here at home. Steve actually came over before work on Christmas morning to see the girls open their gifts, and even took a quick bike ride with them before he had to go. They were thrilled he got to be here, and I was really happy to celebrate at home. They got lots of goodies from Santa, and kept themselves busy for the next couple of days. A few days later the three of us packed up and headed to Jacksonville to visit "Jilly" and "Uncle Pappy". Santa had left some very, very nice (and much hoped for) gifts there for the girls. He even left me some really nice things there, too!! They each got a ZhuZhu pet and they got their very own laptop computer. I think Hannah knows more about how to use a computer than I do now. We had a really nice visit, and I was sad to see it end so soon.

Putting out "Reindeer Food" on Christmas Eve

A few of the gifts left by Santa Claus

Amelia lost her tooth!!

Amelia is growing up!!! She lost her first tooth today. It has been hanging on by the "skin of it's tooth" (just had to say that) and we thought it would come out last night. But it was still there this morning. They went to the pool this afternoon with their friend Chloe, and at some point Chloe accidentally kicked Amelia in the chin and the tooth came out. My experiences tell me that if you have a tooth that just won't give up the fight, go swimming!! It has worked for me, Leah, and Amelia. Amelia is really excited about the tooth fairy coming, but worried because she did not find her tooth. So she has written a note to put in her little tooth fairy pillow explaining why there is no tooth inside. And now she is worried the tooth fairy will be too small to open the note. I told her to relax, the tooth fairy could handle that. Now if she just doesn't forget to stop by!!!!

My Girls





Hannah, July 2009



Amelia, July 2009

She is her mother's daughter!!

Ok. I cannot believe the whole summer has passed and I have not updated the blog one single time!! I would like to say I have been too busy, but I think the word I am actually looking for is "lazy"! The girls have been on their annual whirlwind summer tour of the Southeast. They spent a couple of weeks in Jacksonville (with Uncle Pappy and Jillie), one week in Demopolis (with Daddy Hawk and Grandmama), and one week in North Carolina (with Grandpa John and Grandma Weezie). I feel like I have hardly seen them all summer. They enjoyed all of their trips, but were ready to be back home and both were very excited for school to start back (they get that from their dad--he gets so excited about the new school year). Obviously, none of them share my love of sleeping in or they would not be half as excited as they say they are. Both of them like their teachers after the first day, and Hannah has several kids in her class from last year, and she is back with two of her good friends from 1st grade. Needless to say, she is really thrilled about that. Amelia has a couple of kids from her class last year in her class again this year, but she is all about making new friends. And she also just assumes that Hannah's friends are her friends as well (sound familiar, Tracy?), so she feels like she is right at home already.

We have not had any big events happen over the summer. Amelia has one or two loose teeth, but so far she still hasn't lost any. It is not for lack of her wishing for them to fall out. I am not sure how much she thinks the Tooth Fairy is going to give her for each tooth, but I have a feeling she is going to be sorely disappointed with reality. I am hoping those wiggly little teeth hang on for a long time, because I hate for them to loose those pretty little "baby" smiles!! And it means she is growing up, and she is my baby. I don't want her to grow up so fast! Hannah is already claiming to be "almost a teenager", so I have to hang on to Amelia as a little girl as long as possible.

Amelia did receive a couple of scars for souveniers from the summer of 2009. Steve took them to the beach (to Jillie and Uncle Pappy's condo) and Amelia fell at the pool the first day they were there and split her chin. She went to the ER, but thankfully did not have to have stitches, just a little glue and some butterfly strips. And then the next week, Steve took them to his parent's house in Jacksonville. The same day they got there, Amelia dropped a stool on her foot and knocked her toenail off of her big toe (OUCH!!). I was beginning to dread her leaving the house for fear of what might happen next. She was a real trooper with both injuries, and Hannah was a regular little nurse taking care of her until they got back home. When they got back from the beach, Hannah told me exactly how to take care of the wound and bandages on Amelia's chin, and showed me where all the supplies were and instructed me on how often I needed to clean it and change the bandage. To see them fighting like cats and dogs the majority of the time, it always surprises me to realize they really do love each other!

Hannah turned 9 years old on July 22. Not quite the teenager she wants to be, but certainly not a "baby" anymore!! Steve gave her a longboard skateboard for her birthday, and he did a custom paint job on it. I will have to take a picture of it and post it on here. Of course, she LOVES it, and thinks she is cooler than cool when she rides it. But she had it for about 2 days when they left to go to North Carolina. The last time I saw it, it was in her room. When they got back home, she was going to take it out to ride and could not find it. Of course she wanted to know what I had done with it. (Because, as everyone knows, I am a closet skateboard fanatic). Once I had convinced her that I had not touched it while she was gone, then she decided that it had been stolen. Our next door neighbor Chloe told her that she might have seen one of the neighborhood boys riding it. That was all that was needed for them to take off to the garage, and all three of them jumped on their bikes to go "after" the supposed thief. The Wilderness Lake Biker gang!! They did not find the skateboard at the "suspects" house, and eventually I reached Steve and he said he had it at his house. So thankfully, the skateboard was safe and sound, and the innocent neighbor did not get roughed up by my little hoodlums!

While the girls were enjoying their summer vacation, I was working out in the heat and humidity all summer long. And it was a rough summer for us at the zoo. Unfortunately, we lost our old male chimp, Bamboo, to heart disease a few weeks ago. He was such a wonderful old guy. He was kind of cranky towards the keepers sometimes, but you could not help but love him dearly. He had a tough time the last couple of weeks, and it was very difficult for all of us knowing that our days with him were numbered. The other chimps in the group have definitely felt his absence, but we have tried to keep things as normal as possible for them, and have spent a little bit of extra time with them as well. This seems to make them happy, and it definitely makes all of us primate keepers happy to spend extra time with them. They are the most amazing creatures!

Bamboo and Sasha

I have spent the last 3 weeks or so rehabilitating a baby Mourning Dove. He (or she?) was found on the ground at the zoo after having fallen from the nest and being roughed up pretty badly by a crow. After a quick visit to the vet clinic, it was straight home to begin the process of recovery. I actually did not expect him to survive the ordeal, but survive he has. Now the only problem is that I have a fully fledged dove that refuses to grow up and leave my nest!! He still refuses to eat the food that normal wild doves would eat, instead waiting until I give him some of the baby food I have prepared for him. I am down to feeding him once a day, and leaving the other food available all the time, but he is as stubborn as I am!! Stay tuned to see who wins this one.

So that is really all that has been going on as of late. I am sure I am leaving somethings out, but that will give me something to post later on, I suppose. I have included a few pictures taken over the summer. Hope you enjoy seeing them.

All dressed up and nowhere to go.