Wildlife World Zoo

Last weekend Jake and I went to the Wildlife World Zoo with our nieces and Jake's parents. Um... coolest zoo ever! I would even say if tops the San Diego Zoo. We made the long trek north to Litchfield, trying to beat the storm clouds that seemed to be chasing us. It started raining right as we got there but it was perfect because we went to the aquarium first. Sadie and Grace had a blast in there! They probably would have been happy to play in there all day, petting starfish, sea urchins, horseshoe crabs, and sting rays! When we left the aquarium the rain had stopped and had lowered the temperature dramatically. It was a perfect day in Arizona! We started at the petting zoo, where we got to touch turtles, goats, deer, and even a lama! The girls loved running around feeding all the baby goats.

So this is why I loved this zoo so much. Everything just seemed so personal. We were two feet away from tigers. Two feet! Jake almost touched a jaguar (until it heard him and growled/hissed, scaring the bajeezes out of him haha). A lot of the animals weren't even caged. It felt like most of the barriers were there to keep humans out, not to keep the animals in.

I loved the baby animal exhibit. We saw a baby lion, baby ocelot, and baby tigers (precious!).

The Kangaroo walkabout area was fun too. We had a couple kangaroos following us ;)

It was such a great day! It is so worth the 45 min trek up there! It's a tad pricey so if any of you Arizonians ever find some coupons, GO! You will not be disappointed!

The Amazing Jake

What an amazing husband I have.

We have struggled with a problem our entire 2 years of marriage. That problem? Where to store our shoes when we come home at the end of the day. Our entryway of every apartment we've lived in has been cluttered beyond imagination. We've thought of buying a basket of sorts, but Jake's shoes are so huge, two pairs would fill any decent sized container. We're both too lazy to take them off and walk them back to our closet, and we both wear several different pairs each week. What to do??

About a month ago Jake announced that he was going to make a shelf for our shoes. I scoffed at him and immediately came up with a million reasons why that was not possible. What a terrible wife I am! Here my husband was trying to solve our problem and I basically tell him he doesn't have the means or the ability to do it. I felt bad about it later though and told him to do it, but I think he was crushed.

It's a good thing he's so determined though, because the next week he went shopping for wood, nails, and a hand saw. He told me his idea, I sketched a rough design and that was that! Several hours later we had a shelf. And an awesome one at that. We painted it black to match the rest of our furniture, but the artist in me will have to revamp it one day.

My handy man :)

Jake wanted to include a shelf for my purse. He was tired of me throwing it on top of our shoes. I love it.

No More Cleo

Well we no longer have our dog Cleo. There were several reasons for getting rid of her but the biggest one was that she was locked up too long while we were at work. So Jake put an ad on craigslist and we got a response back from a guy who lives outside of Maricopa. He lives on a ranch and has over 100 acres (30 of which are fenced so Cleo could run around outside!) He has a little 3 year old and a baby on the way so he wanted to make sure Cleo is good with kids, which she is! He also wanted a guard dog, and we told him Cleo pretty much growls or barks whenever she hears people outside. He came by last week to see her and she wasn't shy at all, which was a first. He was really nice and Jake and I both felt good about letting our dog go with him. Even though she was frustrating at times it is still hard to say goodbye to a life you have been responsible for.

The guy texted Jake a couple days later and said that Cleo was doing great. She runs around all day chasing lizards! So everything has worked out really well. We are really happy for her and grateful that she went to such a good home. Now my job is trying to keep Jake from convincing me to get another dog (I didn't even make it a month last time!). I told him the only dogs we are ever getting again are chihuahuas. And as much as I would love to have one, there are several factors that keep me from wanting one at the moment.

So now we just have our cat (who is sick and Jake hand feeds everyday!). Cats are easy though and even though they aren't as entertaining as dogs, it's nice to have her around. Ok I'm done for the day. Stay tuned for a picture of our newest piece of furniture, designed and created by my wonderful husband!