Safari Joe's

The water park is part of a hotel. This elephant head (I think it's real) was right by the front desk where you check in for the water park. There were tons of taxidermied animals all over the place. I hate stuff like that, and it was very creepy to me. Each one had a plaque and a picture with the guy who killed the animal.

Today Ken, Syd and I went with Matt and Hayden to an indoor water park about 20 minutes away. It was so nice to have some heat (84 degrees to be exact) while it was below freezing outside. It wasn't as big as we thought it would be, but the kids loved the little play area and would have stayed for hours longer if we had let them.

Syd and Hayden waiting to go down the kids' slide for the millionth time.

Matt, Ken and I hung out in the restaurant/bar area for a long time while the kids ran around.

A Dose of Culture

Last night we went to see the National Acrobats of China. The troupe consists of 35 people doing all kinds of tricks and stunts. There was a contortionist who was disurbingly bendy, some very cool hoop divers, and a cute routine with several of the girls playing with yo-yo like toys. Our favorites were the hat jugglers and the bicycle girls. It was a great way to showcase the talents of some people from the other side of the world.

These guys throwing the hats around were very cool.

Everything the bike girls did was impressive, and just kept getting better as their routine went along.

6 girls all on one bike riding around the stage.

6 was nothing. They ended with 14 girls on the bike!

The bike girls taking their bow after getting off the bike. I have no idea how the girl pedaling was able to keep the bike moving. They are little girls, but that is still a lot of weight to put on a bike.

Valentine's Dinner

Ken was lucky enough to have two dates for Valentine's dinner. We hadn't planned on going out tonight, but after we got back from the swim meet, Ken had the idea of going to Tosi's -- our standard special night out place. Syd had never been to a fancy place like that, and any time she gets to dress up she is all for it.

We got there just as they were opening, and once again we were rolling with the geriatric crowd. I guess no one under 70 likes to eat dinner right at 5:00. Syd even noticed the age difference between us and everyone around us.

Ken and Syd by a lion statue on the way into Tosi's.

Ken was making cheese-ball faces for the picture, and I told him he would get blogged like that if he didn't smile. He didn't care enough to take a good picture.

Syd learned that the best thing about going to dinner at Tosi's is getting dessert. She got triple chocolate mousse cake, and Ken got tiramisu.

Future Olympian

Syd joined a swim team about a month ago. Ironically, the first swim meet she was able to swim in was the championship meet of the winter swimming season. There were 8 teams, from towns all over southwest Michigan. She swam in 4 events -- 2 relays, and 2 solo races. She woke up very nervous, and I think the butterflies stayed with her until the first race was over. She did very well, for this being her first real competition, and for being so inexperienced. She placed first in both solo heats, and her relays did well too. All the awards are given to the coaches to be handed out later on, so we aren't sure if she won any ribbons or medals yet.

For the relays, they let the kids start in the water. Syd is in lane 2 getting ready to take off.

Syd and her teammate Reagan waiting for a relay to start.

They put everyone's name, time, and heat finishing place up on the board. It was cool to see her get the first place time twice.

2nd solo race of the day -- 25 yard freestyle. The night before the meet at swim practice was the first time she'd practiced diving off the block.

She needs more work on the diving part of things. (Yep, that ended in a big belly flop :)

Helping her team win their heat in the 100 yard freestyle relay

Warm and Cozy

My mom sent me a mini-spa in a box. They are mittens and boots made of super soft fleece with rice filled-inserts that you put in the microwave to heat them up. Before you put your warm mittens and boots on, slather up with lotion, and let it soak in while you bake. These are so great for me since I am a lizard (always colder than anyone else in the room). Thanks mom! I'll use them all the time.

Ken thinks they look silly, but it was his idea to take a picture of them for the blog :)

We got Storm a new bed because the old one was shedding it's brown fleece all over the floor and was making a constant mess. The website has so many cool things for dogs, and I know I will be a repeat customer of http://www.inthecompanyofdogs.com/default.asp. This bed is NOT made of fleece, so we shouldn't have the cleanup issues this time.

It takes up all the space in Ken's closet, but it looks super comfy, with a big bolster all around the back and sides.

I think she likes it :)

Huge Dog in a Little Shirt

If you have seen the movie Tommy Boy, you'll know the line "Fat guy in a little coat." That's exactly how Storm looked today when we put Duda's little shirt on her. Syd found the shirt and was chasing Duda around trying to put it on him. He wasn't cooperating at all, so she focused her attention to Storm. With a little help from Ken, they got the shirt on as far as it could go, which barely covered her face!! We all got a good giggle watching her walk around with a tiny shirt on her head. She didn't seem to mind, and was loving all the attention :)

Pose number one. She looks like she's all bandaged up from having her ears cropped.

We pulled her ears through the sleeves and it was even funnier. They looked like little gray pigtails.

The shirt really is little.

Duda modeling the little shirt.

Who Knew Snow Could Melt At Night

Yesterday our front yard was completely covered with snow. When I woke up, I was very excited to see patches of grass through the remaining snow. Not just little patches here and there, but big expansive patches!! I know if i get my hopes up that we'll get another foot of snow before it all goes away for good. But I sure am enjoying the sight of grass again. And, I went outside barefoot to take the pictures :) First time since October.

A little warmth, and a warm wind from the south, and voila, grass!

You're Only 7 1/2 Once

Tonight we celebrated Syd's 7 1/2 birthday. The tradition started last year when Ken noticed that February 3rd was Syd's half birthday. He told her she could have anything she wanted for dinner, and she took that very literally. She ordered the biggest, most chocolaty dessert at Applebee's and that was her dinner.

This year he talked her into having something more dinnerish before she started in on her dessert, and that was just as good for her. She feels gipped that she never gets to celebrate her birthday at school, so they are going to pick out something wonderful (brownies, cupcakes, or some other sugary confection) and take them to school on Monday.

She doesn't look happy at all to dig into that gooey plate, does she? :)

While we were waiting for our food, we were looking at all the pictures of celebrities on the wall behind us, trying to see if there were any Syd knew. Ken pointed to a picture of Darius Rucker and jokingly told her it was a picture of him when he was younger. She laughed at him and told him she didn't believe him "because his hair was different." Ken and I laughed so hard. Oh, the innocence of a kid, when the biggest difference they see is someone's hair color.

Rascal Flattin' All Night Long

Ready for the show to start!

Valentine's Day came early -- about a month and a half early. Ken got an email saying that Rascal Flatts were coming to Grand Rapids and tickets were now on sale. He snatched them right up and gave me an early Valentine's Day present.

When he brought the tickets to me to look at, the first thing I saw was Jessica Simpson. She was the opener for Rascal Flatts, and I'm glad we didn't pay to only see her. There have been so many rumors going around the internet about her weight gain. And, yes, she did look softer than she had before, but nothing overly dramatic. People should be talking about how bad a performer she is. We heard more of her backup singers and band than her actually singing because she was having voice issues and crying so much. I did feel bad for her. I know when I don't feel good or have a bad day, the last thing I want to do is try to be perky and happy for a bunch of people. I think it might have been better if she took a page from her sister's book and lip-synched the whole thing. *cringe*

Jessica Simpson rocking the "Daisy Dukes." That was about all she rocked.

But we weren't there to see Jess. The Rascal Flatts boys did such a good job. I was very impressed at how they connected the the audience. The lead singer stopped and signed autographs in the middle of his songs. At one point, the girls in the front row were holding his microphone so he could have both hands and he kept right on singing -- never missed a beat, or forgot any of the words. The dark-haired one (I don't know their names, how terrible is that!) did a 5 minute comedy skit that was very funny. He just walked around the stage telling jokes and stories. The blonde one showed off his awesome guitar skills. He would kick butt at Guitar Hero.

Rascal Flatts had a very cool entrance -- the whole platform they were all standing on came down from the ceiling. They started singing, but we couldn't see them,then their platform slowly descended.

The stage was set up in a big hollow square. And they used every inch of it.

Dueling fiddle and guitar. Their fingers moved crazy fast.

It was a great Valentine's present. Thanks babe!