Reality #2 - 'Things are not always what they seem'.

Brooke was invited (by our neighbor) to go to the Zoo to be in a 'show taping' with Jack Hanna. They needed a few kids in the background for this taping and so it sounded like a fun opportunity for the kids to meet and interact with Jack while at their favorite place, the Columbus Zoo. They were all excited the morning of this adventure. The group met at the executive offices and all the kids got to ride on a special golf cart through the zoo grounds over to the 'petting zoo animal barn'. The kids were asked/coached to be good, listen, 'don't look at the camera', and have fun with Jack. They all waited in a holding area for all the camera crew and Jack to get there and get set up for the shooting. A director told the kids where to stand and that they would be playing/petting some small animals. About an hour later, the taping was about to start - of course, by now the kids were restless, hot, tired and thirsty (what do you expect with 5 and 6 year olds?) When they said "o.k. - get ready" - the zoo employees started throwing food out into the courtyard (where the kids were placed) about 20 goats came running towards the kids to eat all the food...some of the boys had food in their hands. Well, Brooke didn't want any part of the rather large goats eating out of her hands or even touching her at all. She quickly stepped backward into the fence as fear set in. Brooke tried to hang in there, but 5 minutes later with the goats in a huge, continuous feeding frenzy, she and her friend, Abigail ended up in tears and wanted out. The boys, on the other hand, were competing who could get and give the most food to the goats. Where was Jack Hanna during all of this? He was on the 'outside' of the fence, taping his show - repeating many 'takes' and never interacting with the kids. We did have an opportunity to get a picture of Jack Hanna with the kids when it was all over.
Epilogue: As the kids made their way back to the golf cart, it was pulling away with Jack and his crew...the kids were devastated, saying "hey, that's our cart" - they were 'bummed' they couldn't ride in it again as we walked back. So, yes, things aren't always as they seem. When we got home, Brooke said that was the worst trip to the Zoo ever!

Reality #1 - 'Things are not always what they seem'

Brooke has been talking about 'sleepovers' for a year now and when she got an invite for a sleepover the other day - she was thrilled! With much anticipation, she planned and talked about it for a week. We talked about what it might be like and she had packed what she would take many days ahead. The night had come and I was looking forward to some quiet solitude (Keith was away as well) - I had just started to watch a movie when I got a call around 10:00 p.m. and the other Mom said Brooke was having a hard time...but just 'hearing my voice' wasn't going to work. A half hour later, she was safely back in her own bed, with her Mom nearby. She announced to me sleepily, "I'm just to young for sleepovers - I'll have to wait until I'm 7..... or 8.

Brooke's Dance Recital

Brooke has taken Ballet/tap for a few years now and at the end of the year they always have a Dance Recital. Well, this year she was able to be in the 'Big Show' which was based on 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'the Wicked'. Her group were the 'bluebirds' in the show as Dorothy sang...'Somewhere over the Rainbow'. It was really cute, HOWEVER, it lasted almost 3 hours long and Brooke's dance number lasted about 3 minutes. There were 100 girls of all age groups 5 to 25 in this production. I heard rumblings about mom's not being happy about the length (me included) and even more complaining from the Dad's who had missed out on a beautiful, sunny afternoon of being at the final round of the Muirfield Golf tournament taking place in Dublin, Ohio. We saw Dad's in agony, grandparents nodding off etc. It was a very long day....but the kids had a great time up on stage and they did a good job. Brooke had fun so yes, it was worth the wait, the money, and the time spent on dance classes all year long....even though she complained about going to class every Monday at 10:00 a.m. It is up to Brooke whether she wants to do it all again next year...time will tell.

Wow! Brooke graduated from Kindergarten in June.

Getting started on a Blog

I wish I started this long ago.....looking forward to updating this for family and friends to see what we are up to from time to time.

Creating a family 'Blog' finally.

I don't know why I didn't start doing doing a Blog a while ago...time, I guess. I'm hoping this will actually save some time as I send so many individual emails and pictures to many...so should be fun and will keep all informed.

We recently got back from a family reunion in Dover the July 4th weekend. We had fun and Brooke had a great weekend and didn't want it to end.

Now the start of a new week. Brooke had a few play dates with friends, swim lessons and has become more confident on her bike (without training wheels...which was a real breakthrough for her...she was/is very cautious and fearful.)