Fossil Rim

Most summers we like to get season tickets for somewhere interesting and really enjoy it. One year (21-22) we did Fossil Rim, the safari park near Glen Rose, TX. We visited often and enjoyed each trip, but one thing we never seemed to manage was to get there first thing in the morning. This year, someone - I think it was the alumni association - paid for all faculty and staff at Tarleton to get free access for a couple weeks. So shortly before graduations, we drove down and really enjoyed seeing much more active animals than we would find in the mid- or late-afternoon in the Texas heat. (Go figure!)

One of our best encounters was the first and also the last. An ostrich came over, feeling very aggressive, to demand our food pellets. It attacked Joy through the window and tried to eat the toy giraffe hanging there by its neck. Joy tried to protect herself ... using the bag of food pellets! She quickly realized how counterproductive that was and closed the window. When we left the park again, the ostrich came to dance for us and snuggle with the van. 

Joy: I think the ostrich was trying to open the window so it could get to me.

Joy: Everyone that wanted to had personal encounters with the giraffe.

D: Often there is a long line of cars for the giraffes. They are quite adept at welcoming themselves inside in a gentle, non-threatening way (unlike the ostrich!) It was nice to have this one to ourselves for a while.

Turns out, 2021-22 when we had season passes was the last time we went to Fossil Rim. Joy took the kids to Fossil Rim a number of times while I had to work. Given that I wasn't blogging that year, here are some pictures from a couple of those trips too, below the fold:

Falliage

 We enjoyed driving through the Stephenville foliage after church. No, it's not upstate New York foliage, but it's nice in its own way. One of our favorite trees was ours. Here are pictures of each of us trying to climb our tree. Happy autumn!

Smiles from Apr-May

Random pictures of the kids and life from mid-April to the end of May. In one of his last soccer games of the season, Superstar managed to kick in three goals - all his team scored. This was the third of them. HOORAY for SUPERSTAR!

I am a Jedi, like my father before me.
(JT hits HARD)

April zoo pictures

In April we invested in some Dallas Zoo tickets, hoping we would regularly attend over the summer. Turns out "regularly" meant twice. We're going to go again this coming Saturday, though, so that will make three. The Dallas Zoo is really nice - looks nice, good collection of animals, fun dinosaur statues all over the place, great kids' area. Here are some animal pictures and videos we liked:

Smiles inspired by nature from Mar-Apr

In writing an introduction to herself, my daughter wrote that she wants to be an economist when she grows up. *cue warm fuzzies*

Sunrises after seminary

 Looky looky who I caught a picture of!

She happened to be building a fort out of gym squares
when Elder Rasband spoke about building a fortress of faith.

Between sessions of General Conference,
we go walking along the Bosque River Trail

We got tickets for the Dallas Zoo this year. We didn't end up going as often during the summer as we expected, but we've had fun the few times we did manage to go. Here are pictures of children and statues and a little video of our three monkeys. (This is my circus!)

Nov-Dec 2018 - End of being a faculty fellow

Time to do some catch up!
JT's school wanted to remind their students at Thanksgiving to be "Thankful 4" by writing the things they were thankful for on a number four.

Enjoying the fall colors

To Light the World, we continued our tradition of inviting the kids to donate
most of their toys. (Why most? Because we've had a hard time keeping them
clean and organized, and they don't play with the vast majority anyway.)

The farewell dinner for Beth and me

This year was my last as a Faculty Fellow at Tarleton. This was a tragically sad thing. I love(d) working with Jim, Kelly, and the other Fellows. Faculty Fellows are involved in teacher development programs to increase faculty's teaching, research, and service abilities. It got me involved in the broader Tarleton community while working with some of the greatest, friendliest, funniest professors anybody could know. Oh, sure, we still see each other now and then; but when Jim, Kelly, and I had "the talk" about how I was about to come to the end of my days, I was depressed. I felt like I'd been to a funeral!

Dec '18 Graduation - the colleges of business and education.

A new tie from one of my seminary students

The sunrise from our home one morning - one the benefits
of teaching seminary.

We had a lot of fun making caramel/chocolate apples
 for my mother for Christmas.

We practiced telling gospel stories with felt pieces
I ... can't tell what story Princess was telling here.

The boys, helping us get ready for Christmas with my parents.

Hi, buds

Yesterday, the barest few buds were on the tree. Today, 1/4 of the tree has leaves. After this week's rain it should be looking pretty good!

In South African restaurant, meals eat you

After the safari, petting the tiger, and wandering through the more zoo-ish part of the zoo (skipping completely their reptile house and children's playground), we thought it was high time we got some lunch. Very nice sandwiches - some of the best grilled cheese any of us ever had and my Dagwood sandwich lived up to its namesake. But the thing to remember isn't the food, it's sitting next to taxidermy that's ready to eat you:

And then there's the life-size elephant sculptures outside with a ladder so you can climb up and take pictures.

No bears in South Africa. Sorry.

But there are LOTS of other animals to see that didn't make it to the other posts, like:

Cape buffalo, various antelope varieties, and warthogs (aka Pumba)

Adults can pet the baby leopard, but kids can't

Squirrels and varieties of cranes

Baby rhino and a Klipspringer (who gets nearly all its water from food)

Baby hippo.... and that's not even counting all the varieties of big cats: jaguars, leopards, cheetahs...

... and Tigers ...

After the grand tour of the Rhino and Lion reserve, we paid for a special opportunity: TO PET A BABY TIGER!

Here are Joy and Princess, quietly walking around the kitty. Joy pet first to show it was safe, then Superstar and Princess, then I finally got a turn. JT - perched safely on my shoulders - didn't ever quite trust himself with the critter, but was happy to be as close as that.

I was surprised at first that his fur was not as soft as most of the cats' we've owned. It was coarser ... kinda like Superstar's hair. So if you want to know what a tiger feels like, ask my son if you can brush his hair, I guess.

It makes sense on further reflection. I mean, they weren't exactly being bred for silky smoothness and they don't use conditioner.

The great bit was that at one point the tiger leaned over and took a playful nip at me! He grabbed my pants. I stepped back slowly but firmly and got dislodged. No problem.

Then he tried to play with Princess. That caused a bit more panic. She was NOT happy to have a kitty reaching out to eat her, so she cowered back. The tiger ripped a tiny hole in her dress.

We decided after that we were probably done petting the animals, though they also had a lion, a cheetah, and a leopard that could be pet - some by kids and some only by adults.

Today at Primary, Superstar told everyone that petting the tiger was his favorite thing in South Africa. He says, "He was really soft. And he was washing and I got to feel his wet, soft fur."

Princess has fewer happy memories: "He ruined my dress. But somebody fixed it. I don't know who. That's all."