Even better the second time around

Karina has been working hard for a couple of weeks now on her newest creation. These are toys that I loved to play with when I was growing up. They have proven to be just as fun -if not even better for my girls!

Of course, she decided to make her very own elephant barn!

The barn complete with steps and a banner around the door

and my favorite part of all: The Elephant!A big thank you to Gramda for letting us borrow them from her for a little while!!

Miracles happen everyday...

We just had to capture this amazing rare moment so that we could remind

ourselves that it is possible...

Long Jump Practice

We had some fun at the neighborhood high school track the other day. Jadyn, Makenzie, and Daddy all went for a walk, and Jadyn spent some time working on her long jump...

Her proud sister waiting for the big moment...

The audience waited with great anticipation...

On your marks, get set, go!

Picking up speed...

3, 2, 1... blastoff!

Higher and higher she soared...

Look at that form!

And down she came, so smooth!

It was a picture-perfect landing. Great job, Jadyn!

Ezer-Mizer

Karina has eczema, skin that easily rashes out and becomes dry. A gift she received from me, her Dad. We both love it - skin that dries to the point of cracking, bleeding, and becoming very painful. (Do you notice the sarcasm in that sentence...)

At school, her teachers wait by the door to the classroom and have the kids use some hand sanitizer. A great thing to help prevent kids from bringing junk into the classroom. But unfortunately, it also aggrivates her eczema. So we've told Karina and her teachers that we don't want her using that - but that instead she would wash her hands with soap and water as she goes in to her classroom.

So... last week Karina shows up at class. Her teacher momentarily forgets that Karina can't use the hand sanitizer and goes to squirt some on her hand as she walks in. Karina pulls her hand away, and very seriously says, "No! I can't use that. I have Ezer-Mizer!"

Backstage Pass to the Zoo!!!

We went to the zoo again last month. It had been a while, and Karina was missing her elephants. Every time we go, we always find a way to go see the elephant keeper's talk - it's Karina's favorite by far, and even though they say roughly the same things each time, she just loves it.

Over time, we've come to know Russ, one of the elephant keepers who has worked there for almost 20 years. He's usually the one doing the talks, and Karina always talks to him during or after the talk.

On this particular visit, he spotted us as we waited for the talks to begin. Today's talk was going to be at the elephant barn, and as we stood there, Russ suddenly appeared behind us. As we said hi, he told us there were still a few minutes before the talk was to start, and asked if we'd like to come around back and go in to the staff entrance to the elephant barn with the zoo keepers!

Of course we said 'yes'! He took us past the roped off area, and we headed around back into the barn. He showed us the office, where he and the other 4 elephant keepers work behind the scenes. Hanging up on the wall were 3 different cards Karina has made over the last year and mailed in to Russ! We also got to see some art that Chai, one of the elephants, had just finished painting. The art is going to one of the supporting agencies that help provide for the elephants.

We then got to walk out into the actual barn and watch as they let in the elephants for the talk. Russ stayed with us for a bit, and then asked if we'd like to stay there while he went out and around the front to give the talk to the crowds that had gathered. So we got to stay with Joanna, another elephant keeper, and watch the talk from inside the barn! It was so cool!

Karina's eyes were lit up the entire time, and Jadyn and Makenzie were loving it, too. We were so close to the elephant that we had to stand behind a blue line drawn on the ground to make sure they could not reach out and touch us. We were within 10 feet of the elephants, and got to watch them eat, walk over and sniff us, talk to them, and so much more.

Afterwards, Russ came back around and gave the girls some carrots to feed to the elephants by hand. There was another part of the fence that the elephants could not reach through, so the girls were able to stick their carrots through the holes in the fence to the elephants.

We then went back into the office, and Joanna showed us different things about the elephants. We got to hold some hair from the elephants tails, hold pieces of tusks that had broken off, and see and feel so many other things. They even gave us a video all about Hansa, the baby elephant that lived at the zoo for about 6 years before she died.

It was such a neat experience, and so special to be remembered. As Russ introduced us to Pat and Joanna, he said, "these are some of the members of the elephant fan club, and this one, Karina, is the president of the club." We laughed at that, but it was so neat to be recognized and invited to experience such a priviledged moment with the keepers and elephants. The other keepers even said that each time we had been there recently, Russ had seen us and then ran to get the other keepers after his talks, excitedly saying, "they're here! The family that loves the elephants so much and keeps sending all the cards. You have to come see!" But by the time they would get there, we were gone.

All in all we spend about an hour in the barn with the keepers - something we've never seen anyone do before. It made Karina's year.

Elephant Trunks

Wow. It's been over a month since we've posted anything - yikes! We'll try to add more soon - we've had a busy last 6 weeks. Disneyland, a musical that Jadyn was in at church for two busy weekends, ballet lessons, school projects and homework, a two-week long cold working its way through our house, a special behind-the-scenes tour with the elephant keepers at the zoo, etc. Too many to list tonight, but we'll try hard to add the stories here soon.

But for now, one humorous anecdote from yesterday...

Julie and Karina were sharing some cheetos at lunch. It had been a while since we'd had cheetos in the house, so Julie asked Karina if her cheetos were good.

Karina held up a cheeto in front of her and then replied with a smile, "this is not just a cheeto! It's an elephant trunk!"

I can honestly say I have never looked at a cheeto that way before, but now I don't think I'll ever be able to look at one again without laughing. Leave it up to our little elephant lover to find the elephant in everything around her.