Boo at the Zoo

Believe it or not, I have never been to Hogle Zoo. I have lived in Utah over 3 years and just never seemed to make my way over there. So today when Monica said she was taking the kids to “Boo at the Zoo”, I decided to tag along. There were different stations throughout the Zoo where you could trick or treat while enjoying the zoo animals. I was like a kid in a candy shop, snapping picture of everything. I was so interested in all of the animals that I had never seen close up. We didn't make it through the entire zoo, because the kids were tired of walking and were done trick or treating, but I would love to come back and see the rest of the zoo. Here are just a few of the bazillion pictures I took.

Black Bear taking a little drink

Pregnant Elephant

Tiger with huge paws!

Sleeping Rhino

Cute Little Penguins

Sucks for them!!!

Driving home today, traffic starting to slow down and there was a huge cloud of smoke off in the distance. As I got closer to the smoke, I realized it was a car on fire!
You know, I have actually seen this 2-3 times before, but today it was a little different. In the past, the police and fire trucks block traffic so that no one can drive past the inflamed vehicle and they attempt to put out the fire. Today, as I drove by, there were 3 police cars parked off in the distance with the driver just watching it burn while tons of cars drove on the free way right along side it. Maybe they were waiting for the fire truck, but still. I known cars don't really explode like in the movies, but I also don't think that is necessarily that safe either. Oh, well, I was on the opposite side of the the freeway and I made it home safe, so I guess I have nothing to worry about. It just sucks for the car owner, because their car is toast...burnt toast!

It's the final countdown...

Monday Chris had to do his final PT test and re-take his Ranger History test. He was sick all night and barely got any sleep. He said he barely remembers running the 2 miles or doing his sit ups and he said he felt himself start to pass out during the push ups and even blacked out, but some how made it through. Then he had to go straight to the classroom for the written test. He ended up passing both tests...WOO HOO!!!

Tuesday he had to fast rope from the helicopters and tore something in his elbow. He says it didn't hurt at the time because of the adrenaline rush, but it sure hurts now.

Wednesday he had to wake up at 3am and do a 12 mile ruck march (full gear, ruck sack, gun, etc.) in less than 3 hours. He was able to do it in 2 hours and 26 minutes, only throwing up a few times along the way. After passing the final ruck march, he was cleared to graduate. Before graduation he had to go buy his brown beret and patches. Look how cute he is in his new lil hat.

When I got this picture I said to him "Wow, you look so serious!" and he replied "It's a serious job Shell." I thought that was so cute of him to say, it make me laugh. After buying all his patches and hat and new PT clothes, he needed to get a hair cut. Can you tell?
Look at all that fuzzy scruffy hair! This text was titled..."hair".
I am so bummed I cannot go to his graduation on Friday, but hopefully he will find sweet lil old lady to take pictures of him for me. I am just so glad he made it through and will be permanently stationed somewhere soon.

Dehydration Scare

As part of Chris' training, he has to pass a written test about the History of Rangers. The test is not multiple choice or fill in the blank, it is just questions and you write your own answer. Last Monday when he took the test, he failed. They don't tell you what you got wrong or how close you came to passing, its just simply a pass/fail. Luckily he gets 1 more chance before they make him re-start the training course. Tomorrow is the re-take and Chris is really nervous. He says he was never any good at taking tests in school and hates that he is having to take them now in the Army. I asked him today if he was studying for tomorrow and he sent me this picture with the caption "Uh YEAH!"

Knowing my husband too well, I said "Can I see you?" and this is what I got...

Just as I thought...listening to music!!! I highly doubt he is using his head phones as ear plugs, so I hope his crazy rock music helps him study and retain information. Doesn't he look so excited to be learning all about Rangers? I know he has been studying so hard all week trying to prepare for the big day, but yesterday morning he started feeling really sick. With horrible diarrhea and vomiting, he quickly became dehydrated. He has been passing out and so lethargic all weekend. He told me that he fell asleep in his bunk and woke up on the floor in the hallway. Scary!!! I keep telling him dehydration is a serious serious illness and it can kill you, but he just says "I can't go to the doctor, they can't even know I'm sick!" I lovingly remind him that I think they will figure it out when he is passing out and vomiting during his PT test in the morning! He just gets irritated with me and tells me he has to go, so I sweetly inform him that irritability is another sign of severe dehydration. Considering a kid in his last platoon passed out and almost died from dehydration, it really worries me. I know I all I can do is pray for him and have faith that everything will be ok. I guess there is no sense in losing sleep over something I can't control, I just hope everything goes well tomorrow!

Happy Saturday!!!

"BEEP BEEP BEEP" Half awake I pick up my phone, flip it open, press OK to receive my message, and up pops this picture and text message.

"Good Morning my Love"

Usually I would get a little cranky on a Saturday morning if someone woke me up at 4:50am, but not today. Waking up to my hubby's face was so nice for a change. I know it is totally different than waking up next to him, but hey...I'll take what I can get. He is so sweet to send me cute little messages like this, I think I'll just remind him of the 2 hour time difference so I can sleep in tomorrow.

A Bugs Dinner

Chris was apparently dinner for all of the spiders and bugs in Georgia. This is a picture of the back of his leg where he had nearly been eatin' alive. He said both of his legs looked like that front and back, just covered in bites. It was itching him so bad, he finally had to go to the store and buy some anti-itch cortisone cream and then put on long pants so he couldn't itch it anymore!

My visit with the Gavinator!

Yesterday I drove to meet Cassi in Malad to pick up my mom. Mom was in Idaho helping move Cassi and Gavin into their new place and then needed to get to SLC to fly home. It was a long stressful drive, since we got our first snow here in Utah. On the way up, there were tons of accidents with a bunch of cars that had slid off the road. Luckily I made it to Malad safely and was able to visit with Cassi and Gavin for a few minutes. Gavin and I shared a moment eating laffy taffy in my car. He is getting so big and is so cute and talkative.

It was so nice to get to see him and Cassi again, it had been a few months since our last visit. It was also really nice to get to see mom again, even if it were for less than 24 hours. Every visit with her is nice, no matter how short. Thanks for a fun time Gavin, Cassi, and Mom!

1st snow of the year!

I heard on the radio that it was supposed to snow on Saturday and Sunday. After no snow on Saturday and no signs of snow coming, I gave up on the thought of it. Then sure enough, Sunday morning when I woke up and looked out my window, this is what I saw...


I love when it snows, especially here in Utah, becuase the mountains are so beasutiful coverd in snow. My nephews were so excited, they quickly got on their snow gear and headed outside. Dallin started making a snow man and wanted to make an entire snow family, but ran out of snow after the first one.

Dallin and his Snow Man

Is that self tanner???

Today, Chris went to Barnes and Noble to relax and read a good book. I asked him to send me a picture so I could see his handsomeness. This is what I got...
Don't get me wrong, he is a total stud muffin and I love him, but I couldn't help but notice how extremely ORANGE his face was looking. So, I asked him, "Did you put on self tanner?" He said no it was just the lighting, but I don't know if I believe him. Ha Ha Ha!!! I love you Christopher!

NASTY!!!

So, today I learned about immersion foot, or trench foot. Why did I learn about it...well, because after receiving these photos from my hubby, I became a little curious.

You can see his feet starting to mold!!!

He said he almost ripped his sole off when he took his boots off...OUCH!!! Chris was told to go with out shoes for the weekend, so his feet could heal. After a day his feet started to dry out, which made then crack and bleed and hurt even more. Two days later he had to do a 5 mile run on his poor lil feet.

Now, that you have seen these nasty photos...here is what I learned. It is a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary and cold conditions above freezing point. Immersion foot occurs when feet are cold and damp while wearing constricting footwear. The condition can occur with as little as twelve hours' exposure. The symptoms are: Affected feet become numb and then turn red or blue. As the condition worsens, they may swell. Advanced immersion foot often involves blisters and open sores, which lead to fungal infections; this is sometimes called jungle rot. If left untreated, immersion foot usually results in gangrene, which can require amputation. If immersion foot is treated properly, complete recovery is normal, though it is marked by severe short-term pain when feeling is returning. Like other cold injuries, immersion foot leaves sufferers more susceptible to it in the future.

I'm glad there was no amputation necessary here!!!

The Giant Zucchini

Last week my boss brought me two zucchini from his garden. He knows that we have a not so successful garden at our house and since his produces more than he and his wife can eat, he thought he would share! They were not huge, but they were much larger than the ones you buy at the store. One Zucchini made 4-6 loaves of bread. When I brought them home, Cole was shocked at how big they were compared to the tiny zucchini from his garden. So, the next day I mentioned to my boss that my nephew was so shocked that the zucchini were so big. He told me that he could grow them much much bigger than that! He said that they had 1 more zucchini left and that he was going to leave it for another week and then bring it to me to give my nephew. Today he brought it in to work for me and it was ginormous!!! He said if he let if grow any longer it may not fit in my car. When I got home from work, I brought it in the house to surprise Cole. As soon as he saw it he freaked out! He thought it was the coolest thing ever. He was so excited, he tried to carry it to show his mom and dad, but it was a little too heavy. I wish I could have captured his initial reaction on camera, but the grin on his face shows how excited he still is about it.
The thing is almost 3 feet long and about 8-10" diameter. I am not really sure what we are going to do with it, but maybe we will have to try a few dozen new recipes to try to use it all up!