In November, Laynie, Grandpa, and I got to go to Ohio to visit our family there. While there, we made our normal trip to the Toledo Zoo. The three of us went during the day and were about the only people there. The polar bears were very active and jumped at the glass right in front of Elayna. We also got to watch the elephants playing with their toys. The zoo keepers were cleaning their home so they had food hidden all over and we got to watch the elephants throw barrels and toss big tubes to get their treats out. Laynie wasn't quite sure what to think. After we finished at the zoo during the day, we met with Uncle Wayne, Aunt Devon, and Sophia to go back to the zoo for their huge light display. It's very impressive with millions of lights and great Christmas music everywhere. Laynie had a great time looking at everything!
For anyone who's been to this zoo, you know that this statue has been there since at least the 1930's. Grandpa had his picture taken on it when he was a baby, Mom had her picture taken on it when she was young, and now Elayna joined the club. Although, it was really cold on our hind end:)
Laynie the Elf
Here are some moving butterflies that were really pretty!
Here's Elayna with her Aunt Devon, Uncle Wayne, and Sophia (who was wrapped in so many layers that she was so warm she slept through most of it)
Laynie and Grandpa giving money to help the zoo
We were the only ones there and stayed for about 10 minutes just watching the elephants play
Laynie was amazed!
This past winter we had a huge ice storm right before Christmas. It left us without power for 7 days. We were able to run the power (but not the heat) in the clinic so we could see patients. We ran an extension cord up to the office where we have a wood stove so we could keep patients on fluids and warm. The house stayed warm by the three wood stove. We played cards by candlelight (which was great!) Alli stayed over for a few nights instead of being at home in the dark and we played dominos or cards nearly every night. We used water hauled up from the pond to flush toliets. We took showers at Alli's and Thann's house when they got power back. All in all it was a pretty cool experience (other than hauling all the wood and water). We spent a lot of time together as a family. It was interesting to get a very small feel for how our anscestors did things. We heated up hot chocolate and soup on the wood stoves and we melted ice for the dogs. We do have gas stoves so Grandpa was able to cook by head lamp and candles. We listened to the radio a lot (mostly Christmas music). We had it easy compared to people who had to water their many horses three times a day. Some people were without power for weeks. While it was very nice to be able to take a shower, it was a great experience to have gone through. Here are some pictures of the beautiful ice.
