Meet Chloe Kitten

Our baby news is nowhere near as exciting as Dusty's or Sheila's, BUT we have a new addition to our family as well.

Meet Chloe Kitten, the newest member of the Saunders Zoo.

She's a snuggly one! She especially enjoys Mommy's side of the bed, much to Rick's dismay.

Chloe also loves to hunt. She can track little jingly plastic balls and take down feather sticks with ease. She's a master at hiding in silk plants or under beds too. 

One of her favorite hangouts is Emma's room. She likes to curl up in the crotch of Emma's gigantic teddy bear, Bartholomew.

 Perhaps Bartholomew reminds Chloe of her biological family?

Chloe is easily hypnotized.If you stroke the stripes along her face, she'll be under your control in 30 seconds. You'll know you've done a good job if her motor continues long after you've finished petting her.

Shelby and Chloe have yet to form a loving, committed relationship, but we're working on it. Actually, we're trying to buck the laws of nature. Shelby just lurrrrrves to chase the kitty! 

We love our dear Chloe! She makes home even more inviting (and entertaining). Shelby is just going to have to work through her issues.

#44

Jake has tempted fate for 7 weeks now. He continues to play football for the PJHS Jackets without injury!

Jake plays tight end and outside linebacker. His strengths include speed and blocking. He loves to knock guys down and see the pained expressions on their faces. He also enjoys catching passes and running for big gains.

Coach selected Jake to be one of the team captains because of his hard work and determination in practice. Jake is not the most talented guy on the team, but he puts forth a good effort.

The Jackets have managed to play an undefeated season so far. Their record is 4-0.

Jake's favorite play is stretch pass. He goes deep, catches the ball, and runs for a touchdown. He has yet to run that play in a game, but he got a 90 yard touchdown run in practice.

Practices are grueling, requiring a lot of work and sacrifice. Jake has run his share of full field sprints and Jacket marches (suicides). He can do push ups in his sleep too.

All in all, Jake loves being part of the team. He hopes to continue his career in football next year. Here's hoping he doesn't break somethin'!

A Song For Rio

We upgraded. Say goodbye to the Kia Rio.

(written to the tune of the popular Duran Duran song)

Her name is Rio and she's been through snow and sand.

 For 9 long years she's driven us across the land.

 How we've survived while driving in that rusty can,

 Oh Rio Rio I guess we'll never understand.

Kalahari

For the second half of the week we should have been camping, we went to Kalahari. This 173,000 square feet indoor waterpark was an ideal way for our pasty white family to enjoy swimming and such. We didn't have to worry about a base tan or multiple sunblock applications. 

Floating down the lazy river

Kalahari is a hot spot for weary Ohioans in the summer, but we didn't mind the crowds too much. There was plenty of people watching to do while we stood in line for the slides. We only had to cover Jake's eyes a couple of times...

Jake thought it was sooooo funny to pull me under the waterfall.

For the most part we tried to stick together. It was more fun that way. We found that our favorite water slides were the onew we could ride with all four of us together. "The Family Flush" is what we called it.

Our trips down the lazy river weren't that relaxing with Jake around.

The boys tried surfing, while Em and I watched from sidelines. (Rushing water and swimsuit tops don't mix). We all enjoyed the gentle bobbing of the wave pool though.

Don't drink the water!

Not an hour after we all left the wave pool, the lifeguards evacuated it. The reason: poo. Needless to say, we didn't go back after we watched some poor employee going after the offending floater.

You've gotta look out for hippos around that place too!

The next day, we tried some of the outdoor activities at the resort. We were so proud of our acrophobic Emma when she tried the ropes course. She found she really liked the zip lines that zigzagged across the park.

No fear!

On top of the world!

We skipped the rock climbing wall because we were tired, but on the way out Emma stopped at the petting zoo. Fortunately, we didn't take any extra animals home with us.

Our little Snow White

Now we know where to go in the wintertime when we're sick of all the snow - Kalahari!

Chicago 8/3/11

We slept sooooooo well after our first day in Chicago, despite Jake's snoring. By the time we got ready and checked out, it was nearly lunchtime. We decided to walk around and find some little Chicago-ey place to eat.

We settled on Potbelly's, not realizing it's a chain restaurant - Ha! They made us some mean sandwiches though, and we were recharged enough for our afternoon at the Field Museum.

This time we drove ourselves and parked. Before entering the museum we played in the park and went geocaching ('cuz we're nerds).

Jake was excited to wave at the Chicago Bears outside Soldiers Field.

We packed in as much as we could into the afternoon. Because of our membership to Toledo's Imagination Station we were able to get some sizable discounts for different attractions.

Doesn't this guy have an uncanny resemblence to the King of Pop?

The kids got a little "buggy" in an underground insect exhibit. Here they are...um, molting.

Big Sue was impressive, as was the IMAX movie we watched about her.

We stayed clear through to closing time, which was about an hour too late for the kids.

As we worked our way back home, we stopped for some geocaching in Indiana. We've decided that we want to find a geocache in all of the 50 states (again, 'cuz we're nerds).

We stopped off in Gary, Indiana to visit Michael Jackson's birthplace. Let me just tell you  - it's nothing like the quaint little village shown in The Music Man. Yikes! It's practically a ghost town.

When we stopped by MJ's place, a neighbor was selling t-shirts and other wares from his driveway, all the while blasting songs from Thriller.

We tried to find a place on our GPS to stop for a bite to eat. No joke - it lead us to someone's backyard. They were grilling something on the porch, but we kept driving. Gary is not the place to stop for dinner. Lesson learned.

Stay tuned for my Kalahari account, including that promised story about poo.

Chicago 8/2/11

The plan WAS to camp in the Upper Peninsula. Mother Nature had different ideas. A freak heat wave hit the Midwest early in August and we realized that tent camping in 90% humidity wasn't the best way to enjoy Rick's week away from work.

Fortunately, we had plenty of other places to check off our vacation bucket list. We hopped in the car and drove two states west to Chicago, Illinois. We dropped our essentials at the beautiful Hilton along the Magnificent Mile where President Obama has held press conferences and such. Leaving our car in an over-priced garage, we set off in a taxi to see the sights. It felt more like a thrill ride than anything. The kids and I suppressed our nervous laughter the entire way to the American Girl store.

Emma fell in love with the American Girl books and movies years ago. We've amassed quite a collection of AG books by shopping at yard sales and Savers over the years. Every time Em would get her AG catalogue in the mail, she'd pour over the pages and highlight her favorite items.We know how she pined for a look-alike doll of her very own, but Santa never did leave one under the tree.

Though she's knocking on the door of age 12, we finally got her a doll. Her name is Janie and she has glasses and blond hair, just like our Emma Janie. We spent the day lugging Little Janie around Chicago, protecting her from theft and the elements.

While at Water Tower Place we stopped by the Lego store. It was sad to realize that our kids had outgrown their passion for Legos, but we did make them pause for some photos in front of the Lego sculptures and landscapes.

Everyone was enthused about visiting the Hershey Store. The moment we stepped inside we were welcomed with free samples and free smells. They practically had to escort us out of there.

Chicago is one of those places that makes you feel small. As twilight approached, we repositioned ourselves on top of the city to get a grand view.

Clouds were already rolling in, obscuring our view of Lake Michigan. On clear days you can see several miles in every direction. We counted ourselves lucky though, because we got one heck of a show with all the lightening.

We spent quite some time taking self-guided audio tours and gazing at the skyline. When the sun left for the day, we made our way back down to ride the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier.

Riding the attractions at Navy Pier is another great way to view the city. The old Ferris Wheel is especially amazing at night.

It was mercifully cool out on the pier, with the wind blowing in from the lake. Thunder and lightening threatened to close the park down, but we managed to get in a few rides.

When we finally called it a day and started walking back, the heavens opened and dumped on us. We tried to wait it out under the shelter of an overhang, but it was no use. We had to break down and hail a cab. We arrived back at the hotel absolutely soaked through our clothes (Little Janie was kept dry wrapped in her special box). It was a perfect finish to the day's adventures!