Animal Week

On Tues this week I got home for lunch and the house was a beehive of activity. There was mom, Danica, Celeste, Matt (Dave’s friend), Jensen, Lily, Brooklyn, Sydney (Steve’s 4 year old daughter), Lucas (Steve’s 2 year old son), and two of Matt’s kids. That meant 7 kids all 4 or under and I wanted to run away. They were all yelling, fighting, laughing, messing, and erupting in general commotion. I’m getting too old for this. It felt like removing an abscessed tooth when they headed over to the park so I could enjoy my lunch. I know I will miss them, but right then peace was the #1 goal.

We had an animal weekend. Friday night after living in Denver for 17 years decided to attend our first ever National Western stock show with Celeste and Brooklyn. It was like a different world with cowboy hats, boots, and belt buckles. Brooklyn was insane and nothing scared her. She wanted to pet everything from the smallest bunnies to these massive black work horses that towered over my head. She didn’t even care which end she petted as she tried to stoke the bull’s crusty tail. What I’m trying to figure out is how she can be so brave to run up to these unfamiliar animals, in this strange environment, and want to touch them, but when I greet her first thing in the morning she runs away. I have thus concluded that I need to grow fur and a tail and smell like manure to gain Brooklyn’s favor.

Last night we went to the Aquarium and the kids got to see me dive. At least they weren’t scared of me as before. They were like old hands and the sharks weren’t biting so I had a great time of it as well. The Aquarium really wants us to interact with the guests and so I need to brush up on my “Rock, Paper, Scissors” skills. It is a fun dive as always.