Marine Mammal Keeper Experience at Sea World

Here is a whole lot of pictures and review of our Marine Mammal Keeper Experience at Sea World in Orlando, Florida. I may be very wordy for this blog (which is primarily geared towards family and friends), but I want to give a full account in case anyone out in the web world is looking into doing this in the future. I know we did a search of "Marine Mammal Keeper Experience" and found blog posts that were VERY helpful to let us know what to expect as we planned our trip. So hopefully mine will do the same.

First off, this program is EXPENSIVE! But, if you have the $ and love marine mammals... GO FOR IT! I was always the kid who wanted to be a Marine Biologist, just so I could play with dolphins. We would never have been able to afford the $399 per person, but someone had won the tickets in a web contest and was moving and therefore sold them on Craigslist for a fraction of the cost. We were very blessed to be able to do this. It truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

So, we made sure we got a good night's sleep because we had to be there at 6:30 in the morning. We packed a bag with our bathing suits, camera, and aqua socks (didn't need aqua socks). The literature they send you tells you where to park. It tells you to park in the "visitor" spots, which we found meant the spots that say "reserved". We got there at 6:25 and waited for out keeper. We got Lauren as our guide for the day! She is friendly, chatty, funny, and full of information. We are chatty too, so it worked out well! We spent a lot of the day behind the scenes (no pictures allowed there). The first thing we did was feed a pool of rescued manatees Romaine lettuce. We chucked 2 boxes worth out there. Then with the 3rd box we filled up a tube with lettuce that sinks to the bottom so they can practice grazing on the bottom like they do in the wild.

Then we worked with 3 dolphins that were being kept in the back for observation. As soon as they saw their keepers they started jumping and getting so excited. It was cool to see how each dolphin has a different personality and temperament. The keepers worked on some target behaviors. The dolphin I was working with kept reverting back to her favorite trick because she did not want to do what was asked. Then is was time to feed and weigh the otters. The otters are funny as well. They were separated in 3 different pairs and each pair had their own temperament and dynamic as well. We were not allowed to touch them (they can bite), but they were fun to watch.

Then it was time to "suit up"! In other words, squeeze yourself into a wet suit! Not fun! I have never been in a wet suit before, so it was the weirdest feeling thing to wear. And the best advice I have for you is... go to the bathroom first. Once you get that suit on, you do not want to take it off for any reason!

Our transportation everywhere was a golf cart. They give you a bottle of water and a towel to take in case you need it. Then we were off to the Key West Dolphin Cove to visit with some dolphins. At each place you meet a different keeper that takes you through some interactions with the animals. At Key West we met Nick.

Key West Dolphin Cove

We went to the shallow area with Nick and 4 of the Dolphins came over. They hang out in same-gender groups, so we got a group of boys.
We got to feed them and do a few behaviors with them. Nick gave us a bit of Dolphin 101.
The Dolphin in Nick's face is Ajax. He is sort of the low-man on the totem pole and is basically the dolphin version of a "lap dog". He loves to get your attention and be right in your face. He is mine and Levi's favorite. You can tell him from the other dolphins by his spotted mouth.
Getting to rub down the dolphins.
I think that one is Ajax. He is an in-your-face type of Dolphin.
I swear the animals always seemed to get me more wet than Levi! Here I am about to get a face-full of water.
Some pictures from the other angle that Lauren took with our camera.

Underwater Viewing

After that we went to a storage shed where we picked out a few simple toys to play with the dolphins with. Then we went to the underwater viewing area to do some "enrichment" with the Dolphins. You hear the word enrichment a lot. They do a lot to make sure the animals have opportunities to think, problem solve, play, and basically not get bored. The funny thing is, they loved some of the simplest toys.

They loved watching Levi juggle. Their heads would go up and down as they watched the balls go through the air.
We played football and the dolphins would follow the ball between me and Levi.
Pinwheels were fun too!
The noodle made a squeaking sound on the glass which they liked.
More juggling fans.

They liked watching you push the car in front of the glass.

This toy was the funniest to me. It is just a little wind-up pony, about a inch tall, that jumps along. I thought there would be no way they would pay any attention to it. But this picture is worth a thousand words. Look at how into this toy they are!
When Lauren showed us the feed station there was all the dolphins' food for the day lined up, but one in particular caught my eye. There is a dolphin named "Callie". It is even spelled like my Callie's name!

We found her in the underwater viewing! Here she is... Callie the dolphin!

Manatees

Next we went over to feed the manatees. There are 6 manatees. We fed them bagged spinach, which they love. We were not allowed to touch them, but they are amazing to watch. Something about a manatee seems to peaceful!

After that we went over to the Dolphin nursery and met some of the mamas and babies there. There are also 2 males in the tank that are rascals. Lets just say they like attention, and when they did not get it they splashed me.

Belugas

We had some time to kill because we were running early, so we saw the fish house and what they have to do to get the fish ready to feed all the animals. It is amazing how much fish they go through in one day and what all they have to do to keep it in order.

Then we zoomed over to the wild artic to interact with some Belugas! Boy were they amazing! Here were are in the exhibit. They had 2 on exhibit and 2 in the back.

See, I always get splashed the worst!
If you drum your fingers on the top of their head like you are playing a piano, they make a cool noise.
My Beluga kiss!
Levi's Beluga kiss!
Awww... a hug!
Doing some tricks.
Levi did not even get splashed!
Another way to get them to make a cool sound like an air horn! They are called the canary of the sea because they can make so many different noises.
Then we went to the back where we got to do some things with Oreck, the Beluga.

Another kiss!

This picture really shows how squishy his head is!

She let us do some behaviors with him on our own. Towards the end he got to where he trusted us. At first he was not so sure. Here I am doing the sounds behavior again.

We also saw the harbor seals at the Wild Arctic area. They were so cute! They came out and immediately started kissing. And that was not even the behavior she was asking them to do!
This is where the pictures end. Next it was time to get out of the wet suits. And boy do those things stink when you take them off, but my body felt free again! We showered off, got dressed, and then went to lunch. You have a choice of taking your box lunch and eating in the park or in the staff caferateria. My advice, if you like your guide stay in the staff caferateria. We basically say with a whole table of the keepers we had been meeting through the day. We talked and laughed and had a great time. They give you a box lunch with your choice of meat on a croissant. We both got chicken salad. Then you have potato salad, fruit, huge rice crispy treat, and a cookie. We talked about all sorts of random stuff like Mariah Carey and trying out for American Idol.

Then we went to see the seals. On the way we say these cute little duckies!

We went to the harbour where they keep the seals. There are some in the back that required special care. We went and learned about them. Then we went out with 2 big buckets of fish and fed the seals. As we were throwing the fish out there was one seal that could intercept any fish I was throwing to another seal. I would check to make sure he was not around and as soon as I threw the fish, up he would pop out of nowhere and snag it. It was amazing!

Then we went back to the wild artic to see the polar bears. Polar Bears are obviously a no-contact animal so we looked at their biggest bear through the glass and she told us about their care. It is amazing how strong they are.

Then came one of my favorite parts.... the walruses. They have 2 walrus on their Wild Artic exhibit, Garfield and Dozer. When we opened to the door to go see them you could hear one of them making a huffing noise in his exhibit. He knew we were there and he was letting us know he was ready to eat! The keeper went out to get them. When they come around the corner it is amazing! They are HUGE!!! You can not appreciate the emormity of these animals until you are face to face with them. They have a barred door where they can come up to be fed, but a person can slip through in case of an emergency. They stuck their heads through the bars and they seriously take up the whole hallway. They have so much personality. Garfield makes a clicking noise until he gets fed. And they both make a variety of funny noises! We got a walrus kiss on our hand. It is the coolest feeling!

After that we were done! We looked at our pictures and it was hard not to buy them. The nice thing is they offer an option of buying all of them on a Shamu Tail shaped flash drive. So we bought the flash drive. The experience also came with a 7-day park pass. So we came back the day before we left. I found Lauren and Nick at Key West and said hello again. They were so much fun! I will miss them! We also went to the dolphin viewing area and found ways to get the dolphins to play with you. There were some kids down there too, so we showed them some tricks. They thought that was cool. One little girl in-particular captured my heart. It was weird being on the other side of the exhibit when we went back. When just a few days before you were hugging and touching all the animals, it was hard to just look at them through glass.

So for those people who might be considering it: So worth it, So much fun!

Sea World will never be the same for you! It will be better!

Sorry for the absence of blogging...

But I had a wedding to go to (which was beautiful), then Thanksgiving, and in-between then I was trying to restore some sort of order to my home which I have not made a priority in about 2 years. What has happened in those 2 years you may ask:

Started adoption paperwork for Ethiopia
Christmas
My babies were only 1 years old
Traveled to Ethiopia
My family went from 6 to 9
Came back sick for at least a month
Had surgery that went wrong
Bought a flip house
Put a ton of work into flip house
Dad diagnosed with cancer
Christmas
Thought I sold the flip house
Levi resigned and we decided to start a business
Did all the paperwork necessary to open business
Flip house fell through
Got a new contract on flip house
Started "upfitting" my leased space for the business
Needed to replace roof on flip house
Fought with county over stupid permit issues
Opened business
Started doing events
Started homeschooling 2 of the kids

And during this time things were shoved into closets, couches were not swept behind, random papers piled up on my dresser. Basically, I would clean the house, but I would not clean-OUT the house. So I had been working on trying to clean-out but never had much time. This last week, Levi worked every day but one and I cleaned OUT! So far I have gotten rid of 6 FULL trash bags of stuff, 8 trash bags donated, and I have still not done the boys room, babies room, a few storage areas in my room, the garage, and kitchen. But things look SO much cleaner and I am finding joy in my home again! Once I clean out, it will be time to dedicate some time to the house I live in and not the house I am fixing up to sell. So, walls will be painted, laminate floor will be put down, and slowly I will have a home I do not cringe at when I think of company coming and seeing my colored on walls, my overly-stained carpet, and my dingy baseboards. My flip house looked SO GOOD when I was done. The colors were beautiful and it was clean and fresh. My home needs that now too!

So, that is why I have been behind on my blogging. I blog more at work and I have not been at work.

But now I can go on vacation knowing my house is well on it's way to being a de-cluttered peaceful place and it is no longer overwhelming to think about! Hooray!

Am I the only one, or do you like going on vacation with a clean house?


I know I do, but seriously, for like 3 years I have been unable to pull it off because of babies and adoptions, and life craziness! And I need a break! And luckily my 10 year anniversary gave me and Levi the perfect opportunity to take a break!

So, off I go to be kissed by a Walrus, ride some roller coasters, watch some movies, go to the temple, dine-out (not eat-out, but dine-out), enjoy 80 degree weather in December, and walk into an establishment without having to unbuckle someone, carry someone, yell "look both ways", say "wait your turn", take potty breaks, and manage multiple human beings all going in different directions. And most importantly, I can hold hands with the man I have been married to for 10 years and make him open the door for me again!!!

Ok, I am just babbling. Time to clean up shop! I close in a half hour, I clean out my ice cream machine, and we leave tomorrow!

Because my husband loves me... and is frugal...

He found me the best birthday present EVER EVER EVER!

He found a listing on Craigslist of someone who needed to sell 2 tickers for a "Sea World Orlando Marine Mammal Keeper Experience" because they are moving before they can use it. We worked it out and we are going!!! You show up at 6:30 and until 2:30 you get to interact with all sorts of Sea World mammals... Dolphins, Manatees, Walrus, Seals, Belugas, Penguins... no day is ever the same, so I can not really tell you what I will doing until I do it! But to read a few experiences here a few!

I. Can. Not. Wait!

http://www.igougo.com/story-s1219536-Orlando-Sea_World_Orlando_Marine_Mammal_Keeper_Experience.html
http://wdwalone.blogspot.com/2009/10/sea-world-mammal-keeper-part-1.html
http://wdwalone.blogspot.com/2009/10/sea-world-mammal-keeper-part-2.html

Here is a really good blog post from someone else who went, complete with pictures at the end:

http://gabrielleluthy.typepad.com/my_weblog/seaworld_marine_mammal_keeper_for_a_day/
I am now even more excited about vacation! We said we wanted to do something completely unique, but everything was so expensive. This is going to be AMAZING!

My Hugga Bugga!

I love this picture!

Because this picture is "So Callie"!

See her hand? She loves necks! It calms her to come up to me and Levi and touch our necks and then bury her face in our necks. Sometimes it looks like she is trying to choke us, but she just has a "need" to touch our neck. It is such a weird, but only Callie thing to do. It makes us laugh!

She usually comes up, looks you strait in the eye, and with one hand entended touches your neck. Then she gives a big strong Callie hug. Especially when she is tired.

She also is very strong and likes to jump on our backs (like in the picture). She sets her feet on our hip bones and holds on by herself. She is a little monkey! So, here she is after jumping on my back and touching my neck.

She is such a happy little critter!

And to further illustrate the Callie "neck thing", here is a picture of her at the Renissance Festival in her Granny's arms. It was toward the end, she was SO tired, so a neck had to be touched!
After this picture was taken she leaned in for the Callie bear hug and almost fell asleep, but the world was too exciting around her for a nap!

Happy Halloween: Part 3 of 3 - The Renaissance Festival

We went to the Renaissance Festival. I have never been. I thought it was going to be a lot of booths and tents and a few buildings. I had no clue just how big it was! And it was SO much FUN! The kids loved it! I had a blast! And they had some special Halloween things for the kids! Next year I would love to go with just Levi so we can enjoy more shows and look through the booths. It was fun to go with the kids and enjoy it with them!

Here we are at the entrance!
The kids staring amazed at the stilt walker.

The king and spider queen!

Granny and Grandpa came too! Granny said she would dress up, so I thought, "I will be a good sport and dress up too!" I had a medieval dress in my costume box, so I threw that on. Granny backed out... haha! So I was the only adult in our group dressed up and once I saw the amazing outfits of all the performers I felt a little silly in my cheap crushed velvet costume in a bag outfit. But, I have now decided I must get me a better outfit for the festival. I will be checking out Ebay ;)!

Mother Goose! She had a duck and 2 geese. The white goose she holds naturally leans it's head over and gives you a hug. It is the sweetest thing.

Jovie was in love! She has been all about "ducklings" lately!

I thought this spiders web looked so pretty with the dew on it! The man and lady at the booth it hung from named it and everything!

For Halloween the kids could go to every booth and "trick or treat"! They loved it!

A glass artist.

I thought this sign was cute, I had to take a pic.

The first street performer we stopped to see. He is the ambassador to the fairies. Not a very good magician, but a really good character actor.

Waiting for the first show to start. When they say a show is "LC" (loose cannon), that means do not bring the kids! They assured us it would be more "kid friendly", but, it was pretty bad. The problem is we were on the front row with 11 people, getting up and leaving would have made us the center of the jokes and/or made a scene. It wasn't THAT bad, but it was not good either.

The Queen and princesses at the joust. I forgot to take more pictures, but it was a lot of fun to watch!

The cow at the petting zoo! Callie was obsessed with it and stood at the fence and stared at it for the longest time.

Callie and her grandpa!

Callie and Jovie ran right through a street performers show just to get to this horse!

Geoff the Gypsy. He juggles and balanced torches. He was hilarious too! So much fun!

He picked Silas as his little helper. And yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is Silas holding a sickle, a knife, and a fire torch.

He told Silas it was his job to catch him. The funny thing is, Silas put out his arms and was very willing to catch him.

Juggling the torch, sickle, and knife while spinning plates on his hat.

Then he gave Silas the job to pass around the hat. Which again, he did willingly without questioning or looking insecure.

Geoff the Gypsy and his little helper Silas!

But then the kids were getting tired! Look at Callie's tired eyes!

Yep, they were tired, but they had a great time!

We will be back next year!

Happy Halloween: Part 2 of 3 - The Pumpkins

When my dad brought us our annual supply of cow, he also brought us our own personal pumpkin patch! 15 of the prettiest pumpkins I have ever seen, straight from the farm!

Thanks Mom & Dad!

We put them around our yard and when Halloween came all the kids went out and picked out their pumpkins from our own personal front yard patch! I helped them gut them before I had to go to work. Then throughout the day Levi would sit down with them one on one and help them cut out the own personal designs. No matter how weird the request, he helped them cut out just what they wanted!

Here they are gutting the pumpkins:

Ruby questioning me... haha!

At the end of the gutting, our table and floor was a mess, but they had a good time!

The finished product (Left to Right):

Lettie- It has an "L" in the eyes and she insisted on a square nose. She is the teeniest, yet picked the biggest pumpkin and of course she had poor Yonas bring it in for her. Then he helped with Callie's and Jovie's. He is the most helpful kid in the world!

Yonas- A vampire pumpkin, Lettie said it "creeped her out"

Silas- Since Lettie had an "L", Silas wanted an "S" and Levi pulled it off. Go daddy!

Ruby- Looks like a clown, I think it looks so cute
Nolan- Scary and with eyebrows (the eyebrow idea fascinated some of the kids)

Happy Halloween: Part 1 of 3 - The Costumes

This year I asked all the kids what they wanted to be for Halloween a month ago and told them if they wanted to be anything specific they needed to tell me so I could get it together. But, alas, no one had anything in particular they wanted to be. I collected a tub of costumes 90% off the last few years. So, I pulled out the costume tubs, sorted out the costumes, and let them pick! The results were fun, diverse, and the kids were all happy with their choices! It made for a stress-free, easy, and fun Halloween!

Yonas enjoyed scaring people as a monster!
Ruby was Hannah Montana for the Renaissance Festival (more on that in a later post). The costume got itchy so at night she went as a hat-less witch. You can see her Hannah Montana in the later post about the festival!

Nolan made a really good ninja!

Silas was Spiderman last year, but that is all he wanted to be was Spiderman this year! People gave him a lot of compliments on his muscles!
Lettie was a spider 2 years ago... it still fit her this year, it just did not droop down as low. She wished the costume had yellow on it so she would look like a Halloween Spider. We have 3 different Halloween spiders that live in our bushes. She "takes care" of them!
Jovie was a really cute pterodactyl! She loved flapping her wings!
And last, but not least, It's a bird... It's a plane... NO! It's a curly SUPERGIRL!
We braved the rain and went trick-or-treating! We did our area of the hood walking and with a stroller. Then we took to the car and hit some more houses. The babies would lag behind, but all the older kids were great about helping them along and waiting for them. At the end the babies were pooped and stayed in the car. The older kids were really cute about sharing their candy with them after they went to the houses. And I made the mistake of telling them how much I loved Almond Joys and raving about them as I ate them. So, they insisted on giving me every Almond Joy they had and they wanted to see me eating them. Too much sugar, too much fun... the rain is falling and making a wonderful soothing white-noise... time for bed!

He told me!

To set this up, I have to let you know that Ruby will question EVERYTHING I do or ask her to do!

So, I am cutting the tops off and gutting 7 pumpkins... large pumpkins! I have to get ready for work soon. I had 4 hours of sleep (long story for another blog). Levi is sick so I am trying to get the hard part out of the way for him. I am busy and multi-tasking, and Ruby starts in on some "Why?"s! I have no clue what particular "Why" question led to this exchange, but it went like this:

Ruby: (Insert "Why" question here)

Me: Ruby, why do you have to always keep questioning me?

Nolan: (starts giggling) But mom, you just questioned her about questioning you!

He told me... that Nolan! Nothing gets past him! Levi and I just looked at each other and laughed!

Forget the Playground...

Grandpa's farm has all the play equipment a kid needs!

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A Barn + A Bunch of Round Bales = A Hay Bale Jungle Gym!

Forget a Rock Climbing Wall when you have a Round Bale Wall!

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Who needs monkey bars when you have ladders?

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The hay loft of an old milking barn makes a great Fort!

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You can't beat a water fountain that provides you with spring water directly from the source! Ice Cold too!

And pretty flowers on the way there as well!

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And who needs a slide?

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And of course, the tractor rides are always a hit!

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You get to check out the source of most your meals over the next year!

(And yes, I am serious! One of these beauties is not in my freezers!)
And although the view was at times a little unsavory...

...the company and conversation was GREAT!

And as if that was not enough ... there is a water slide!

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And if you do not feel like racing your siblings through the tubes...

... you can always see which of the babies' shoes makes it through its tube first!

(Just have your net ready, because it is no fun chasing them down stream... which we learned from experience)

There are multiple climbing structures!

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And even a place to draw!

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And instead of a balance beam, there are "balance posts"!
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How we love the mountains!

Every minute is like being in a huge playground!

I can not wait to go back!

Ok... here it comes...

WAY TOO MANY pictures of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!

But I can't help it! It is my one Girl's Night Out a year!

A view from our seats! Great seats!

Always get best available on the side... NEVER the floor!

Trust me!

Here they come! The traditional white opening number outfits.
An upside down Ade!
The resident Ballerina. And Levi's favorite!
This year's winner Jeanine!

For the ladies, a picture of Jason!

The end of the Phillip and Jeanine "Mad" Hip Hop!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6-i362rscI

The "butt" dance! Such a cute dance! For those who did not watch the show this year, yes, this dance is about her butt. Mia Michaels choreographed and so cute. If you want to see it, go here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4-nmwoxp_4

Mr. Monotony! Cute routine... and Kayla seem to be in the most routines this year. Poor girl must be exhausted!

Romeo and Juliet Ballet.

Kapono! I always like the quirky Hawaiian dancers!

The Russian Fold Dance Spoof by Jeanine and Phillip.

Jason with Catelyn's booty in his face doing the Bollywood dance! Which was so much more awesome live I thought!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_zJKbm7I7A

The Sonja Superhero Girls Dance!

Kayla and Kupono doing Sonja!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQcfyY2SZ14

Evan and Melissa doing Broadway! This is my favorite picture!

The Tango/Hip Hop Dance with the water table! Jeanette was sick and was not there to do the dance. She usually does the water table. It just was not the same without her!

The "One" from A Chorus Line Group number!

The Zombie Hip Hop!

A Fosse number... Bye Bye Life.

Kupono's "infomercial" for SYTYCD work out DVDs. He looked good in short shorts.

The Boys Top 3 Group number.

The Russian Folk Dance spoof turned into an awesome group dance!

This guy somehow has a front row seat every year and he stands up and dances through most the performances. I would cry if I got a 2nd row seat and then realized I was behind this guy!

Brandon's Solo! He is such a powerful dancer that it makes you think he is a big guy. Even in-person on stage he just seems huge. Then you meet him in real life and realize he is shorter than me!

I refused to take pictures during my favorite dance, the addiction dance! But at the end I did manage to take a picture of Kupono's evil drug-addiction face on the screen. If you have not seen this dance, check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS3qNcEBCv0

Same thing with this dance. Love this dance. This is the Travis Wall contemporary. It is an amazingly done piece.

There was very little ballroom this year. I think because Jeanette was sick. But there was this piece that was very well done by Randi and Evan. Also Brandon and Jeanine had their Paso Doble.

Jeanine's solo.

The breast cancer piece. This one is so powerful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA6Nnez7bKI The final group number!

The end of the show! I am already looking forward to next year!

After that we stayed and, per tradition, met all the dancers. We just missed Jason, Jeanine, and Jeanette because they were sick. The only pic I got on my camera was of Phillip. I do have other pictures of some of the dancers holding signs that say thing about the business. But then I got into trouble because they are not allowed to promote products. I did not even think about it!!! I thought the guy was going to take my camera and make me delete them. But he was cool about it and asked that I not put the pics on the internet. Which I will not do. Because I am honest and all that. The only place they will be is on my "Wall of Fame" at work :)!

Here is us a Phillip!

I thought the picture was done, and ended up looking possessed!

Katie posted on her blog about today (the day after the show) going all wrong because of being out late the night before. The funny thing is I had the same thing. So, here is mine...

First off, on my way home (somewhere between 12:30 and 1am) there were no clouds in the sky and suddenly I see a flickering blue flash of light in the sky like there was lighting a long way away. I thoguht it was strange since they were not calling for storms. Then suddenly there is a HUGE flash of white behind me and blue light all around that lit up the trees all around me just like lightning had struck right behind my van, yet there was no boom, just a crackling sound. So it had me all shook up, so it was hard to go to sleep.

Then I had to wake-up for Muffins for Mom at school. And I am a little sick and it was hard to wake up. Basically Muffins for Mom is a way to get you in to buy books at the book fair. The problem is... the books at the book fair were rediculously expensive. They were full price. So I had to tell 5 kids we were not getting a book. Which made Lettie cry. And me feel bad. But each bedroom has a bookcase FULL of books, and then there are 3 boxes of books on top of the boys shelfs that do not fit on the 4 bookcases we have. We do not need another book. And they all wanted books that were overprices because they came with a neckace or stickers... sigh. I am a mean mom. I just did not want to spend $50 when they would have been more excited by a $1 store toy!

Then Nolan's teacher has been telling him he needs to pay for a rug he ruined, so I went to the classroom to check out the dreaded rug. Which was not as bad as it seemed according to the teachers note. He really does not have a mean bone in his body... just a lot of loud and impulsice bones!!! But the whole situation was frustrating and I ended up just crying on the way home because I know how it feels to be given a hard time by teachers.

Then I get home and go back to sleep for 3 hours where I dream that the SYTYCD dancers comeing to my shop and they keep turning off the lights and dancing with only the light from the outside lighting the shop, but when customers come in I turn the light back on and they keep turning them off again. And then my ice shaver completely falls apart (seriouly in pieces on the floor) and all my toppings fall over and my employee would not stop texting and then says she quits and walks out. Then I wake up and have to tackle the issue of freezing liquid in my ice block maker. And tonight is the hard night to be home because there is a lot of homework on Tuesdays and I knew I could not handle it so Levi said I could go to work. So, I have spent the afternoon putting pictures on my blog. He is so good to me! So, staying up till all hours, not good...

But in Katie's words...

It was ALL worth it!