Temaiken Zoo

On Jared’s birthday, we had planned to go to the Temaiken Zoo in Buenos Aires. 

We almost didn’t go.  It was raining all through the night, & Mr. front desk man at our hotel told us the zoo was closed.  I didn’t believe him, so we went anyway – I have trust issues sometimes.  Besides, it was Jared’s birthday for crying out loud – we couldn’t just turn around and go home.  That would be sad, AND I didn’t get eaten alive by mosquitos through the night for nothing.

When we pulled up, we entered the empty Disneyland-size parking lot and realized it was open.  It was merely sprinkling outside, but we figured we’d get poured on at some point.  We bought some rain ponchos & went for it. 

I’m so glad we did.

Seriously, this is how many cars were in the parking lot.

We’ll always remember having the ‘biggest zoo in South America’ to ourselves.

We were literally inside the pen with the kangaroos (pictured below in the upper left hand corner).

A lot of the birds were up-close & personal – a little too close for my comfort level.

There was so much to see – I feel like this little batch of pictures doesn’t do it justice.  We were enjoying the moment too much, I guess.  It was definitely a highlight of our experience here thus far.

Ta-ta for now!

A Beautiful Life

I keep wanting to post pictures of our Temaiken Zoo venture, & I will.  I promise.  But  this week I’ve been thinking so much about my many friends, supporters, & exemplars - their lives, and the different journeys that we all go through here on earth.

I have a dear friend in Washington who is struggling.  Her little 4 1/2 year old girl, Elisabeth, is very sick right now.  My prayers are with her.

I have another friend who just welcomed a little girl into their family last night through the miracle of adoption.  I rejoice with her.

I read NieNie.  I admire her.  I think of her often.  Her story strengthens me.

It’s a beautiful life.  I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who is very aware of each one of us & our different lives.

The weather is turning cold, and we’re having heat issues; but today is warm, and we’re feeling good.  I’m back to boiling water & doing this:

Her smile melts my heart.

I love my little family of 4 (almost 5).  Little Captain Wolfley is getting bigger all the time, & we can’t wait  to welcome him into our family.

Birthday Week

This past week has been great.  My husband & my brother both had birthdays.  We celebrated with chocolate.

  Nothing like Duncan Hines creamy frosting & colored sprinkles from the States.

Jared & Nathan are almost exactly 10 years apart by one day.  (The candles have nothing to do with their ages – I put the girls in charge of that part.)

We took Nathan to Buenos Aires.  He started an International School there and will be staying with a host family for about one month.  I am so proud of my brave brother.  Here he is with Luz & Martin, two very good people who don’t speak English.

To our surprise, the house was full of seven other students from all over the world – Australia, Holland, Brazil, NYC, & England.  He’s in for an adventure, that’s for sure.  There was a common area outside & a very tidy itty bitty bedroom for Nate. ;)

 

We stayed in a hotel outside of Buenos Aires for two nights to make time for a Dr.’s visit, hospital tour, & a little exploring.  There was a storm the second night, and our power went out.  It was incredibly hot.  In an effort to cool things down we opened the door for maybe 1 minute, and mosquitos galore filled our room.  My face & AnnMarie’s left leg took one for the team.  I will not be posting pictures of myself (or AnnMarie’s left leg) anytime soon.

BUT we had so fun swimming in the rain and visiting the biggest & most beautiful zoo in South America on Jared’s birthday.

I have a lot of pictures to go through, but for now, here’s a glimpse of Temaiken ZOO.  Photo courtesy of my little photographer, AnnMarie.