Well, if there WERE Dinosaur Doctors maybe they wouldn't have HAD such a high mortality rate

Okay, so first of all, let me get this out of the way: Turns out Fresno was actually NOT receiving my messages as he was with J-and-Y and the fam camping and there was no reception. So he isn't a big jerk... maybe just a little one for not TELLING me he would BE in said woods awhile. I told HIM I would be. But whatever. As we have mentioned, many many times, boys are stupid heads. COOTIES. (and I *heart* this photo.)Anyway, like I said, *I* can go to the mountains and out of range TOO, you know. And we did, for the family reunion yesterday!

Our family. Woods. River. Pasta Salads. Kids. Dirt. Wild Animals. HILARITY ENSUES.

It really WAS cool. The few family members I DO like end up making up for the ones that don't. (Oh, and Bobbie, just FYI... my names really don't fool anyone. I am pretty sure if anyone came on the site they would know who they were and be more than a little pissed off and it would start a whole NEW feud. The Kip's Blog Incident would never be forgiven and we would be even less invited than we are to stuff. Luckily 1. I don't much CARE. 2. none of my family is all that net-savvy.) Mom, though, would DIE if she knew what I wrote. Like be mortified. Luckily she hasn't the patience to find out.) At first Squall and her kiddlets didn't come and as Rinny wasn't there (she had filming for her movie) and I am REALLY missing BoyKid right now, I was feeling REALLY bummed. I took some pictures of cute kiddlets of various cousins...

played in the river...

but was ready to go home within an hour.

But then my little cousin Scotty (little brother of Leslie and Cynthia... my 3 youngest 1st cousins) says "Hey, I found a moose! Wanna see?"

I think, hey, cool! A moose in the river, I want a shot of that and he runs down the path and I follow, cheered up until he turns a corner and see him almost TOUCHING a HUGE bull moose standing in the road. He is chattering away, and runs back to me not TEN FEET from the animal, "see?!"

I grabbed his shoulders and start pulling him backwards as I see some more little cousin's kids running toward the moose on the other side and I start waving them to freeze and go the other way. FINALLY I feel the situation is safe enough I tell Scotty that the moose is BEAUTIFUL but they can be VERY dangerous and never to go that close again. Then I started talking pictures, wishing I had brought my nicer fancy camera, which I considered but thought there was no way I would risk in the dirt, water, etc. So the pictures are not good and will NOT do it justice.
But STILL... SIGH! <3

I followed that animal for hours.... closer than I should have, but he was in velvet, and so with his antlers all soft like that he wasn't aggressive and besides he seemed really used to people of the camp. So I felt okay, Still, probably dumb, but I felt entranced. I took pictures. I talked to him. I wrote him poetry. I walked MILES just to stay near enough to watch. He was AMAZING. An absolutely gorgeous creature. SIGH. Like something magical.

He looked young but infinitely old at the same time, if that makes sense. It was the same way I felt when I saw the sea turtle in the wild. I never wanted to leave him. What is it about animals like that that do that to me? It's like when I look into the eyes of my gliders. They become the most important thing in the world to me. Like they know more about the world, God, and life than I ever could. But it is a different thing with a truly WILD thing, like the moose... like the turtle... there is just this... magic they have. Like I never want to go home, like I CAN'T go home. Not until THEY leave. I wouldn't have left him first, I couldn't. So I took pictures. All the same shot, basically, too, so most I deleted. Filled a 512 MB SD card with the moose when the day was over, trying to capture something I COULDN'T... a memory. A feeling or experience. Not just an image. I don't know.

I wish I could explain that.

Anyway. Yeah. I saw a moose. Tried to avoid letting my cousins be trampled by said moose. Good times? hee hee! (oh and just as an aside, I know I picked a very silly Slide theme (8 mm) but it just made me feel a bit like a Big Foot tracker. So I picked it. hee hee hee hee hee hee! I am a dork, I know.)

And then, finally, Squall DID come and we had fun hanging out and laughing at her kiddlets. JanBrady told me she wanted to be a Play-lientologist or a veterinarian. (Squall told me she USED to say she wanted to be a "Dinosaur Doctor" till they explained to her that the dinosaurs WERE dead.)

"What are you doing with the rocks?"
"They aren't rocks. They are Raptor bones. I am working on the head and she has the belly."

(Incidentally, Stewie, JanBrady reminds me a ton of someone Munchkin would TOTALLY click with. We should have some sort of party with kids invited.)

Mini-Squall can totally WINK. Like on COMMAND. How cool is that for an 18 month kid?
So we had fun. But it got late and while Padre was one of those staying, Squall, JanBrady, and Mini-Squall were not and neither were Mom and I and we were carpooling.

We finally got home, late, and I finally had net (YAY.) and was online but should have been in bed when my Mom called me. She was sick. Like, maybe hospital sick. So I fed the babies and spent the night there. It was pretty scary. She is okay. But yeah. I have been with her all day till recently. Tomorrow, though I have Day Camp again.

But, well, Thursday I have my MRI and such. So... yeah. A bit nervous. SIGH. UGH. I hate Doctors.

So that is about it (isn't that ENOUGH!?). Family Reunions... SHEESH. But it was a good one after all.