Roos-N-More Zoo

Our friends invited us to go to the Roos-N-More Zoo!  It's located in the middle of the  Nevada desert about 30 miles South of Mesquite outside of a town called Moapa.  I got the kids up dressed and out the door in record time - for us.  We were at the neighbors house before 8!  (7 o'clock Nevada time) This way we would arrive when the zoo opened at 9.  Once we got off the freeway, and wound our way around into a rural development,  I was a little hesitant that this was a good idea.  It reminded me of, well, let's just say - less savory parts of the world where you didn't really want your children.  There were run down houses, clothes on lopsided clotheslines, undeveloped 'yards' and plenty of dead automobiles that littered the area. All of it brown, bare and baking in the hot sun.  The signs that pointed the way were small political type signs that were whipping about in the breeze on tiny wires staked in the ground.  Yes.  Ghetto.  Not Harlem type Ghetto - but you hear me, right?  We pull up to a open dirt parking place and go stand in front of the gates.  Temperatures already soaring into the upper 80's low 90's at this point.  I sunscreen the children, hydrate us all and silently think grumbly thoughts in my head.  (Shane WAS going to take the day off and we WERE headed for Bryce Canyon for Free Entrance day.) 

A man comes to the front of the gate and hollers out what to expect, to see the monkey's first because you could have as long as a two hour wait. There are MAYBE 40 people waiting to get in. I'm wondering about the procedure that must accompany such a thing!  He tells us about the extra tours you can take. One out to the field of Kangaroos. One to have one on one interaction with Monkeys and one to see the River Otters. My friend, after discussing it with her sister and husband want to see the otters. We just drove an hour and a half, they want to get an experience. So I pony up the extra $15 a person to see the otters...before I even know what it's going to be like inside the gates. I'm having a lot of dark cloudy faith at this point.

baby wallaby

We go in and it's fantastic! There are armadillos, lemurs, monkeys, birds, sloth, camels, joeys, and lots of animals and handlers under little tents to that you can come meet, touch and see the animals up close!

Many of the pens are fairly open so you look right down at the creatures.  There were even some baby monkey's and this wild cat kitten that were in Pack 'n Plays with a handler near by to answer questions and help you handle the animal. 

There's even a Petting Zoo area where you wander amongst some creatures: an emu, some piggies, an alpaca, and a huge tortoise.

We play with the otters, who are pesky and curious little creatures. We spent about 20 minutes with them. Nathan sits and pets them, they chew his shoe laces. Ashton is far more interested, at this age, at throwing rocks into the stream and pond that is in their enclosure.

The otter tour includes plenty of information about the creatures and about the personalities of each otter.  One of the females, named Harry was very mischievous.

By the time we leave the otter tour, the zoo is packed with people! Where before I didn't mind Ashton wandering several yards away, now it's too much of a risk letting him be further then about 5 feet away! 

By the time we leave, it's 11 o'clock zoo time.  Noon by St. George time. The two year old was DONE - but the 5 year old and mom could have stayed busy for at least another hour, maybe more.

Yes, we'll go back. And we'll take Daddy.  And I'll have no judgement as I drive through the 'ghetto' to get there!

Winter Fair and Sick Boys

Winter Fair has come and gone, but not before the Pettys and Barneys divided and conquered. Here's NQ and Mom getting ready for the fair. NQ in his WYO cowboys sweatshirt.We ate Cowbelles beef sandwiches, collected free balloons, had faces painted (Olivia had a butterfly, Nathan a purple spider with yellow spots) and enjoyed the chaos of fair time. (Wow, I have really nice teeth.)Nathan only wanted me to take one picture of his spider so it wouldn't wash off. He also decided not to bathe or shower that evening so he could keep his spider longer. Sadly, this spider did not make it through the night. But his red WF stamp on his hand did.

Sunday night Nathan woke up screaming, crying and gasping for air. He was So congested and flemmy. Travis and Shane gave him a blessing and then we toted him to the Emergency room at 11 p.m. After a breathing treatment and a sip of steroid, they sent him home with nothing more than a nasty cold. No Croup, no RSV, just not feeling great. The next morning, Ashton had his 'well child' check up, only to display a nasty cough and congestion himself.

At his 2 month check up Ashton is 13 lbs 6 oz. and has grown another inch to put him at 24. He's in the 95% for weight and 90% for height. We claim another big boy! We chalk it up to my mystery genes. Shanes family is Not tall, and I'm pretty average...so somewhere we have burly Finnish ancestors.

The bad news is that we have two sick boys with fevers, and yucky colds. The good news is that (so far) they only have colds. This morning (Tuesday March 10th) Ashton has lost his voice and can only squeak at me. It's heartbreaking.

Handsome Boy

Nothing more needs to be said. Brooke and I found this suit in Casper at Sears a year ago. And boy oh boy does this boy like wearing his suit. (Last Sunday in Feb.)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2009
Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas! The Petty Family has had another great year! We’re really excited for the newest adventure yet to arrive, a baby boy due in the next couple of weeks! Our little family is growing!

Nathan turned 3 years old this November! We celebrated with a “Pirate Party” and invited the kids to wear their Halloween costumes. Nathan has had a stellar swimming season, and continues to amaze Shane and me with his quick thinking, humor and cognitive grasp of EVERYTHING!! He loves to talk on the phone, and will go around the house with it at his ear having great conversations with who ever will take time to talk to him. He likes to paint, color, dance – Like Michael Jackson, sing about whatever is important (don’t bite me, Dinosaur, don’t bite me) and will never been seen without a truck or car on his person somewhere, usually tucked into the safety of his backpack. Pizza or grilled cheese sandwich is his favorite food.

Shane FINALLY received a new church calling in about September. He is a primary teacher to the 11-12 year olds. (This means I do too) He LOVES the kids in his class. He was also THRILLED with the early snow we had this season taking advantage of riding his “Dragon” powder sled. The outdoors man takes part in shooting sports, 4-wheeling, and dirt biking, fishing, hiking... Autoplex is under its 5th year with Shane as the steward over it. He’s made some great contacts within the business and banking world and enjoys those relations. He’s also now a VERY ACTIVE Kiwanis member! He does lots of volunteering with that organization, and I’m very proud of him. Shane has lots of favorite foods, among them: crab and lobster.

I’ve continued into my Ward Activities and Activity Day Girl callings with vigor, and was released from the girls in November. I will miss them. We found out we were pregnant in April! I was thrilled and hoped the pregnancy would be as easy as the first one. It was NOT. This, I felt, meant we were having a girl, it did NOT! We are thrilled NQ will be having a brother! I started nesting early and was ready for Christmas in October, wanting a tree, music, presents and the whole ordeal up and going! I did NOT. Nonetheless, I DID have much accomplished! I’ve done a few cakes and pictures and projects this year, and that’s how I like it. My favorite food is ever changing with my food tolerance; however I’ll almost never turn down quality chocolate!

We’ve been pleased to be party to an engagement this year. Congratulations to Brooke and Wes! We’ve also been very happy to have the Travis, Amy and Olivia Barney family move to Lander! It’s been so fun to have them so close!

Thank you for being a part of our lives!

Love,
Cami, Shane, Nathan and
Soon-to-be baby boy Petty

Snow Boys

Shane and Nathan felt the urge to snowmobile around the yard/fairgounds on Tuesday. We bundled NQ to the max, because the sun was setting soon. He loved it. He loves the snow, he loves his snow gear, he loves the snowmobiles and he loves his Daddy. Best 20 minutes of the whole day, no doubt.

Shower, cousins and Clouds

Baby Update: For now my scheduled C-section date is January 7th. Unless I go into labor before then, the 7th will be baby Petty's Birthday.

The Shower on the 10th was lovely. Of course I forgot my Camera. Wendy took a couple of photos which I will have to get from her. But I did take a couple of pictures of the diaper cake that Camille and Korahle made. Isn't this awesome?! I unrolled it a few days later and can't believe HOW MANY diapers they had to roll, and then secure with tiny little baby hair bands! Very cool. And I'm Sure, Time consuming. One of the games we played was "mold the cutest baby" out of Play-doh. I then selected the cutest of the babies. This was fun to watch, all the ladies and their Play-doh making tiny little people. Did you know they make black Play-Doh? I didn't, until then ;o) It was a fun shower, and I received wonderful gifts. And I appreciated anyone who made an effort to come in the ZERO degree weather. Sure, that seemed warmer than a few days before, but it was still ZERO outside. SO THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!



After Church on 13th, our little Kidlets looked so cute in their Christmas outfits we took some photos for all posterity. Arranging TWO children is much harder than arranging one. This will be good to remember.

NQ faking a sneeze, because I sneezed to make Olivia smile.

Neither one really paying attention, but at least they're holding still

Olivia loved hugging, but ALWAYS with her face away from the camera.

(but aren't they so cute anyhow?)

Cutest little cousins.

I looked out our window the other day and saw waves in the sky. Just over the hills North of Lander these little curly peaks formed. I took some photos because I thought they were unique.

Nathan thoughts

The biggest thing we're doing now is playing Dinosaurs. Only we have three: a Baby, a Momma and a Daddy Dinosaur. And with them, essentially play 'house.' The Dino's go grocery shopping, go to the movie, play tag, take naps, eat popcorn, sell cars and dirt bikes, ride in Jeeps, snowmobiling, do dishes, find volcano's, etc. Seriously, Nathan brings me a dinosaur, where ever I am...even NOW as I type, to play dinosaurs. Right this second they are playing Hop Scotch.

A few things that have made me beam this last week:
Nathan likes it when Shane pulls the 'tree break' (E-break) on the car to make it slide in the snow. He also calls the computer the 'cuter;' "Are you working on the Cuter?" and last week I asked Shane to get me the fungal cream for a rash on Nathan and Nathan said "Why do I need Jungle Cream?"

33 Weeks & Ultra Sound Photos - finally

I went in for my 33 week appointment today. ALL IS WELL! Heart rate: GOOD. Blood Pressure: GOOD. Weight Gain: GOOD. Everything Else: GOOD! I'm measuring at 33 weeks, which means we've caught up to when I was measuring 5 weeks too big, and this is also: GOOD! I even got to feel his head, which is down in my pelvic area...just where he should be! I had to take Ruth's word for it, I couldn't really tell what I was feeling, but she assured me it was his head.

Here are some of my 2nd Ultra sound Photos from a few months ago.

The tech was surprise at how long these baby feet were :o)

Pretty sure he's smiling in this one.

I love this photo, because he's waving at us.

Nathan has been helping me with my 'fetal kick count.' (You want 10 kicks within an hour, we're usually about 7 minutes or so) He comes and talks to the baby, and lays his head on my belly, and often exclaims: "He Kicked Me!!" Nathan talks about his baby brother and asks me if 'the baby' is sleeping, or asks if he is playing. It's very sweet that he has an awareness of what is happening inside my tummy. He's excited to be a 'big brother.' When ever Shane or I tell Nathan what a big boy his is, he says "yeah, like a big brother." I have big hopes for these boys to be great friends. I'm sure they will be.

Happy third Birthday Nathan

One week after Halloween, we celebrated Nathan's third birthday with a Pirate Party! I decided to heck with the germs floating about Fremont County.

Amy and Travis went to a lot of work to make a "Pirate Ship" for the occasion, and the kids loved it!

The Shipmates, enjoying the ship

For a Pirate Birthday Party, one needs a Pirate Birthday Cake. This was actually one of the easiest cakes I've ever made. It's true, sometimes less is more!

How I decided to do the candles, which were trick candles, I hadn't realized until the copious amounts of smoke and flickering began.

Birthday boy blowing his candles.


More fun aboard the sea worthy boat

NQ checking out the port holes

NQ and Olivia Checking out the port holes

Aunt Brooke joined us from Sheridan for the festive event.

Nathan loving on his Aunt Brooke.

For the party we played:

1. Walk the plank

2. Duck, Duck, Pirate

3. Mark the "X" on the map

then we watched a pirate Backyardagains episode

Followed by Lunch of "Golden (chicken) Nuggets", veggie tray and fruit tray

The adults had quiche

Then Cake and Ice cream followed by presents for all!

We had a treasure hunt slated as well, but the kids were winding down and didn't need the extra activity.

Thanks to Brooke, Amy, Travis and Shane for all your help!