A DAY AT THE DENVER ZOO

The last time we went to the Denver Zoo was thirteen years ago. Our oldest grandson, Colby, was the cutest one year little boy in his darling overalls. I wish I could show you a picture of him, but I don't have one with me. (It is so hard to believe we have a grandson fourteen years old. We now describe him as a handsome young man.)

I guess we couldn't have asked for better weather for a June day. We had some clouds and some sun; some nice breezes when we were in the shade and some warmth from the sun when we were in sunny places. The temperature was in the 70s which was quite a relief after our mid to upper 90s back home in Kansas City.

I hope you will enjoy my pictures of our day.

We waited 15 minutes for the sea lions show only to be told that the show was cancelled because one of the sea lions didn't want to cooperate. They did release four more into the area though.

Lots of people were sitting waiting for the elephant show. We didn't know when it started so we didn't wait around to see it.

The kids wanted to ride the train, but it was not operational. Instead they (Henry, Sadie, and Hallie) rode the carousel (Merry-Go-Round) I got to stand by Henry during the long ride. What fun!

Henry's favorite animal is the penguin. They were so cute.

 

Hallie's favorite are the flamingos. She reported on them once. She told me the color of the flamingo depends on their diet. (Did you know that? I didn't.)

The next two pictures show a California condor. There were two in the caged area, but I took pictures of only one of them. The second one wasn't right with the sun. They stayed in their stance with their wings spread the whole time.

He was so pretty. Right up next to the fence so I could get a really good picture of him. The one up in the tree in the next picture is harder to see.

Some pretty flowers...

And then it was time to leave...until the next time...hopefully not another thirteen years.

JOKES, JOKES, AND MORE JOKES

Seems like all of my grandchildren love jokes. My problem is I can't seem to remember most jokes. To solve that problem, I decided to write a post of jokes I could share with them. If I hear any I just can't resist, I'll come back and add them. 

Here is a picture of my husband and me with our six beautiful grandchildren. It was made a couple of years ago and they are growing fast. Need to get together with both families so we can have a new picture made.

Ready for some jokes, now?

?  What is easy to get into but difficult to get out of?
A  Trouble

?  Why was the math book sad?
A  Because it had so many problems

?  What runs but doesn't get anywhere?
A  Refrigerator

?  Why couldn't the bicycle stand up by itself?
A  It was two (too) tired

?  What did the blanket say to the bed?
A  Don't worry, I've got you covered

?  What do you call a funny mountain?
A  Hill - arious!

?  What word is spelled wrong in the dictionary?
A  WRONG

?  Which month do Soldiers hate most?
A  The month of March

?  Where does Friday come before Thursday?
A  In the dictionary

?  What do you get when you cross a fish and an elephant?
A  Swimming trunks

?  What kind of dog keeps the best time?
A  A watch dog

?  Why was the plumber depressed?
A  Because his career was going down the drain

?  What is the longest word there is?
A  Smiles ... because there is a "mile" between the first and the last letter

?  What's as big as a skyscraper, but weighs nothing at all?
A  A skyscraper's shadow

?  Why couldn't Dracula's wife get to sleep?
A  Because of his coffin. 

?  What flies when it is on and floats when it's off?
A  A feather

?  Who earns a living by driving his customers away?
A  A taxi driver

?  What two things can you not have for breakfast?
A  Lunch and Dinner

?  Why did the dinosaur cross the road?
A  Because the chicken joke hadn't been written yet

?  What is black and red(read) all over?
A  A sunburned zebra or a newspaper (If person says one of the answers, tell them no and say the other answer.)

?  Why did the traffic light turn red?
A  You would too if you had to change in front of all those people

?  Why did the chicken cross the playground?
A  Because it wanted to get to the other slide

?  What has a bottom at the top?
A  Your legs

?  What do you call a dog that stays on the beach all day?
A  A hot dog

?  Why do birds lay eggs?
A  Because if they dropped them, they would break

?  What has one foot and four legs?
A  A bed

? How can you tell the difference between a can of cat food and a can of dog food?
A  Read the labels

?  Why do birds fly south for the winter?
A  Because it's too far to walk

?  Which hand do you write with?
A  None, I usually use a pencil

?  Why is 6 afraid of 7?
A  Because 7 8 9 (seven ate nine)

?  How can you keep a bull from charging?
A  Take away his credit cards

? Why aren't teddy bears ever hungry?
A  Because they are always stuffed

?  What has two legs but can't run?
A  A pair of pants

?  What did Tennessee?
A  The same thing Arkansas

?  What do you call a snowman with a sunburn?
A  A puddle

How about some Knock, Knock jokes?

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Juno
Juno who?
Juno what time it is?

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Gorilla
Gorilla who?
Gorilla cheese sandwich

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Tank
Tank who?
You're welcome.

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Radio
Radio who?
Radio not, here I come!

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Pencil
Pencil who?
Pencil fall down if I don't wear a belt.

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Repeat
Repeat who?
Repeat, repeat, repeat

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Ice cream
Ice Cream who?
Ice cream every time I see a ghost.

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Augusta
Augusta who?
Augusta wind blew my hat off.

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Anita
Anita who?
Anita a tissue. Ah choo!

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Cow's go
Cow's go who?
No, cow's go moo

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Turnip
Turnip who?
Turnip the tv please.

COOKIES - AND - CREAM CAKE

This week's extra special cake mix cake is one I have heard of before, but never made. I have no idea if this recipe is the same as earlier ones I have seen or not. Anyway, this one came from Stephanie Ashcraft's 101 Things to Do With A Cake Mix cookbook.

I made the cake (as usual) the night before I took it to Hillcrest Thrift Shop for the volunteers and stored it covered in the refrigerator. When I first started treating the volunteers to my sweets, I was only "treating" the ones downstairs. A couple of the volunteers who worked upstairs and came down to eat lunch with us, knew about and enjoyed whatever I brought. Now that the shop has moved to our new location and everything is on one floor, more people know about it. That means the dessert sometimes doesn't last very long before it is all gone. This Cookies and Cream Cake didn't last very long.

PRINT RECIPE

COOKIES - AND - CREAM CAKE

1       white cake mix
1-1/4 cups water
1/3    cup oil
3       egg whites
1-1/2 cups Oreo cookies, crushed (12 cookies)
1       can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting
1/2    cup Oreo cookies, crushed (4 cookies)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 9 x 13 - inch pan.

In large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, water, oil, and egg whites until smooth.

(I used the low speed for about 20 - 30 seconds to wet the ingredients and

then increased the speed to medium and beat the mixture for 2 minutes.) Don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl.

Fold in the crushed cookies.

(I crushed the cookies in a ziplock bag using my rolling pin. I used a spatula to scrape the cream filling off the inside of the bag.)

Spread cake batter in pan.

If you have any places where the cookies are not blended well, just gently stir the batter around in the pan to combine. 

Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Cool completely (on wire rack).

Spread frosting over the top of the cake and then sprinkle some crushed cookies over the top.





Store in the refrigerator covered. Cut in squares to serve. Serves 24.