New York City is often referred to as an Urban Jungle; however, this weekend we had the opportunity to visit the real Urban Jungle, the Bronx Zoo!
For Christmas this past year, Matt and I gave his younger sister a trip to NYC. At the time it was probably a let down. I mean, I would definitely rather get some new clothes than I lame book filled with IOUs. But hopefully, after a weekend jammed packed with fun (Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, Burgers at Shake Shack, the zoo, etc) the wait seemed worth it.
The Bronx Zoo was definitely the highlight of the weekend for me. Seeing all of the animals up close was truly magical. Of course seeing the giraffes was my favorite, but I think that seeing the gorillas was a very close second.
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I am sure there are people out there who will argue that zoos are inhuman and what not. I’m not knowledgable enough to fight that fight. So I will leave that to PETA.
So let’s just ignore the fact that I haven’t been blogging lately. I know, I promised to do a better job leading up to the holidays. Clearly I lied. But don’t worry, I’m just as disappointed as you are. Let’s agree to move on and never talk about it again – even if it happens again.
While I would love to update you on my holiday travels, I don’t want to make my sister jealous of the incredible time that I had on our sailing trip around the British Virgin Islands.
Plus if I mention anything about Miami and the National Championship Football Game, I think my husband and all of his Notre Dame loving friends might have to go back on suicide watch.
(Yes, there was a giraffe at our tailgate. Yes, I did freak out.)
So let’s skip all of that.
Tonight, I’ve spent the last two hours watching a documentary about Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on Animal Planet (now you understand why I haven’t been able to blog as regularly as possible. Very important shows like this…) The whole show is pretty incredible and definitely making me want to plan a vacation there. However, one particular segment stood out.
Raine Island s a vegetated sandy island that is located on the outer edges of the Great Barrier Reef, approximately 390 miles north Queensland, Australia. Raine Island is the site of the world’s largest remaining population of Green Turtles. On any given day more than 5,000 turtles visit the sandy oasis; however, at the height of their breeding, more than 26,000 turtles arrive on the island at the same time to laid 100 eggs each.
So you do the math, even if some of the eggs are duds, the end result is still more than 2.5 million baby turtles. And you guessed it, all hatching and making their way to the sea at the same time!
I’m going to skip over all of the predator stuff – believe me, you don’t want to hear about it. But while watching all of this, I’ve come to a few conclusion:
1. I need to see a live turtle hatch at some point in my life
2. Herons are a lot meaner than one would think
3. Animals are much smarter than we give them credit for
4. I like turtles
This week, the cutest puppy in the whole wide word, my niece Bexley celebrated her first birthday. My sister went all out with a party at daycare, two trips to the dog park in one day and homemade doggie treats for Bex and all her friends. Even I have to admit, I was impressed – and we all know, that takes quite a bit.
Not going to lie, when I have a baby, I am going to seriously consider sending them to the same daycare as Bexley. Not only will that allow the cousins to bond, but the lady who runs the place (while a little nutty) definitely loves these pups! I mean, did you see the homemade paw print Birthday card she gave Bexley? Sick!
Since my blogging hiatus, the Brethauer Family has added two new family members. One, Matt, my newly acquired Husband. But the second, and substantially more exciting, is my new niece, Bexley.
Bexley is my sister’s new puppy. She joined the family back in April and has been the center of attention since. I used to get videos and pictures every day – unfortunately it has become more of a weekly or every other week thing.
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The Little Things 