Is there a doctor in the house?

Riley as an important doctor

Riley, one of your youngest sheep on the blog, has issues with being the baby of the family, so Riley decided to be something respectable for Halloween... Something that takes brains and an education - a doctor! And Riley is in the house and in the parade with this amazing costume. So believable. Thanks Riley for being on call in the parade!

Riley's favorite movie is Clifford's Halloween - Boo! Riley wants to be big and strong, so what could be better to idolize than a big red dog?

Iowa State Fair

We found out that Jenni was going to the Iowa State Fair, so we hitched a ride. It was fun, but it was soooo hot!

We found a sheep right away!

Jenni was pretty impressed at our sheep seeking capabilities. As you can see, we found real sheep and fake sheep!

Awe! Can we take the lamb home?

We were so awesome, we found a baby sheep! Val looks a little afraid of the lamb, but I assure you that Val was very brave.

What a strange looking sheep!

Yes, we know, that's not a sheep. Duh, it's a donkey. We liked this little donkey, baby donkey was so cute and friendly. We wanted to take donkey home, but Jenni said no. What a party pooper!

Can we take this cow home?

Since Jenni wouldn't let us take the donkey home, we decided to keep looking around. It didn't take long to spot this little cow. Yeap, it's a full grown cow. The littlest cow in the world! Maybe we can take this little one home? This cutie is so small, Jenni would never notice!

Val decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to bring the little cow home, too much poop. Val thinks that being the biggest sheep in the house means that Val knows everything. Hmmm, Andi and I aren't so sure about that.

We decided that Val might (I mean miiiiiight) just be right, and that having a living cow might not be the best thing for a house.... but what about a butter cow? They don't poop!

Mmmmm, butter!

Yeah, butter cows smell much better, but do you see Andi? Andi looks a little freaked out. Okay, maybe we won't bring this cow home.

It was too hot to even consider trying the fried Snickers on a stick, so we thought maybe we'd try some green eggs and ham:

Try them, try them, you will like them!

Well, we wanted to try the green eggs and ham, but we couldn't figure out how to break through the glass... maybe next year!

Wisconsin Dells

Jenni took her family and in-laws to Wisconsin Dells last week, and didn't even mention taking us sheep, so we decided to hitch a ride in Jenni's suitcase. Jenni didn't discover us until we got to the Kalahari Resort, we got to stay and do fun stuff!

What big ears you have!

Our first trip out of the room we ran into these guys... I sure hope that Mr. Lion is a vegetarian! After we managed to escape from the Kalahari mascots, Jenni said that we were going for a ride on the Ducks. Ducks you say? Ride on the ducks? What the heck? Ducks are smaller than sheep! Has Jenni gone crazy?

Can this thing quack?

Ohhhh, that kind of Duck! Ha ha Jenni, very funny. Anyway, it was a fun ride, though it was pretty windy, so we spend most of the time chilling in Jenni's comfy bag, which had plenty of breathing space. It also had a few diapers in in, but luckily the diapers were clean.

Since we didn't want to hang out in the diaper bag much after our duck excursion, we thought we'd spend the rest of the time hanging out at the water park at the Kalahari, and also work on our tans.

Look! We've found Dumbo! Are we in Disneyworld?

This little elephant was so friendly! We had quite a nice conversation. We loved the safe feeling we had hanging out with the fake Dumbo. Then, Val had the great suggestion that we get in the pool. Sure, get in the pool - there aren't any alligators.....

Ummm, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...

What the heck? Sure, we all believe Val, and jump in with 100% trust that the pool is free of scary things - well scary things other than poopy diapers - and what do we land on? An alligator head! AAAAGH!!!!

Luckily, Jenni was nearby, and helped us all to safety. Needless to say, we hopped right back in Jenni's suitcase, and didn't come out until we arrived back home in Iowa.

Ahoy ye matey

Riley the Pirate

Hide your booty, Riley the Pirate is here! That's right, Riley is going to get the biggest stash of treasure of them all: Snickers, Twixs, Milky Ways, Skittles, and Gobstoppers. But the most valuable candy is Smarties. Riley knows that if you eat Smarties, you grow up to be really smart. And Riley wants to be the smartest of them all. Riley, its a pleasure to welcome you to the parade, just remember to mark the spot where you bury all your goodies from trick-or-treating in Iowa this year.

Andi and Riley Meet Quinn!

The first day of school brought a nice surprise! Andi and I got to meet Quinn today! We met at the water cool in Seamans Center. Quinn's a pretty cool sheep, and I hope that we get to visit each other often!

Careful Quinn! That's the hot water... Don't burn yourself - burnt wool stinks!

Here Quinn, we'll pull you up...

Wow... we sure were thirsty.

Adventureland!

Jenni is so nice! She took Andi and I to Adventureland on Wednesday. I think it was to welcome Andi to the family, but she claims that it was also to take Anja to ride the roller coasters. Either way, it was AWESOME!

I have to admit that I was scared at first, I didn't know if they would let Andi and I in. Jenni snuck us in just to be safe. She even got us a map so that we could pick out some rides to go on!

Andi and I make our plan for total Adventureland domination!

Since we are kind of small, we started out on a kiddie ride to make sure that we (I mean Andi) wouldn't get sick:

Seat belt? They're for losers!

Once we proved ourselves, Jenni agreed to let us on the Silly Silo! Andi almost barfed, but made it. That was a relief to me, do you know how hard it is to clean that out of wool?

Woah... Will the world stop spinning?

Jenni took us out to lunch, which was great! We had french fries!

Careful... I don't want to get my wool greasy or ketchupy.

After lunch, we decided to hit Kokomo Kove. Yeah, it was relaxing. Andi and I didn't want to get our wool wet, so we sunbathed, but only after applying SPF 70 to our wool. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off? Ewwwwww! We spent all night in the washer, I mean bath tub!

Andi and I in Florida... I mean Kokomo Kove.

I'm not afraid of heights (really!), but Andi has a touch of height-o-phobia. It took a lot of begging and pleading, but I finally got Andi on the ferris wheel! I was so excited!

See that? The Space Shot? I'm totally going on that next year!

We had fun, and can't wait to go back (with Erin) next year! Jenni wouldn't let us ride on Molly the Trolley, but she did promise us a ride on the train. By the time we were able to convince her that it was time for our train ride, the train broke! The travesty! We did forgive her, but if we don't get to ride it next year, we're going on strike. Yeah! I'm not sure what we'll strike from, but Jenni doesn't need to know that... yet...

I'm getting a sibling!

I am soooooo excited! Today Jenni gave me the big news that I'm getting a sibling! 3/8 will be coming home soon, and Jenni told me that I can help name the new sheepy! I am confused about one thing - I've been around longer, but is 3/8 bigger than me? I want to be the big sheep in the family! Maybe 3/8 will even help me with my plans for world domination! Mu ha ha ha!

Yay! Next time I'll have someone to play with as I travel the world. Someone to help me take over the world!

Groeten uit Nederland!

I must be the luckiest sheep in the world! Jenni took me to the Netherlands with her and the family! Sadly, Shaun the Sheep had to stay home due to a scratched eye (what a wuss!), but I got to come!

I'm all packed and ready to go!

The plane ride was long and boring... It was about 13 hours of travel, but I was tucked away safely inside of Jenni's carry on.

When we got to the Netherlands, the first thing I noticed were these crazy wooden shoes. I mean, it's strange enough that people actually wear wooden shoes, but isn't it even stranger that they keep flowers in them? Do they take the flowers out when they want to wear them? Or, do the flowers use them as a method of transportation?

Which is stranger - people who wear wooden shoes, or letting your flowers walk around in them?

Now I realize that I'm just a baby sheep, but even I know that flowers don't just get up and walk around! Even if they did, would they really want to use shoes?

It took much convincing, but I finally convinced Jenni that I should be allowed to go to Amsterdam. She wouldn't allow me to visit the Red Light District, but I know that I'll be going back. I still have plenty of time to convince her that I'm old enough for that!

Does this thing really give out train tickets?

Okay, so maybe I needed a little help buying my train ticket to Amsterdam. Not only do I not read Dutch, but my poor little legs don't lift me up high enough to get my bank card in that pesky slot!

Here's my round trip ticket to Amsterdam!

I quickly discovered that the train ride is a little long and quite boring, so I picked up a newspaper so that I could immerse myself in the language and culture.

Trying to learn to read Dutch on the train.

Needless to say, trying to learn to read in any language is still a bit beyond me. I settled for looking at the pictures.

I took one look at the dirty sidewalks in Amsterdam and decided that Jenni could carry me. I must say that I've always heard that the Dutch are the tallest people in the word - but I saw proof! Judging by the size of this wooden shoe I found, they must have GIANTS!

I sure wouldn't want to make the guy that wears this shoe mad. Dare I ask where the other shoe is?

Now I realize that I am but a baby sheep, and am not allowed to drink, but I was pretty excited to find the building where they make some of that crazy Dutch beer!

Wow! It's actually sunny! Oh my, is that Heineken in the background?

Here's another traditional Dutch site - the Amsterdammetje - the cute little red-brown post thingy that seperates the sidewalks from the street in Amsterdam.

In 1984, there were about 100,000 of these! Sadly, these are being removed at the rate of about 2,000 a year.

I was quite excited to find a shop in Amsterdam where I could buy sheep! Look at this cute guy!

Jenni said that I couldn't take him home because we might get caught smuggling him into the country. I hope that he finds a good home!

I also found out that the Dutch sure do love stinky cheese! Why, they have whole stores that sell practically only cheese! I was afraid that my wool would stink like stinky cheese if I went all the way in the store, but I braved a picture at the entrance:

Peeew!

On my way back to the train station, I noticed that I was getting quite hungry. I whined a little bit, and Jenni got me some yummy patat! (Dutch French fries!) They sure were yummy!

Mmmm!

After we got back home from Amsterdam, Jenni took me to a park to play. It was hard to play much because I'm so small, but I do love the teeter-totter!

How do I get down again?

A few days later, Jenni even took me to see the North Sea! Just the thought of getting salt water in my wool was enough to make me scared, so I stayed away from the water. Here's a nice picture of me playing in the sand. I sure hope that I get to come back here soon!

Ahh, this is the life!

What trip to the Netherlands would be complete without a picture of a Dutch windmill? Here's an awesome picture of me with a few windmills in the background. Yes, it may look like I'm playing in the street, but I promise that Jenni was careful - there weren't any cars coming! Take that PETA!

Hmm... those windmills sure are pretty, but can I get back in the safety of the car now?

Hi from Riley in snowy Iowa!

Hi! I'm Riley, the newest addition to the family. I just moved here from Florida. Why would anyone make a poor baby sheep move to Iowa when it's super duper cold outside?

Do you see how much of this white stuff there is? When will summer come?

One of the first things that I noticed after moving to Iowa is all of the reindeer! Santa must love Iowa, so many from him to pick from! I hope they don't eat sheep. We're not very tasty, I promise!

How's that baby reindeer breathing in the snow like that? The poor thing must be cold!

After seeing the snow and how cold it is in Iowa (-25 below zero is just sick and wrong), I got to go to school and meet some of my professors. You can see me cuddling with one below:

Oh my! This sweater is made out of wool. I hope that no poor sheep were harmed in the making of this sweater!

Hmm... That sweater was a bit scary, I think I'll try some hot chocolate instead:

Ohh, so warm! I'd better be careful, I don't want to spill any on me!

Whew! Writing this made me tired. I think I'll take a nap and go sledding in a bit. I'll be writing more soon - so stay tuned. :)

P.S. Look who I got to meet!

I hope I get to grow up to be big and strong too!