These photos are from when Amber was 9 and my sister came with her dog to visit us. We were watching t.v. and Amber decided to put on her dress up clothes and play veterinarian with Tommy. He was such a trooper and put up with all her handling!







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Africa -- I've actually been to the real deal. Western Africa that is. When I was 16 I took a trip with a mission team to Cameroon.

The first time we went to Disney's Animal Kingdom, I was curious on whether an onslaught of memories would come back to me while walking around. Africa is a big continent so I had my doubts.

I should have known though, Disney does not skimp. I highly doubt any of that section of the park was modeled directly after Cameroon, yet the sights and smells, and sounds were so accurate (at least to a memory that is going on 20 years!).

One thing I never got to do when I was in Africa was go on a safari. The Kilimanjaro Safari ride was my chance to do just that. Kept to a path (of course this is Disney after all), you get to go in a jeep type vehicle among the live animals and see them, about up close as your going to get. I always laugh about the first time we did this, Genius asked if the animals were real, when we said yes, she didn't believe us. She was spoon fed animatronics her whole life, that she thought we were pulling her leg! Here are a few pictures from the safari ride.

If you click on the above picture, you can see the type of vehicle that you take the safari in.

One day I hope to be able to stay at The Animal Kingdom Lodge and wake up to the sight of the giraffes grazing on The Savannah! Until then, why don't you join us at the Destination Disney Meme hosted weekly at Reviews & Reflections.

I don't know if you recently read the Washington Post article that featured Drew Carey, but when asked what he would be doing now if acting had not panned out for him he replied "managing a restaurant. ... I'd be at a Chili's near you. I'd be the boss that everybody liked." In response to that Chili's president Todd Diener invited Drew Carey to work at a Chili's restaurant for a day, in the L.A. area. How fun would it be to visit Chili's that day, if Drew Carey took him up on the offer?

Well we don't live in L.A. and I'm sure that we will never get Drew Carey to any restaurant here in the Northern Plains in January. But if it's fun to work at Chili's, I guarantee you it's even more fun to eat at Chili's!

Thanks to Nicole; Chili's Media Manager, I was able to take my family for lunch at Chili's.

There are a number of great reasons to eat at Chili's. In no particular order they are:

• Very reasonable cost - It isn't at very many restaurants these days that you can have a sit down meal with your family for less that $35.00 (tax and tip included).
• All of their menu items can be seen online at Chilis.com. You can view the nutritional facts of their meals and the cost too.
• They support the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Go to Createapepper.com and check out how you can partner with Chili's to help fight childhood cancer.
• They are always offering new menu items to tempt you!