After our tearful goodbye to loved ones in North Carolina, it was a blessing to have something fun to look forward to. Our next stop was Ohio. We enjoyed seeing Terry’s parents and his grandma. Granddad made Matt three awesome guns. Grandma and Great Grandma took the girls shopping, and we all enjoyed lots of fellowship together. Terry was also able to preach for his dad, who pastors New Life Baptist Church in Plain City, Ohio. (I always love to hear my favorite preacher!)

Matt with one of the guns made by Granddad. I didn’t know my father-in-law could do such fancy woodwork!

We also got to visit a place called “The Wilds” with my in-laws and several of their church members. It is a part of the Columbus Zoo and is located near Zanesville, Ohio. I would describe it as a “mini safari”. We rode in a bus that had the roof replaced with canopy. The sides of it were open so you could get a close-up look at a variety of animals. I snapped 300 hundred photos that day – but I’m only sharing my favorites.

Here’s our entire group – minus Terry, who took the photo.

Here’s the group with Terry.

My in-laws are blessed with a great church family! I felt like I was a part of it, too, and I hadn’t been there for three years!

This is a Sichuan Takin, which until that day, I didn’t know existed.

Trivia: Can you guess which cartoon character Disney created in the image of this creature?

The answer is located in the comments. Let me know what your guess is!

Matthew loved talking to Grandma…even though our tour guide was talking, too.

I can’t imagine who he gets that from.

The White Rhino family!

The baby started nursing while our group was there.

Doesn’t this male ostrich look angry? He was ornery, too! He stayed by the gate for several minutes preventing our bus from leaving.

He came right up to our bus, looking for something to eat. He nibbled at the window, and then swallowed, like he’d eaten something!

I have seen bison several times because we live close to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, but seeing a newborn was something special! We saw this brand-new baby bison nursing, and our tour guide had to radio HQ that the American Buffalo family had grown.

I liked this photo of the zebras. I think it needs a caption. Any ideas?

He must not have liked my having a zoom lens pointed his way, because he did this and my allergies went as wild as the animals.

“That’ll teach ya to git that thang outta my face!”
I tried to capture a breath-taking sunset at my in-laws’ house, but alas, my skills as a photographer just aren’t to that level yet. It’s too blue. Or too dark. Too… something.

 I like it though.

And I like Ohio.

Thanks for being here.