Finals Week

Hey all, starting tomorrow is Finals Week here at DelVal. I have 5 (3 general, 2 major) finals to worry about so it's gonna be a stressful week so yea, you know. Love ya! *muah*

Snowed In, 2006 Winter Semi-Formal

Chris asked me out to the winter semi-formal this year. It was exactly 1 year to the day of our first date (Dec. 2nd). This time last year we were front row at and Iron & Wine / Calexico concert at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. That was by far one of the best days of my life to date. Oh yea, the dance. Well it was wonderful. My friends found me playing Donkey Kong 3 only an hour before the dance and scolded me for not getting ready. So they drug me back to my room and forced make-up and a hair-do on me, then I changed into my dress and was off for a night of fun in the snow. (there was actually a "snow machine" on the dance floor. It was kool until you breathed in the "snow" which was actually made of some sort of soap. As you can see Chris & I are hams and enjoy having our pictures taken as much as we enjoy taking pictures. Hope ya'll enjoy the pics.

Chemical Restraint @ the Elmwood Park Zoo

So I had my last lab. It was on chemical restraint. It was actually a kinda kool course to take b/c we got to shoot two different types of blow guns and such. Actually it terrified me b/c it brought back memories of my brother & his friend deciding they needed something to hunt with their new blow guns. That something turned out to be me. My mom wouldn't believe me until about my Sr. year of high school that he would do something like that to me when we were young. He was evil!
The lab was actually a lot of fun as I learned about special escape teams in the zoos and the training they go through. Then my classmates and myself got to go up one by one and shoot at our animals, which were a drawing of an animal butt on a cardboard box.
Here are a few pics from the lab. I forget our speaker's name for that lab. He is the currator at the Elmwood Park Zoo tho. And the kid w/ the long hair is my friend & classmate Brian F.

Academy of Natural Sciences - Philadelphia, Pa

For lab today we went to the Academy of Natural Sciences in the great city of Philadelphia. Our lab was on education programs in zoos so we got to go behind the scenes at the academy and hang out w/ the animals. There is a pic of a white-nosed Coatimundi named Jodi, a chinchilla, monitor lizard, owl (don't remember what kind, help me out there dad), and a turtles. *muah*

Happy Thanksgiving

To my friends and family,
So they're not turkeys, but here are some pretty birds to look at. I hope ya'll have safe travels and a very filling Thanksgiving season. Love ya'll!
~Holly Rae

Adventure Aquarium - Camden, NJ

Went with some of the Zoo Science majors today to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. We were taken on a behind-the-scenes tour with one of the lead people at the aquarium. We were then let to wander about the place and explore for ourselves. At one point, I had a little helper following me around asking, "Do you want to take a picture of this?" For such a small kid he really knew a lot about the fish I was photographing. He & his dad are picture in the bottom right corner of the diver's tank. Hope you enjoy some of the pics! *muah*

http://www.adventureaquarium.com/

Philadelphia Zoo Vet Center

This is a back post so I won't say much about it but here are some kool pics from my lab one Friday at the Philadelphia Zoo. We got to go behind the scenes and take a tour of the Vet Center there.

Back at School & On with Life

It's been a while since my last post. Life has calmed down a bit for me since summer. On Aug. 26th I celebrated my 20th birthday and finally joined the class of people whom I used to refer to as adults. Poor me right? Nah, I think I'll somehow survive this adventure as well.
My degree is in Zoo Science here at good 'old DelVal. This fall I started taking classes for my major. Every Friday afternoon I travel to either the Philadelphia Zoo or the Elmwood Zoo for a 3 hour lab. Last week I spent the class staring into the eyes of 4 mountain gorillas as I critiqued their exhibit design.
There is no real reason for this post. Nothing in particular has been going on that I thought was important enough to write on. I have however just wanted to tell everyone that since I've been back at school, I've been revealing to myself one thing after another of who I really am, and what I am made of. This next year is going to be a trying one, but I will probably also consider it the one with the most potential for growth in my life. I hope you all are having a wonderful day. I would love to hear from everyone and it's always nice to keep in touch with a wide network of friends.
Remember, don't take life too seriously. It isn't permanent.

Baby Emily Rae

Here is a picture of the newest edition to the Groff Family. My brother Charlie, and his wife Laura have just given birth to Emily Rae Groff. She has a good middle name. ;-) She is guaranteed to be smart and beautiful. heh heh heh.
"Today August 16th, at 4:48 am Emily Rae Groff came into the world. She was 7lbs, 8 ounces, 19.8 inches long. Both Mother and baby are healthy and doing great."

Baby Bobcat

After hearing rumors of the baby, I asked my friend while at work if it were true that they came into ownership of a baby bobcat. It was true, so tonight I ventured up and snapped a few pictures w/ the gorgous little girl. So here they are...

NYC & The Bronx Zoo

On my first visit of the summer to DelVal, my spur-or-the-moment traveling companion, Christopher, and myself found ourselves in the jungles of some of the most savage beast I have ever seen. No, actually it was just New York City, and I can't say anything bad about the people there. They're all friggin awesome. After long months of waiting, one car ride that seemed to take forever, and all the skin I chewed off my lips for being nervous, I finally got to meet the elusive Jama! I could go on and on about how awesome she is, but I don't have the time and the more I get to know the Williams family (even the newest editions!), the more I truely fall in love with them. We crashed in Curtis and Jama's apartment for 3 days on their living room floor. Thanx so much you two for letting us do that! On our second day tho, Chris and I decided to venture out to the Bronx Zoo for some time alone and some much needed time w/ nature. Well... as much nature as you can get in the heart of NYC. The pics aren't working, but I'll keep trying!

Visit to DelVal

I'm back out at DelVal for a little over a week to spend some time with good friends and just some good people all around. I had to include this pic b/c this is the animal I have been trying to tame for a long time. heh heh heh. No, I just really love this pic of Chris and I.

Hope ya'll enjoy it as well. *muah*

Saying Goodbye is Not Always Easy to Do

I have not posted in quite some time, b/c due to some unfortinate crcumstances, and some bad timing that are not up for discussion on here, I have left C.A.R.E. and returned home to Southwestern, Pennsylvania. I learned a lot during my stay and it is knowledge that I will carry with me for the rest of my career. I miss the people and especially the cats. If you're from C.A.R.E. and you're reading this, please give Jake and Tess a big scratch on the side for me.
I am not through posting on here, b/c I have not yet saved the world. But for now, my progress is slowed. Until my next big adventure...

Not for the Weak of Heart

As the title says, these pics are not for my parents or the weak of heart. Today was the first, and probably only time I will have gotten to go into an acutal cage w/ a tiger. I am sitting w/ Firebug feeding her her bottle. In the two other pictures, on is of Heidi Berri, my boss, and in the final photo is just to show how massive in size these animals really are. My friend Matthew is feeding Tigger on his hind legs. Matther is a litle over 6 ft tall. And as you can see, Tigger is so much bigger than he is. Getting a feel for how powerful these animals truely are?
I love and miss everyone! And I hope ya'll are enjoying the photos. Keep up w/ the comments and writing, it truely does help! Love! *muah*

A Pic of Me

Here are two pics of me, even tho I hate having my pic taken especially when I don't even have time to groom myself ever! I'm prob not gonna wanna put to many of me up b/c I barely have time to brush my own hair in the morning! I am taking a week of rest when I get home to primp and be girly! I hope Cindy H. will still let me use my massage coupon!

A Long Overdue Thanks

I would like to thank a Mr. Woody and Mary Jane Rush as well as a Rev. Jim and Carol Ann Stone. On my travels down to Texas I stayed in the cabin located behind the Rush's house and in the guest bedroom of the Stone's house. Both couples were wonderful to stay with and I GREATLY appreciate everything that they have done for me! Posted below are pictures of both!

A Lot of Hours

Yet another day that I will get to sleep at exactly midnight. That makes 2 so far I guess. Without National Geographic here filming today, our plans completely changed and I actually had a good amount of time to get some work done for school. So I spent my only free time today filling out paperwork for the internship hours at DelVal so that I can count these hours towards graduation. In 5 days I have already racked up 76 hours worth of work. At this rate I will have not only the 960 required by my school, but I will leave here with well over 1,000. Kristine (that is the other intern) went to Wal*Mart tonight and I gave her some $$ for a few CD-RW's so this way I will be able to constanly keep up w/ pics as long as I have the time! I love and miss ya'll but it's time for sleep tonight! *muah*

Baby Pictures!

I know everyone has been waiting for these, here are some pics of the four cubs that I am not only taking care of this summer, but sharing my living quarters with as well. There are three boys: Jake, Luka, & JP, and 1 girl: Aluschia. Luka and Aluschia are named after fashion designers and JP is named after the founder of 7-11. This was done in hopes that these very wealthy persons will donate money to the shelter. Jake was named after an older cat here at the center who is in poor health due to the fact that when he was younger he was declawed. This does not work well in these cats and he walks funny and has a lot of major health problems. Enjoy the pics! They are cute in the pics, but man do they have claws! *muah*