Happy Birthday, "Julian"

Last March we rented a cabin in Branson, MO, with Jodi, Jeremy and the kids. Jeremy was fishing a tournament at Table Rock Lake and we were just hanging out on "vacation" and making sure he came home to a good, hot meal every night after we watched him weigh in. While we were there, we all went to the Bass Pro Shop in Branson (really...what ARE the odds?). It's the "granddaddy" of all Bass Pro Shops. We were looking around and I told the kids I would buy them each a stuffed animal. Savannah quickly fell in love with a little lion cub. She gives her heart so easily. Emery, as usual, had trouble making a decision. After MUCH discussion, I said that if there wasn't one he really wanted, we would just go. That helped him make up his mind in a hurry. He yelled, "I want the monkey!". So we took a monkey and a lion home with us.

On the way back to the cabin, Emery declared that his new monkey looked like King Julian...from the Madagascar movies. True, it is long and lanky, but it has a long, red tail -- not a striped one. But from that day to this, the monkey is affectionately known as "King Julian". We all had fun with the crazy thing. I was tickled because he has velcro pads on his feet and hands and so you can hang him in all kinds of places...like on the blades of a ceiling fan. Turn it on and just watch the fun! Savannah was delighted to find out that her American Girl doll clothes fit him perfectly. So then we never knew where he would be hanging--or posed--or what he would be wearing.

About 6 weeks after getting him, they had their house fire. I believe King Julian was downstairs in the living room at the time of the fire. Probably watching TV with Savannah. Anyway, I took him home and tried washing him with some of the other items I was using a special cleaner on. The little monarch washed up beautifully and "lived" to play again.

This year we again rented a cabin for a few days to accompany Jeremy. He was fishing at Lake Hartwell (much closer than Table Rock!) and we stayed at a place nearby between Anderson and Townville, South Carolina. Again, we had a good time. Again, we watched the weigh ins and made Jeremy a nice, hot dinner. Again, we had King Julian with us. Here he is hanging out with a seagull in the living room. He's always able to relax and make himself at home, which makes him a great traveling companion.