Zoobilee Zoo

I know I don't match. I'm not pregnant, nor am I wearing a tank top. I did have a 20 month old, though, so I fit in okay. :)
Tessa and I met some friends at the Dallas Zoo after an interesting ride on the DART. Public transportation is always interesting. I love it, don't get me wrong, but there is always someone who offers more entertainment in people watching than others.
It was HOT that day. We still had a good time looking at animals and hanging out with fun friends.

Hudson, Maggie, and Tessa

Tessa was really happy to see her best bud "Duddo" again. It had been a while. She dove onto the poor kid when she finally had a chance.

The very next day Tessa and I boarded the DART again to go see Jake for lunch downtown. We went into the underground tunnels and had lunch there. Jake had told me all about those tunnels once he discovered them at this job, but I had to see it to get a picture in my mind. Parts of it reminded me of old Valley Fair Mall, and parts reminded me of a train station. Plenty of women had switched out their pumps for tennis shoes during their lunch breaks to get in some exercise. It was fun to semi join them.

Painting

I wanted to brighten up my living room. I wanted color. I wanted to be daring. The decorator shows are all about getting color into those rooms it seems and I have watched the bandwagon pass me by several times. I finally hopped on without knowing where I was going. I picked a color I THOUGHT I would love. Turns out I didn't. I was smart enough to call my dad (who painted homes professionally for a number of years) AFTER I was done painting. He mentioned that it would be smart to not buy two gallons at a time when using a new color. A quart to try it out on the wall will give you enough of an idea as to whether you want to proceed or not. Might sound like common sense. Okay, it's common sense. Which is not always my forte. Especially when I am ready to just have something done already.

So. Jake helped me paint our living room "Sahara". We did a lovely paint job. Too bad I felt like I was living in the Carl's Jr. star or in a cantina when we were finished. But, because we'd bought all that paint, and it cost money, I kept thinking that maybe I'd like it more when it was all done and the furniture was back in place. I didn't. I hated it. The pictures make it look better than it was. It's not that it's such a terrible color, it's just that it clashes so much with our decor. I can't afford a new decor. I could not live with it.

After making the paint guy listen to my woes and give me advice, I was offered a free gallon of paint. Hallelujah. That made it a little easier to still try to be a little daring. This yellow is not my favorite. But I can live with it. Not forever.....but for a while. I like the color with natural light on it, but I am not a fan with the inside lights. It's a bit too lemony. But I can live with "Pismo Dunes" for now.

Besides the quart color tryout, I learned that next time I should spend more time working out the color than on the idea of actually painting.

I learned that different lighting can really switch things up.

I'm not going to let this experience make me afraid of paint.

Now if you think the latest yellow is hideous, you have my full permission to just keep that to yourself.

And All That Jazz

Oh, how meticulous I get when birthday money comes my way. (Actually I'm the same way whenever I get a hold of a gift card too.) I analyze, scout out, plan, and then finally purchase. It's a drawn out process. It's not always like that, but 90% of the time it is. This time it went toward shoes. I love shoes. I spend much more time admiring them than buying, so it was fun to actually buy.
On Saturday, with some help, Jake went to pick up an entertainment center a couple in our ward wanted to give away. Our not-so-big screen TV fits into it, which was a problem for anyone else who checked it out. Since they live around the corner from us, it was decided that it was more work for the men to try to hoist it into a truck and drive it over than it would be to just wheel it down the sidewalk. So they did. It was probably a funny sight for any neighbor who happened to look out and see three men taking furniture for a walk. It's an improvement in our living room for sure. It's in great condition, and you can't beat free.
Saturday night we joined the Jensens in Addison for a Jazz concert in the park. I should have done more of a close up of the band than the camping chairs in front of us. I took the picture quickly and didn't think about it. Tessa had the best time dancing around the blanket, eating food from everyone's plate, and climbing and jumping on us all. The music was really good, and it was nice to get outside and not have it be uncomfortably hot. (My favorite thing about the pic with Tessa in it is the lime green dressed woman's pose in the background. No smiles from her all night.)
Other than that, Jake is really enjoying his clerkship with Anti-trust and is busy getting his law review peeps organized. I'm still loving my calling, hanging out with my favorite little chatterbox girl, reading, holding down the fort, and continuing with those random projects. The painting of walls will have to wait a couple weeks more. Jake's cousin and family are moving to Dallas next week. We're excited to welcome the Ereksons.

Memories...from the corner of my miiiiiiind

Memory Lane Tag

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember. If we're only blogging friends write about a post that is most memorable.
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll be sure to write one about you....either on your blog, in my comment box, or I will email you one back.
3. If the memory happens to involve my husband, please include him.
4. If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all.

My Summer Vacation

I could go through and explain our two weeks in Utah/Idaho, but I am pretty sure I would overuse the terms "fun" and "great". So I'll give you a list of our favorite memories (it's long):
Ian's wet birthday party
McBrides' ward party food
Sunday family dinner
The blanket as the McBride side cousins' favorite toy
Furness visit
Pony ride and catching up with Wendels
Canyon dinner tradition with the McBrides
Ugly face contest and s'mores
Boating with Gma and Gpa Rich
Waterskiing and Big Bertha at beautiful Pineview Res.
Getting towed back to shore when the boat battery died
Seeing Capri in her mom's belly
Ashley and Adessa over to Uncle Ralph's
Great Grandma and Grandpa Rich
Tessa's overzealous need for chips
Homemade slip and slide at Gma LeJeune's
Contests on the slip and slide
Preston pizza parlour
Oversized volleyball and badminton tournaments with Uncle Jonnycakes
Rockband
There was a lot of Rockband. (I wailed on the microphone for hours. :) Mandy-drums, Jon- guitar. Guest artists were in and out with the bass.)
Treasure hunt
Great Grandpa Jack met Tessa
Hiking ....the only downside would be the mosquitos who tried to eat my daughter's head off.
Throwing rocks into the stream from the mini island
Fireworks in Lewiston (they were over before I'd gotten settled, but it was still fun)
Dallen's baptism and confirmation (Jake was blessed to be a part of this)
Positive reconnections
Jake and his buddies' golf tourney in Logan. I'm sure they rocked it.
Yummy barbeque
Too much pie. How I love it.
Great Gma and Gpa D (Gma D wailed on the Rockband microphone too)
Church, lunch, and haircuts with the sis
Gazing at stars
Blanket fun with the Rich side cousins this time, including Burrito Man wars
Trampoline and Bocci Ball
Cherry Hill --water slides!!!!
Uncle J getting Tessa to make elk noises?
Baby niece was born! Meeting little Gracey.
Great Grandpa McCune's 89th birthday party
Friends at Liberty Park. Oh, the laughing that takes place when I'm around these people.
Meeting another beautiful Grace
Kung Fu Panda and the best cookies ever

I could double this list so easily. We had THE BEST time on this trip. Tessa was happy beyond belief to be around all these people who love her. Thank you to all our parents, siblings, and friends. We are blessed to have you in our lives. We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to because of time, but we're comin' after ya next time.
Jake and I actually exercised (ran together) on this trip. Can you believe it? We weren't consistent with it every day, but we still did it. It's a good thing considering the ridiculous amount of sweets we were ingesting.
Now we're back to real life and trying to recuperate from all this fun we had.