Adventures in August...

It came, it was here and then it was gone. Zoom.. just like that.



At my last post, I mentioned we were going to the zoo that night. We visited the Lincoln Children's Zoo Friday the 6th and I was struck by how much it had changed. So many of the attractions that I remember as a child have been torn down and some not replaced. There is no longer the giant Eagle's nest enclosure, the bird atrium is gone,and the ginormous polar bear enclosure has been torn down. Hopefully they are just rebuilding?


One happy thing they did still have was the goat petting/feeding area. Bless him, Jason made a new friend.


Jules got a kick out of the camels and I love the smile I caught while she was checking them out. There was no time for gawking though, we hightailed it as soon as the camel began to suck up it's spit and take aim- run away, RUN away!


The best smiles we received were when she saw the Wallaby exhibit. She flew to full attention in her stroller, started babbling and pointing and smiling when she saw them just sitting there, minding their own business. We had gone through all the exhibits and passed them on our way back out of the Zoo and she again went from impassive observer to happy babbler as the Wallaby flew from one side of their enclosure to the other!


This guy, well, he was my favorite. Such a character he was. I was watching his buddy race around the enclosure when I noticed this guy watching me. As I began to walk away, he dropped his head to the ground.. so I stopped and came back.. and up came his head.. I began to walk away again.. and his head went back down.. I came back, his head came up and I realized this guy was playing with me! What a hoot! Jason thought I was losing it from the heat and humidity but I gotta say, I liked him.. really really liked him... so much so he made me question my love of frogs... hmmmm

Time flew by, Kameron and Lakey had their birthday's on the 5th. Kam turned 21 and we graced him with a bottle of tequila and a John Deere shot glass. Perfect for the honkey tonk boy in him! Lakey got a nicer, prettier gift of handmade jewelry that 2 of my co-workers have set out making, if you're curious, check out their website at: http://tidaltearsjewelry.com


Jules and I roadtripped down to Grandma and Grandpa's the following week and spent the day hanging out. She sat on Grandpa's lap almost as soon as we arrived! She was scared silly by Lucy, their dog though. I've never felt her whole body tremble that way before but when it happened, I felt so horrible that she was so frightened. I think some of it had to do with the recent placement of her tubes and the high pitch of Lucy's bark. She eventually warmed up to Lucy and they got along ok, just took a bit of patience on everyone's part.


Grandma got out her birthday gift and she loved it! Her very own sparkly purse! As soon as she saw it in the gift bag she yanked it out, shoved it on her arm and took off running! It was hilarious and absolutely adorable! Grandma got such a kick out of her reaction! Thank you Grandma for such a lovely gift!

On the 21st, Lakey and I drug our fantastically pitiful hineys out of bed at 4:30 am to wait in line at the GAP to get a free pair of jeans.. Unbeknownst to us, we could have slept in until 7:45 and still gotten a free pair of jeans. STILL free jeans right? We had lots of fun bonding time while we waited! Whoop Whoop!


Later that same afternoon, Dad, Julia and I road tripped back down to Grandma and Grandpa's as an early birthday greeting for Grandpa. We spent the day hanging out at the farm. This day Julia was a Mommy's girl and didn't really latch on to anyone until Grandpa(Dad) took her in his arms at naptime and she went out.. just like that!

Mom, Lakey and I took our Birthday shopping trip up to Omaha the next day. We'd been planning it for a few months and it was a great time! We went out to lunch, met up with Ben and went to the Body Exhibit - yep, I walked through an exhibit of live cadavers that have been set up to artistically show us what we look like on the inside. Yep. I did it.

That same day I got my birthday wish and visited Pottery Barn in Omaha for the first time. It's not as grand as the one in Kansas City but me, oh my, it got my Pottery Barn fix taken care of! Better yet? There was a Pottery Barn Kids just across the way.. and diagonal from that? ANTHROPOLOGIE! Love love love it! Sigh, Angie was in happy land. Happy. Land. Big, big SIGH.


Julia had her 15 month check up on the 23rd and guess what? She's no longer in the 3%for her age and height! She's up to the 11th percentile! Yippee! Grow baby girl Grow! Weight, activity and head circumference is all good!

We went swimming for one last time this summer at Lakey's new apartment complex on the 27th. Brrrrrrr the water was freezing but so worth it!


Julia's also developed a new obsession.. toilet paper. We find it everywhere these days. The kicker was the other day when playing with her flash cards.. I noticed a full roll sitting her her dress up tote.. It's EVERYWHERE folks. Everywhere.

We had new additions brought to our family on the 22nd and that was the arrival of Cleo and Bandit, our new kitties. Riley is adjusting and if they ever sit still long enough for me to grab the camera and get a photo.. I'll share their adorableness with you. So far though, I've gotten a lot of blurry shots or.. in Bandit's case, not enough light so that you are able to pick her out in the photo! But they are cute and adorable and lovable and huggable and Julie has heard a lot of NO NO NO NO NO's since their arrival.. she hasn't learned that you cannot carry kitties by their necks in a chokehold.. or that you cannot body slam kitties.. or that you cannot throw unsuspecting kitties off of blankets while they are sleeping because you want to play and.. well, I'm sure you get the picture. She's learning and thankfully, the girls are kind enough to take it and not hurt her in return. So far.


Last photo for this post? Well, it's our nightly ritual, Julie, Daddy and Mommy- if I'm not at work, curled up in bed reading her nighttime stories. Thought it would be a nice touch to signing off for now!

Love you, Ang