PALMATION NATION: August 2011

Well folks, we've been here for 27 days now... 27 days too many. Just kidding.

But seriously.

No, no I really am kidding. The truth is, everything here has been great and wonderful and blah blah blah. BUT, I sorta feel like I'm just not in the mood for it all. I think that sometimes in life you feel really enthused and geared up for exploring a new place and making new friends and shaking things up a bit... and then sometimes you don't. And right now, I don't. So I've just been trying to fake it till I make it.

But I'll make it, people! Don't go spreadin' rumors about me! Don't go tellin' yer friends I'm depressed and hatin' life! Cause I ain't!

Maybe I am, a little bit. But I don't really want anyone to know so I'm only telling you.

Just now, just the very moment I was pecking out that last sentence, a little puppet on Jack's Big Music Show sang these words....

Well I'm a sad, sad squirrel.

I just moved here,

from my farm

where I wasn't sad,

I was mostly glad.

But I miss my friends

and I miss my farm,

so I'm a sad, sad squirrel.

Oh, little squirrel. Who knew you'd be here to make me feel all understood and validated? Bless you, little squirrel. Bless you.

Anyway, remember how in my last post I said we were going to go into the city and take so many pictures of how fun we are that you wouldn't be able to resist booking a trip to come see us? Remember that?? Well, we went! And we took three whole pictures! And it wasn't fun at all! Yay!

Let me 'splain.

On our way into Time(s?) Square, Sam and I were hating each other. Mostly because it was 800 degrees outside with 427% humidity and no breeze and those kinds of conditions, while lugging two babes through large crowds of tourists and mangeys, can really bring out the best in a person. 'Specially me. Cause my family frequently calls me a polar bear cause I like it coldy... and a work horse too. But that's a different story entirely that has more to do with my unnatural she-strength and less to do with the temperature.

It should also be noted that Sam has been vexed with me in general since he unwisely rested his feet on my lap while being overly engrossed in his laptop. This resulted in...

....a stealth toenail painting that, he claims, has forced him to wear sneakers... FOREVER! I keep telling him to just use nail polish remover but the little dear doesn't know how. I think I'll let him work on it for a while. It's important that he realize that after FIVE years of marriage, he's STILL underestimating the amount of attention I require. Nobody screw with me!

Anyway, back to our little jaunt to the city...

There was so much love in the air that day that right after I took this picture I said to Sam in my wenchiest tone, "Wow. You looked really awesome in that picture just now." And he looked at me like I was the world's stinkiest, steamiest, most immature pile o' poo. And in that moment, I was (forgive me). But then he exclaimed that he couldn't smile because his sneakers were making him too hot, and I no longer felt bad about being a snarky biznatch. Look how cute Leah looks, though.

This picture was taken during, really, the highlight of the whole outing.... waiting for our ride home in the ferry terminal. Which happened to be airconditioned and, at that moment, almost completely empty and therefore, perfect.

I think this picture sums up Leah and Eve's relationship perfectly.

Cute Turkey Sub on the ferry crossing the crystal clear blue waters of the Hudson.

Fun trip, right?! Technically we do have a couple more pictures but I look like Ursula in them and may or may not be flipping off the camera.

In other news, this place has some fantastic parks that we've been frequenting. On Friday night we packed a little family picnic and headed out. Here you see Leah practicing her gang-sign flashing...

And Eve filling her gullet like a good girl.

And then Saturday morning we headed to a ward bbq at Liberty State Park.... Didn't think much of the whole "Liberty" part of the park name until we pulled up and there was Lady Liberty herself, staring down at us in all her glory...

Made me get all star-struck and giggly. The pictures make her look much further away than she was... the statue that is, not Eve. Eve pretty much looks beefy and true to form.

In the mean time, Leah got accepted to the pre-school we applied to (yes!!) and spends most of her free time building castles in this sand box our neighbors just gave us. That's right. GAVE us. I was literally filling out the billing info online, purchasing this very box for her, when I noticed them hoofing it over the fence. Can you even handle them? Everyone should be so lucky. Now, to start dropping hints about that little play house of theirs....