Fun With Jared - Days 3 & 4

18th - Good morning!  Mister leaves for work and I sew a little on my row robin blocks before Jared wakes.  Once he is up, we decide to go to the zoo for the day.  This requires bus travel and thus requires us to walk down to the highway first.  We get there just a bit early and wait for our bus to take us to the train station.  Yep --- it's a public transportation day.  Within moments, we are at the White Rock station, boarded,  and on our way to Mockingbird station for a transfer to another train that will take us directly to the zoo.  Perfect.  I have a hunch I am going to get to be pretty good at this.

The whole trip takes us about 45 minutes and the zoo is quiet when we arrive.  With opening only a few minutes before our arrival, things have not ramped up yet.  As usual, our first stop is at the lemurs but today they are remarkably quiet.  We do manage to locate all of them in the trees but they are hiding well.  Well, all except one.  He is plotting his escape.

He spots us and puts on an act of "devil may care" to make us believe he is just sunning himself.  We know better.  Wink, wink.

Jared chooses the Savanna first and as we walk by the mandrills, mama is showing off her little tyke right up at the window.  He is using her as a springboard for jumping and bounces all over the place as we watch.

It makes me smile as I remember my own little ones feeling so safe when jumping on me.  Nothing could get them and I imagine this youngster feels the same way.

"Oh, hey!  No pictures please."

As we arrive at the Savanna, it is time for the predator encounter and today we get to learn about the lions.  The females are entering the habitat as we take our seats to watch and learn.

I think my favorite moment comes when they are both asked to reach all the way up so that the keepers can check their bellies.  They are sooooo big.  I just think they are cute kitties.  Ha ha.

Since we are early, the giraffes are also ready to be fed.  We grab some lettuce and Jared gets the privilege of feeding this sweetie.  "Wait for the tongue."  Oh so fun.

There it is ---- "Gimme, gimme, please."

The Savanna is so peaceful this morning.  It just looks so inviting.  It can't possibly be dangerous can it?

We stop in at the center and I am excited because the worker I like is there. I really should ask his name.  He is so good with the kids and teaches them so much.  If he is not here, I do not enjoy this stop near as much.  I have a little good-natured fun with Jared as he reaches into the lions mouth and then jumps at the roar.  Oh, what old ladies won't do for a laugh.

The required "Elephant Postcard" shot.

We peek at the schedule for the day and I notice that the cheetah encounter is in a few minutes.  I ask Jared if he wants to do the Gorilla Trail, which is right by us, or race to the other side of the zoo to see the cheetahs.  We are soon running.  As we near our destination, the giant anteaters are right next door and stops Jared in his tracks.  I hear a "cool" from under his breath.  He claims a spot up close to the fence for the cheetah encounter and is soon enrapt.  I don't think he moves the entire time Winspear and Amani (the black lab buddy) are in the enclosure.  I gotta admit -- it's a favorite with me as well.

Next stop:  THE REPTILES!  This is always a hit with the boys and Jared is no exception to that.  I caught this one moment of mutual admiration.  Fun.

NOW -- As Jared would say, "Finally."  We are off to the Koala Walkabout and the Lorikeets that he loves so much.  We get some nectar and are told that they are not really hungry and so may not eat.  I am not worried though because for some reason these little beauties love Jared.  Today is not any different.  There are others in the aviary trying to feed without luck, but the minute we walk in, Jared is covered with friends.  It really is amazing and soon people are photographing him instead of their own children and grandchildren.  He is definitely a hit with the birds.

Here is a 3 picture sequence of the only time he had to entice one to visit.

In another spot, he was feeding one and soon was joined by several others.  What magic he has.  He LOVES it when they decide to perch on him.  His whole face just lights up and that makes my heart happy as well.

Time for lunch.  We get to the cafe and for some reason I can't find my debit card and go into a slight meltdown until I discover that I must have left it at home.  This is AFTER calling the bank.  Oh my.

We go back to the savanna side of the zoo for a walk through the Gorilla Trail and a stop at the encounter stage to learn about flamingos.  That's it for our day and I am tired and ready for the trip home.  See ya later Dallas Zoo.

At the train station, Jared kills a little time doing what boys do:  climbing.  By the time we get home, it's late and I need to cook dinner and relax.  What shall we do tomorrow?

19th -  Jared stayed up waaaay too late last night and is having a hard time waking up today.  As a result, we make a decision at the last minute to try and catch the bus so that we can visit the science museum today.The stop is 1/2 mile from the house and we have only 10 minutes.  Oh my.  We literally take off running and I make Jared stay ahead of me so that he can hold the bus if he needs to.  This is a heart attack in the making I think.  We get about 100 yards from the corner as the bus pulls up.  I start yelling "wait" and Jared really takes off.  Unfortunately, he also trips and goes down.  I catch up and look up to see that the bus has indeed waited and as we board, the driver says that our effort was "Olympic Worthy."  Cool.  We take our seats as I check to make sure Jared is okay and try to calm my nutso heart.  Goodness.  The train station is a bit easier ---- ha ha, MORE than a bit and we are soon on our way downtown.  It is a walk to the  museum so we set off with a bit of whining going on.  Once he spots the building, though, all is good.  They have a special dinosaur exhibit going on and we get tickets to that as well and make it our first stop.  It is incredible.  I love it and Jared is in awe.

I cannot get far enough back to have a picture with a complete dinosaur.  Wow.

What are all those people on the other side doing?  Yes, I heard you ask that.  Well --- check it out.
There is a movie playing and explaining all about the internal systems of this amazing creature.

This is what he must eat in one day just to exist.  One of the displays was just so cool.  I wish I had videoed it but it worked on centrifugal force and then used lighting to finish it.  The dinosaurs spun around and then the lighting changed to make them appear as though walking.  I think we went back and checked it out at least half a dozen times.

The last part of the exhibit is a spot for bone digging and Jared sets to work for awhile before he decides that he is ready to move on.  He really wants to ride the escalator that he remembers from last time.  Well, I aim to please.

At the top.  (Oh, and he didn't like this at all --- a bit of a fear of heights I think.  He would not stand on the feet as it was just too close to the window.)

We now have tickets to the Omnimax and more dinosaurs.  As we are standing in line, I look up at all the beautiful origami birds.  Wonderful!

Movie time.

After the movie, we stop for lunch then are off to explore other areas of the museum for awhile.

Yes, Jen, I have more pictures for you but didn't want to put them all up on here.

All too soon, we have to go in order to make our train back and stay within our ticket time.  It's been fun though and I do love being in the arts district and downtown.  There is a unique feel down here and it is quite pleasant.

We get home without any problems and Jared plants himself on the sofa.  I don't think this changes much all evening other than for dinner.  He could be wore out.

Fun With Jared - Days 1 & 2

16th -  We are picking up Jared today to have some fun together for a few days.  It is a "halfway" pickup and a new road for us to explore.  Maybe we will spot some places to put on the list for future trips towards Abilene.  We meet Louis just past Weatherford (which I now remember for the peach festival and bike ride that Mister was in and I think he is even wearing that shirt today - too funny.)

We visit for a few minutes and then make the return trip to Dallas.  As we go through downtown, Mister asks if I want to stop at the Farmer's Market and pick up a few things.  Naturally, I say yes.

Samples are always the best and Jared tries a melon that is new to all of us - a Sweet Golden Honeydew.  It's good but doesn't wow us.

They have a great deal on raspberries and strawberries so we pick out several boxes and plan to make some jam tomorrow.  Oh yum.

Next stop is the grocery store as we are running quite low.  Jared and I play a game with the cart in which he stands on the front and tries to reach out and add things to the basket as we walk along.  I, for my part, try to keep him from the shelves and added displays.  I am mostly successful, however, he does score now and then and sometimes with pretty heavy, big objects.  We both laugh as he reaches out for a bottle of wine and makes a split second decision to pull his hand back.  The rest of our day is spent in making dinner and playing.  Not much day left to be truthful.  On to tomorrow.

17th -  It's raining today so our outside opportunities are minimal.  It's a good day to be in the kitchen and since we have berries to use --- let's get the jam made.  Once we have the berries cleaned, into the processor they go for a bit of chopping -- not too fine though as I like bits of fruit in my jam.

Next step -- lemon juice to squeeze.  I teach Jared to roll the lemons first until they are all mushy and then cut and press the juice out.  He does a great job and in no time has the required amount to add to our fruit.  We then stir in the pectin and start the second batch while waiting for our 5 minute stir intervals.  Soon, the half hour has passed and it is time to add the sugar.

Now to fill our containers and finish this process.

We are getting quite a stack.  One batch strawberry - one batch raspberry.

We clean up the mess and move on to making cookies.  I did say it is a kitchen day, right?  The request is for chocolate, chocolate chip cookies.  We look up a recipe on the internet and decide to give it a try.

Ah yes, the rewards of his labor.

First cookies always go to Grandpa along with a glass of milk.  (Oh my Mister, those eyes!)

And now for the ultimate fun.

It has been a busy day and we are both ready to just kick back and relax before making dinner.  Yes, indeed.

Celebration Date Night

It is our last night alone for awhile again so . . . . . Voila:  Date Night!  We have not visited in The Old Monk in a very long time and a cheese board with a nice beer sounds awesome for tonight.  Love this AND as it is our anniversary of our first date and it took place here --- how appropriate!