Owl Righty Then

 

These beauties and their impressive color were but a mere distraction 

to Little A until we could get to the owls.

Little A and I spent most of the early afternoon at the local aviary. We had a blast. 

When I told him this morning we were going to the aviary to see the birds he immediately started with the questions. His queries led me to understand he has inexplicably (and overnight) become owl-obsessed. "Are we going to see an owl?" "I want to see an owl and a baby owl." "Where do baby owls come from?" "What color are owls?" "Are the owls there the ones from Aunt Suzi's house?" "Owls say 'hooo hooo' just like a dove. But they are not doves." "I reallllllllly want to hold a baby owl. Baby owl feathers are SO soft!"

We had to run a couple of errands and then finally got to the aviary. We were checking in at the front desk and the college-age guy working was cute with Little A, asking him if he was excited to see the birds. "Yes, I want to see the owls. Do you have owls? Do owls live here?"

The guy assured him that owls do, in fact live there. But, just as our luck would have it, the brand new super impressive extra fun and exciting Owl Forest of all Owl Forests was opening for the first time -- tomorrow. We missed it by one day.

However, he said we could still see the owls from the sidewalk. I was relieved. And Little A's head was about to explode from pure happiness. Then the guy gave us a map of the grounds that had an OWL ON THE COVER and it almost put him over the edge.

We trekked around the aviary, looking at flamingos, eagles bald and golden and some unfortunate looking vultures (poor guys). "Where are the owls???"

Finally, we got to the owls. I lifted A up so he could get a good look and as a large barn owl turned toward him -- I grinned in anticipation of how excited he was going to be -- he mumbled "Oh, there's one." 

And then immediately turned his attention, and excitement, towards a pair of ducks that just poo'd on the sidewalk.

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Monday Lovely: Conversations

Little A & Z yesterday at the Living Traditions festival.

Little A: Goodbye, Mama! You are going to work?

Me: Yes, honey, I am. I will see you later. Have fun with Daddy today!

Little A: My cookie monster has a hole.  He has a tear.

Me: Oh no! I can fix it. I will sew him up later when I get home.

Little A: You will?! Oh, Mama. You are the most beautiful mama in the world!

Me: Thank you! I love you so much.

Little A: I love you, too. Can I have a hug? I love your kisses.



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Washington Square Park. NYC. 5.12.11

 

I took this photo with my phone on a beautiful spring day. And speaking of Washington Square, have you ever heard Ryan Tanner's song of the same name, by his band Atherton? It's one of my favorites. 

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He loves it when I call him Big Papi*

Last week I went to New York for a business trip. It was one of the better trips I've had there in a long time, I think the fact that the weather was gorgeous had a lot to do with it. Also, our schedule was perfect. Sometimes we pack so many meetings into a few days that it feels like one gigantic, taxi-dotted whirlwind and suddenly I'm on a plane back home.

This time my clients and I were on our way to meet up with a freelance writer near NYU. That part of town, Greenwich Village, is great -- much more colorful and lively than midtown Manhattan where I usually spend most of my time. Since the Village is home to lots of celebs, including Anderson Cooper, Julianne Moore and Anna Wintour, it wouldn't be unusual to run into someone famous.

We were walking down the sidewalk when a large man in a Red Sox jersey walked toward us and asked us for a hug. I happily gave him one but because I was wearing sunglasses and not my prescriptions my eyes weren't completely sure if I was seeing who I thought I was seeing.

Imagine my surprise that the celebrity I ran into was none other than my favorite Major League Baseball player David Ortiz, a.k.a Big Papi, of the Boston Red Sox.

If you don't follow baseball closely then you may not know that the Red Sox vs. Yankees rivalry may be the fiercest in all of sports. The U of U vs. BYU one may be a close second. It's that bad. So it was a little strange to see someone in a Sox jersey walking around the Big Apple with a huge smile on his face.

What I didn't realize during our hug fest was that a camera crew from the MLB Fan Cave filmed it. I believe this is called, in showbiz speak, "my big break." Since this video launched I have become quite busy/very important/good at 'doing lunch' and am in the process of hiring my own manager.

After the hug that was caught on camera (I'm at 2:40), I was able to talk to him and thank him for signing a baseball for Little A last year (it was a very thoughtful gift from my cousin who works for the team). David couldn't have been nicer.

And I got my best NYC souvenir to-date.




*This post's title was inspired by a comment from my friend Scott.
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