02.20.03

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to MATTY!

Wishing you all the best for a funfilled day! We'll celebrate when you get here, oka'?
Miss ya lots, brah!

Today Ashlyn and I spent the afternoon at the park with Grace, Lauren, and Taylor. The weather was warm and clear with a slight breeze. We had a KFC picnic and fed the ducks.
Grace had a bag of old cereal and a box of stale crackers she wanted to get rid of. hehehe
With all the hungry ducks, birds, and seagulls, the cereal and crackers disappeared fast. I started tossing them some of the outer layers of my hot wings then soon realized that I was "cannibalizing" them! *Zoiks!* Is that cruel? I wonder if they knew that they were consuming a fellow feathered friend? They didn't seem to mind one bit...but it bothered me, so I stopped. =P

During our picnic lunch, Grace and I were approached by a couple of young men. It's not what you think so stop looking at me like that. hehehe. They introduced themselves as Elder Lamier and Elder Brown (or something like that), and wanted to enlighten us with The Book of Mormon. We quietly and patiently sat there smiling while they gave their schpeal. I never know what to say when people try to convert you to their religion. Especially when they're so nice.
Grace nodded along, since she's Christian and agreed with the importance of Christ. I'm Buddhist (and not very religious), so I just sat there...looking dumb. Grace discussed "witnessing" with them and after a while they wished us a good day and left.
I'm not very comfortable discussing religion, nor do I have much of a religious background. It's not to say that I don't believe in God. I do. I have faith. I strive to be the kind of person whose strength and goodness can be shared with others. I just don't like to be condemned for not being a part of a certain religion. I respect others for their choices and I appreciate when they respect mine. Live and let live, right? It was one of those "thanks, but no thanks" type interruptions. Anyhow, enough about that.

We took the kiddies to the playground afterwards. The first few times Aric and I took Ashlyn to the playground, she didn't seem all that jazzed about it. She didn't find anything (expect the swing) amusing. Ashlyn, once freaked out over sand, put some of it in her mouth today! She totally took to the playground and was ALL over the place! She was climbing, rocking, swinging, teetering, jumping, running, and being extremely brave and fearless. I had to keep a close eye on her.
She's not shy either. She joined some older kids in chase and also helped herself to other people's sand toys. *shake head* She had a blast!
When it was time for us to go, Grace and I had to pry Ashlyn and Lauren away. They were bummed to leave.

Ashlyn and I rested at home for a bit before Aric came home. Grace invited us over for dinner again, so we went over. While we ate, we watched "The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant To See". I was torn between watching that and "The Bachelor: Tell All Interview"...but Aric had it recording at home. SWEET! =)

The Michael Jackson interview was good...but I didn't need to watch it to be convinced that Martin Bashir's interview was not the complete truth. After all, Martin Bashir stayed with Michael Jackson for 8 months, and you're not going to get the whole picture from watching an edited 2-hour special. Watching tonight's interview just confirms my beliefs that we should just leave the poor man alone. He's never had a "normal" life and he probably never will. It was depressing listening to the part where he talked about going to the market and "pushing one of those carts and tossing things into it". Grocery shopping is a weekly thing for most of us....and until tonight, I never thought much of it...but for Michael Jackson, he'll never have the freedom and autonomy to do the simple things we often take for granted. So so sad.

Aric, Ashlyn, and I didn't get home until midnight. *YAWN!* Super tired. G'Nite!

Pictures from today:


ducks


Ashlyn's "surprised" face!


Taylor smiling


Ashlyn and Lauren playing


"explore"


Lauren and Ashlyn on the see-saw


Grace "multi-tasking". hehehe


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