On the zoo and pallets...

What a week it's been!  How can we be so busy when I thought I worked pretty hard to ensure lovely downtime at home for the summer?!  Gwyn and Lyla had their last swim lessons this past week.  Celee continues with her gymnastics.  Gwyn, Celee, and I got to spend the night at the Indy Zoo Tuesday night.  The girls went to VBS at the Lutheran church across the street.  And a surprise project took up a lot of my time from Thursday on.  The girls also picked "movie theater" out of the fun jar this week and so we went to see Brave on Saturday. 
     The zoo trip was really fun!  Celee's Girl Scout troop was scheduled to do a "Bunk for a Badge" at the zoo on Wed.  It ended up that a few of us didn't have spots on Wed., however (I know for us it was because I forgot to turn the money in to Roxanne in a timely manner)  so we got bumped to Nature Night on Tuesday.  After the bussle of getting Lyla to where she needed to be (thanks Kim!) and getting to Indy by 6:30pm, us and 2 other mom/daughter combos from Celee's troop were heading into the zoo.  - incidentally, I did remember this time that Indy is 1 hour ahead of our time.  It has taken 5 years, but I think this is the first time that I actually remembered from the get-go that time difference.  There wasn't exactly a program for Nature Night - it's more of a "you get to spend the night at the zoo!" thing instead of an "earning a badge" thing like the others girls did.
 It was really neat to be at the zoo in the evening and then in the morning because that's when the animals are all out and active.  We went aroung part of the zoo that evening and saw the bats, the desert animals, and the gardens next door which had a temporary orchid exhibit throughout the giant greenhouse that was
 awesome!  Apparently after hours in the desert house, the animals are not as scared and come out of their enclosures into the walkways.  We got to see the quail up close as they were running around us on the rocks.  By the time we had seen all that, it was time for a snack and then to bed.  We got to sleep in the dolphin building next to two big windows into the dolphin tank.  We brought the air mattress and slept head-to-toe with me in the middle.  I was pleasantly surprised that this worked really well!  We all slept pretty good and the mattress didn't deflate so I wasn't laying on the floor when I woke
up like I had been worried about.  In the morning after breakfast we had to pack up, then we were free to roam the zoo prior to its opening.  That's when the lions, cheetahs, bears, red pandas, and tigers are out.  The male lion was even roaring for most of the morning.  We got to see the dolphin show before we had to leave.  (We had to be back by lunch CU time to get Lyla so Jason could go to work)  I love the zoo and it's super neat to see so many exotic animals up close.  I even understand and support the education-conservation purpose of zoos.  It still leaves me with a sad feeling every time I go though.

 I'm glad I got to see a Bald Eagle up close, and a baby elephant, and the lions and cheetahs, but it makes me sad to see them confined.  Animals who were meant to soar and roam for hundreds of miles are kept in enclosures where their constant pacing wears paths in the grass that they follow over and over all day.  Like I said, I see the point and am thankful for the opportunity, but still a little sad too.  On a happier note, it was nice to get to give Gwyn and Celee my undivided (I guess it was divided, but only between the two of them) attention.  Both of them insisted on holding my hand almost the entire time, which I am again thankful for as I realize those moments are fleeting. 

     Thursday as I took the girls to swimming I noticed that outside of Jefferson Middle School the dumpster was full of wooden pallets.  Aha!  This was just what I needed right?!  The pallets to complete the Pinterest deck project I pinned so many weeks ago!  So after asking one of the workers at the middle school if they were indeed trash and I could have them, I filled up the mini-van.  It took 3 trips to get what I thought would be enough pallets.  (They are actually half-pallets - that's why they could fit in the van.)  I spent the rest of the afternoon hauling pallets, digging out and trying to somewhat level the area next to our existing deck.  Gwyn and Celee even helped as every pallet came with a metal piece screwed across the center that had to be removed.  They thought this was fun for quite a while before they got tired of it.  After much discussion with Jason about this surprise project, we decided that the pallets needed to be painted and cement blocks put under them before they are put down and then attached together with long pieces of board.  So Friday the girls and I painted one side of the pallets.  They got so covered with paint!  I would have taken pictures but we all had paint all over us and I didn't dare touch any of the cameras like that.  I am so thankful that my girls all enjoy helping with my various projects.  And they are getting to the point that they really do help.  Not like in when they were little and their "help" was really just more work for me.  :)
     All 3 girls had a great time at VBS Sky this past week.  Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is sort-of across the street from us and is one of the few churches around here that has their vbs in the morning as opposed to the evening.  It's a smaller church too, so their is less drama and chaos surrounding their vbs.  (For those of you who have helped run vbs you probably know what I speak of)  They each had to miss various days due to swim/gymnastics lessons and the zoo trip, but they really enjoyed it.  And they got to spend time with some of their school friends that they don't see very much.  I was very pleasantly surprised that each family was given the cd of the vbs music to have also.  The Group vbs music is always a hit in our house and the 4 cds I have get constantly cycled through the car and the stereo inside.  I so have enjoyed listening to Lyla singing to herself all week, "Everything, is possible.  Anything, is possible with God..."  Thank you Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for letting us in on your vbs fun this year!
      We got up and went to the 10am showing of Brave on Saturday.  It always surprises me how much movie tickets are!  Even the 10 am ones!  We all enjoyed the movie though.  It is predictable - the whole mother-daughter conflict brought to resolution through some tramatic event and resultant adventure that they share together to fix the situation brought about by said conflict.  But all together I still liked it.  Jason and I also wondered why the whole archery thing is hot right now.  Between Hunger Games, the Avengers, and Brave shouldn't there be archery lessons and programs springing up all over?  I would totally do it if there were!  I've even considered getting trained by Girl Scouts to run archery stations just so that I could do the archery.  But that's a different story.  Back to Brave - good story and the bonus of having a princess character who doesn't depend on a man to save her.  The movie is beautiful too, it's everything you'd expect Pixar to make.

      Sunday was a little relaxed.  We taught kindergarten/1st grade Sunday school, which is a little crazy, but we only have them in small group for about 20 min., so it was ok.  You can do almost anything for only 20 min.  Jason wasn't feeling well so he slept most of the day.  I'm hoping this allergy-related sickness is the result of his playing Frisbee golf in a field all afternoon Saturday and not some home-related issue (like the cat).  I got some stuff done around the house while the girls played at our neighbor's birthday party.  The sermon yesterday was from 2 Timothy and centered around the exhortation to endure.  So that's been on my mind, what it means to endure.  What ridiculous things I have to endure in my life.  I say ridiculous because compared to what 1st century Christians were enduring, and what many believers have to endure today in other parts of the world, my enduring is really only enduring inconveniences.  How can I really say I share in the sufferings of Christ when I don't really suffer at all?  I don't think I, or anyone, is meant to go looking for suffering.  I just wonder if I'm too comfortable to step out in faith in ways that could lead to suffering.  I will have to keep praying that God will give me the courage to step out of my box when He presents the opportunities to me.