Sparkles abound!

We celebrated Bri's birthday today. Don't worry, that's not a stick of dynamite, that's the popsicle from the box she picked out as her treat for her special day. Can't believe she's six now! Corin came over this afternoon and we sewed up a storm. I made a really super cool skirt for her as well, and I can't wait to make one for myself! Improv this evening was fantastic due to a relaxed and playful atmosphere. I enjoyed it thoroughly and can only hope our next rehearsal will be just the same, if not better.

Three strikes, you're out

Leigha's team had their last game tonight. They played hard, but in the end the other team came out the winners. Oh well, it's been fun. Jason spent the entire day trying to get home from Reno with Bri. They flew from Reno to Boise to Denver, then waited and waited and waited all day long for a flight out of Denver. When they did finally catch one it was so late Jason had to have me come bring him a work shirt and take Bri home so he could work his shift. Bummersauce. The worst part is that the jetway crashed into the side of the aircraft just as it got to KC so the first thing Jason had to do was deal with the mess from the plane he had JUST stepped off. Yuck. At least they got back today, though.

Patio partay!

I played catch-up with some friends today. Jason is en-route to Reno to get Bri and Leigha went to the pool then slept over at a friend's house, so Jessica decided to enjoy the company of some lovely ladies. First, Austin came over and I made her some lunch and we caught up. I missded her! Can't wait to go on another wacky adventure! This evening I met up with Sarah M. and we went to Westport. A friend of mine has a band that was playing tonight, but the venue was 21 and up......Sarah will be 21 next February. So we sat on the patio of The Foundry and ate delicious artichoke dip while the music wafted across the breezeway. It was quite lovely! After that we went to Wal Mart and looked through clearance items. Sarah found this delicious purple jacket for only three bucks! Woot!

Credit's due

Jason got a remote controlled helecopter from my dad for his birthday. We spent a happy hour chasing the cat around with it this afternoon. That was swell! I went to improv this evening and had fun hanging out with my friends. We ran through a new format that Zak had come up with and it was a blast! I love what I do. So much!

Don't look back, you can never go back

As Jason was driving down to Wichita to get me, the air conditioner in my car broke. What a nice long, hot ride down and back that was for he and Leigha, and a one way for me. Fortunately we got back into town safe and sound, no other hiccups. Tonight was the last night for KCXRC for this season and the house was packed out, which was fantastic. Zak played his first show with Improv-Abilities and did an amazing job, and for the most part a celebratory atmosphere reigned supreme at my table when we went to get some well-deserved food and drink afterward. I was lucky enough to sit next to two great friends, whose support means the world to me. Win!

In much more important news, Brianna turned six today! I can't believe she's six, she seems so much younger sometimes, so much older at others! She is in Nevada with my parents and they took her to the zoo and then to Olive Garden, so she had a great day. We will celebrate with her when she comes back. Lucky duck, two birthdays!

Sky dolphin aquariums are annoying.

This afternoon Michelle and I walked up and down River Street stopping in every cheezy tourist store we could find. Love it! Savannah, you're swell and we WILL meet again. Hopefully soon. I was dropped off at the airport shortly thereafter only to find out that my pilot for the evening was Mr. Murphy himself. After a tussle with a gate agent about whether or not he could do his job properly (his job=getting people on planes. There was a minor snaffu in the system and instead of trying to do something about it to help me he gave me a look and said, 'well, what do you want me to do about it?' I squeaky wheeled enough to make him do something.) After getting through security I found out the plane was delayed, so I arrived in Houston an hour after I was supposed to, thus losing one opportunity to get back into KC for the night. Right before I stepped on the plane Jason called and said it didn't look good for the last flight of the day into KC but he would do some sleuthing and find some answers for me before I got to Houston. The man is a hero, I swear. Upon landing, I immediately called Jason to see what he had found, thus causing me to forget that I had gate checked my suitcase and I had unthinkingly left it on the jetway. Jason told me he had found a flight for me, and my moment of joy was shortly thereafter trumped by the realization of the missing suitcase. Yipes! I rushed back to the gate only to find that they had already sent it to baggage claim. Oh boy. Out of time, I ran out of security, grabbed my suitcase, went back through security, and rushed onto my flight to Wichita, the closest city I could get to home tonight. (Tomorrow is all booked up as well) Jason the rockstar hero had booked me a room near the airport, and here I sit, happily blogging with a pizza I had delivered.

Don't talk the talk if you can't chalk the walk

Michelle and I headed out to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina today, which means that I have now officially been to 44 states! Six left: Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Louisiana, Hawaii, and West Virginia. Aw yeah! We did some outlet shopping before coming back into town and getting ready for the evening's revelry, a fundraiser for a Nairobi film institute. So glad I could be here to support the arts...globally! We had a blast, too, and I got to meet a ton of her friends. Lovely people! Much tiredness now for the Jesster, see you tomorrow!

Ice cream on the beach!

Micelle took me to Tybee Island today. I want to pack it up and put it in my pocket and make a tiny Jessica doll to live on it with the rest of her tiny doll family! On the way to the beach we got some hot boiled peanuts. Yeah, they're much better when they don't come from a can and you're eating them on the beach instead of the backseat of a new Cadillac while on the way to Atlanta. (Oh check March's entries, it's in there somewhere around the 12th or so.) We frollicked in the ocean, had yummy slushies, and later got ice cream and did some souvenir shopping. This evening we went to downtown Savannah and walked around some more then stopped at an amazing mediterranian place for some nibbles. Sweeeeeeeet. The air is so humid here and the temperature dropped to perfect.......great night for walking around.

Conquered Isle

I got up waaaaaaaaaay too early today and Jason dropped me off at the airport. I flew from KC to Houston, Houston to Savannah, Georgia. Yay! I've never been before and my friend Michelle lives here, so what other excuse do I need? It's gorgeous and charming and they have Piggly Wiggly here. Aw yeah. We went to an amazing place on Tybee Island for dinner, The Crab Shack. Here I am posing next to one of the (not) live crocodiles in front of the restaurant. Looks like someone's getting a new belt and matching handbag! (some other lady....lucky her.) Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!

Sunrise, sunset

On the longest day of the year, time flew by for me in a very quick way. So fast that I am still wondering where it went. The irony is not lost on me. I rehearsed with my thunderdome team in the Crossroads district this evening and snapped a quick shot as I was walking out to my car. When I came to do my blog I realized this was the only picture I took today and thought to myself, 'huh...really?' I'm such a shutterbug usually.

JCS @ TTIP

After church this morning I played softball with my team, and we totally won twice again. Hooah! And my skin turned to lobster-sauce in the hot sun. Not quite as hooah! This afternoon Leigha went to camp and Jason left to take Bri to Reno to spend a week with my parents (the girls do this every Summer) so I decided to enjoy myself. Relax. Put a frozen dinner in the oven...when the phone rang. It was Jason telling me he had accidentally left behind Bri's suitcase! I checked the time and frantically headed for the door, arriving at the airport just in time to get Jason the suitcase before he and Bri went through security. I checked the time again and dashed all the way across town in time for improv rehearsal. *Whew!* This evening Whitney invited me to come with her to see Theater in the Park's 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. It was pretty cool! We knew some of the cast members, which is always awesome. Best part of the evening, though, hands down, was dancing with Whitney and her friend Maribel in the parking lot of Sonic. La dolce vita!

Achieving Tenure.

Jason and I renewed our vows today. It was so much fun, Austin was one of my bridesmaids (as was Lynette) and we made flower wreaths for our hair then walked our colorful selves down the aisle. Daddy played a few beautiful pieces on the accoustic guitar as Grandpa sang 'Look to the Rainbow' along with him. Oh, and we got Mikey to smash his face into our three sad leftover pieces of cake. Yay! We all went out to dinner afterward and then my family flew home after one crazy week of fun running-aroundness. I'm gonna sleep for three days straight.

Zak knows best

I had another Harrisonville gig with Anomaly Orange today, but all our pics were taken near a very bright window so posting them would just be a picture of fuzzy shadows, so here's a much more swanktified 1960's-esque picture of Zak instead. My family came to the show and my mom ended up being pulled onstage to be 'interviewed' by Joe. I told Matt afterward, "Thanks for bringing my mom up." He said, "Oh! That was your mom? Cool!" He was AWOL when I introduced everyone I guess. Probably talking to the owner of the place. I love these H-Ville gigs, they are great fun and the owner treats us like celebrities.

Adventures await!

Today was another series of adventures. We cruised Oak Park Mall for a while and spent a lot of family quality time together...shopping. It counts. After that we met up with Austin and Chad at Oklahoma Joe's where we enjoyed yet again the benefits of Kansas City's awesome Barbequeage. From there we went up and down the Plaza before heading home. I'm so glad Austin got to meet Janina before she goes home. Tonight I finished my outfit for Saturday as well. Looking forward to it!!

Rapmaster Bri

We went all over town today, starting with Crown Center so that we could eat at Fritz's. It's one of those novelty restaurants where your food is delivered to you by a train that runs around the ceiling. Last time we went my mom spent the whole meal stalking the train trying to get a good picture. "They're so fast!" She kept saying. This time we were seated by a corner so the trains had to slow down a considerable amount, thus giving her plenty of time to capture it in all it's railroady glory. We walked across to Union station after that then headed to the Jazz District, rounding out the day's adventure in Westport. *Whew!* I'd say we're all going to be skinnier at the end of the week if it wasn't for the fact that we've been eating the way awesome families do when they get together. I'll go out on a limb and say it's gonna be a wash.

Three little maids

Janina flew into town today. This is totally the first time we've all three been in Kansas City at the same time! She came in rather late too so Lynette and I volunteered to pick her up and then we hit the town in spite of the late hour. See? The JC Nichols fountain is JUST as photogenic when you can barely see it! ...Right?

Peanut butter and jam!

So...stupid Blogger won't allow me to upload the video I intended for today's entry. Bear with me please.

Your opinion totally matters to me.

Brianna's not afraid to high five a wooden bear, but if a real bear ever came up to her she'd probably run. *pssht...* Lame. My parent's friends from way back (way back like dinosaurs) came down from Des Moines today and we all went out to lunch. It was nice visiting with them. Best of all, they came between the monsoonal rainstorms we had today. Yay! This evening while everyone else watched the Tony Awards and/or played poker I snuck off to rehearse with Anomaly Orange. We have another show in Harrisonville coming up and I wanted to be in prime shape for it. Poor Joe broke his foot and is on crutches so this ought to be interesting.

All for one....

This afternoon my family (parents, Lynette and Grandpa Smith) flew in. We are borrowing my mother-in-law's beast of a Suburban to cart everyone around in and I got it into my head that it would be fun to drive to the airport, pick them up, and drive back in it. Can I just say that people who desire large cars are completely insane? Yurgh. We came back home (and to the loving embrace of my itty Toyota) and assembled veggies, fruits, and meats for some epic shish-kebabs. Behold as Jason, my dad, and my grandpa strut their skewering stuff. Since my family hails from Nevada, we treated them to an evening of ice cream bars and lightning bugs on our fantastic party deck. I feel as though Summer has thrown up on me. It's not an unpleasant sensation.

Into lockup I go...

There you have it. Photographic evidence, despite all belief to the contrary, that I was not the first person in my family to be trussed-up Hannibal Lecter style and placed behind a metal grill. You're saying to yourself, "But Jess, just because you dated this blog today and put this picture up doesn't mean you don't have earlier photos of yourself being dragged away in a huggy jacket!" Yes, that's true, it doesn't NECESSARILY mean that, does it? However, if that happened to me prior to today you know very well that A. I would have gotten pictures of it and B. It would have been the most interesting thing that happened to me that day and therefore would have made the blog. Check and mate.

Or...

This is Leigha playing catcher in the game, or rather, walking to home plate to play catcher. She was disappointed, I know she really wanted to play pitcher. She seemed to throw the ball extra hard to the pitcher every time she had to get it back from home, probably to show the coach, "See, I can make it!" Poor thing. But she did a great job, even tagged a few girls out, AND she stole second base! Go Leigha! This afternoon Corin came over and we did some sewing. It was interesting, she wanted fuzzy go go boot cover things. Not something I've ever done before...and I've never worked with faux fur. It sure was fun, though! And we saved her fourty bucks!

New beginnings

I'm getting pretty good at self-portraitry. Seriously! I dare you to compare this to any glamour shot, pre-fuzz filter, from 1986.....well, from any year, really. All glamour shots look like they came from 1986 anyhow. Yeah, so this was one of those rara days that when the interesting stuff happened, I didn't think to pull my camera out of my purse. Whoopsie! So as a result, you get glamour shot. I did a bit of window shopping with my friend Sara R from school. She is moving to San Diego in a week, so it was good to get to see her. This evening we had music practice. I love to sing. Makes me feel happier, no matter what. It's like candy to your soul, if your soul is perpetually eight (which I think it is).

Being the influence

Austin and I wanted to get the fried ice cream at the place we went with our acting one class at the end of the semester, but we were wayyyyyyy too full after having lunch. Since then we've been determined to go back and have it. As luck decided, today was that day! We sat down, were presented with chips and salsa, then ordered just the dessert as the waiter gave us a quizzical look. I guess not many people go to mexican restaurants just for dessert. We are trendsetters, Austin and I!

Promises, promises

I didn't manage to take any pictures today until just now...what a slacker. But the truth is, today wasn't terribly photogenic. There was lots of rain in town, which cancelled Leigha's game, but we only saw a few sprinkles. I got a lot of my to-do list crossed off, though, which is pretty fantastic. Apologies for the ho-hummedness of the blog post, but a deal's a deal and not every day can be a rip roaring roller coaster ride of crazy funness. But at least you get to know that I keep a fairly clean laptop keyboard, eh?

Screensavers

It looks for all the world as if Jason is doing his nails in this picture...what you don't see is his iTouch and the fact that he's playing a game on it. Yup, today was full of much needed downtime. Fortunately for me I went and made it exciting by going into an empty room, finding the one thing in the middle of the floor, making sure it was sharp, then promptly stepping on it and tearing the tender arch of my left foot open. I can't let myself go more than a week without an injury, I'd get soft! Besides, it only hurts if I stand up or try to walk. *Pfft.* Easily avoided. Yeah, in all seriousness, I'm fine, it just really hurts. The good news is I think my body is so used to this kind of thing by now that the healing bureaucracy process is quickened. It's like the white blood cells get together and say, "Oh, another flesh wound? Push it through quickly, this is old hat."

Happy ketchup, fancy ketchup!

Zak was in an accident today, poor guy. He's fine, but his car (that he JUST put a thousand dollars of work into) is most likely totaled. Yikes. We took him out after improv as our way of saying, "Come on, this is as good an excuse as any." He made a ketchup and mustard face on his plate to say "this was just exactly the kind of thing I'd do even if you guys weren't here." This afternoon I played the first two softball games of our season. We won, despite the fact that I totally played. My thighs are so sore from being in the catcher position, but it was really fun. I'm surprised at how much I've been enjoying low-importance competitive sports recently.

Dead batteries

I woke up with aching feet this morning, and no wonder. I did do an awful lot of excited jumping when Weezer played last night, after all. So this afternoon I came home from the improv planning meeting with every intention of chilling out. Apparently everyone else in the family had the same idea...except Leigha who played with a friend all afternoon. Power to ya, kiddo. Bri made the most of the situation and fell asleep on the couch while watching a movie. Aww!

=w=

Weezer!!!!!!!!!!! Woo! Yeah, so I definetly saw them in concert tonight. Love love love! Rivers (lead singer, right in the middle with the glasses) apologized on stage between songs because he wasn't wearing a belt. "...Yeah, so all you young impressionable people out there, this is not a fashion statement. Don't copy me, because that trend is STUPID." Yes. Yes. Within five seconds of the apology someone threw a belt on stage. Nice. After the show I went with Austin, Chad and Dennis to a greasy spoon for some electrolyte replacement. We had intended to go elsewhere initially but found other locales unsuitable for our purposes. It took a while to settle on the food place, but that's okay because along the way Austin and I found some sprinklers that were on and took the opportunity to run our concert-sweaty bodies through them. Ahhh....that was so refreshing.

Moving on

Aimee and I headed to Jerusalem Cafe today for lunch. She had never been there before and it was fun introducing her to all the yummy Mediterranian cuisine. We also went to a couple neat shops and thrift stores, where she found several cute things to wear. Nothing really caught my eye today, but that's cool. Next time perhaps. We wrapped up the trip by having iced coffee at Broadway Cafe. Mmmm! I love shopping buddies!

Don't cry over spilt beans

A rather ho-hum day in my world. Not that there's anything at all wrong with that. Spartacus seemed to like it. I hung out with the girls and Jason all day then went to improv rehearsal this evening. Fun, and not too fast paced. I can dig it.

They're coming to take me away, ha ha!

This is Ryan. He is one of Austin's friends from her first go-'round at college, and the guy who was gracious enough to let us stay at his rental house that we cleaned the gutters of. Coincidentally, he had no idea Austin had finished in the bathroom and was preparing to feast upon his brains zombie-style. Nice. We had a great day today, went up to a scenic overlook park on a hill, toured a bug museum on the K-State campus (at my insistence, of course.) then did some shopping in Manhattan's unique downtown. (I should totally write a tourist brochure, I know all the favorite cliche's!) We wrapped it all up with a trip to Vista Burger, the local favorite and best corn dogs on earth. I loved Manhattan and plan to return! We stopped and went on a little adventure in Topeka on our way back to the house. Lots of interesting places to get lost in in Topeka, that's for sure! I came home to find out that Brianna has decided to change her name to 'Roxy Peaches.' Wow. I had a blast out on the road, but it sure is good to see the family again. Hopefully now I can straighten out that name changing hoodlum of a five year old of mine.