Not that easy

I wish it were this easy.

Dad's Trip to NYC (Part 1)

It's been a long time coming mostly b/c it took me forever to sort through the huge amounts of pictures Adam took of the Statue of Liberty, but here at last is a post about my dad's recent visit.

A few days before my last day of work, Dad Davis came to stay for a little less than a week. We greeted him the first night with Brooklyn pizza (I can't call it pie), courtesy of our favorite joint around the corner, All Star Pizza. Pepperoni and ricotta. Mmmm . . . The next day, Adam and I had to work, so Dad, with a subway map and a fearless spirit, toured Manhattan all on his own. That night, we took him to the "best view in Brooklyn", AKA Sunset Park and watched the paisanos jugando el fut. (um, ask a Mexican.)


The following day, Friday, was my last day so I cut out of work as early as I could and joined Adam and Dad in Battery Park for a trip to Liberty and Ellis Island. We went on a free tour led by a park ranger that told us all sorts of interesting things I never knew about the monument, like her full name: Liberté, Eclairant le Monde. Liberty Enlightening the World.


I also never noticed she was striding forward—she's in motion—leaving the shackles (that you can't see from below) that chain her down.


After Liberty Island, we took the ferry to Ellis Island where we watched a documentary (I slept) and shuffled our tired feet through the many exhibits. Dad found a photo of rag pickers, Adam liked the old typography, and I found this political cartoon that pretty much sums up my feelings on immigration. The caption reads, “They would close to the new-comer the bridge that carried them and their fathers over.”


The next day, Saturday, was the day before Adam's and my second anniversary. To hold to tradition, we all went to the temple to do sealings. It was really great to be with my dad and my husband in the temple.


We spent the rest of the afternoon sight-seeing, including Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, FAO Schwartz, Fifth Avenue, and, of course, the world-famous office of Designer Adam Johnson at HarperCollins. We also initiated Dad to NYC street meat and ate our savory gyros in a little park near Adam's work.


Later, we tried for Wicked tickets, played Spot the Mormon in the crowd awaiting the lottery, and subsequently did NOT win tickets. But luckily, we were tipped off by a street promoter to another lottery that was easier to win, for the new musical "In the Heights." She told us it was like "West Side Story" meets "Fiddler on the Roof." Sounded good so we went to enter the drawing. The first name they called? "Bob Davis!" That's two tickets. . . . Then, second to last, "Emily Johnson!" We were ecstatic. Here's dad, first in the winner line.


The show was absolutely amazing. It was written by and starred a man who grew up in Washington Heights (well on the border with Inwood, actually) and has a ton of fun things that only new yorkers would appreciate. The music and dance were a blend of rap, hip hop, reggeaton, and of course salsa/merengue. The dancing was also great and the whole thing was so full of energy and joy and life that I wanted to jump up and dance and sing with them. We LOVED it. And highly recommend it.


Check out the oh-so-authentic set. Right down to the ATM sign on the bodega's awning.


I forgot to say that, before the show, Dad treated Adam and me to dinner at a French restaurant where I had pate and monkfish for the first time and Adam ate frog legs for the first time. Everything cost ridiculous amounts of money. It was a great anniversary gift.

So that's it for the first installment. Stay tuned for more...

Restoring My Faith in Humanity

Go us.

For more geeked out pictures, click here.

Labor Day Weekend

We had quite the productive Labor Day Weekend. We hit IKEA friday afternoon and brought home the Expedit Bookcase (6'x6'), the Jokkmokk Table and chair set, and a lamp. Took a little while to set them up, but our home is finally taking shape.

Our church BBQ was a blast as well, and I finally got to get a little of my soccer fever out.

Then on Monday we went down to Coney Island, along with most of Brooklyn, to swim at the beach, take in a little sun, and catch a delicious bite of real-deal tacos and Enchiladas from a small Mexican hole-in-the-wall place. A very pleasant time. And it was funny too, because Emily got to finally lie on her stomach, because I dug a hole under her beach towel large enough to accommodate the baby belly.

Kudos for My Sweet Pea

Since he's too modest to tell you all, I thought I'd share some good news and brag a little about my husband. Last week Adam received a modest but unexpected bonus from his boss. He kept trying to tell me his boss gave it to him because she's so nice (and she is a very nice person). But businesses aren't in the habit of giving away money just to be nice. You get bonuses because you make your bosses money. So good job, Adam, for being such a valued asset at work.

The second accolade came when Adam received an email saying that a student project he and 9 other people had worked on had been chosen as a finalist in a competition sponsered by Adobe (the makers of all the indispensible design software). For being a finalist, he and the other team members will split a cash prize and, best of all, they each get a free copy of Adobe's Creative Suite 3. To put that in perspective, when Adam first bought his laptop as a new design student, the cost of the Adobe software alone was half of what the laptop itself cost. And that was with the student discount. We've been thinking about upgrading to jumpstart Adam's freelance work, and this just fell into our laps. The student project that won, by the way, was used as the opening credits for Typophile, a film festival for type enthusiasts. Watch it by clicking here. In my humble opinion, it's awesome. So three cheers for Adam!

Without sounding cheesy, I have to say the real person who I want to praise here would be our Father who gave Adam these talents in the first place and has blessed us with miracles every step of the way.

Sunset Lake and us

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot

We went with our friends last Saturday night to Shakespeare in the Park . . . ing lot. They put on a great performance of Twelfth Night, and Cassandra and her husband brought us the best donuts I think I've ever had from the Doughnut Plant. Performance photos from LarimdaME. 

thanks libby

cd ryan

I love this guys work. 

The crib

This is the crib my dad is making for our incoming bundle of joy. It's really beautiful as you can see. 

Satirical Observation

I know this might be old to some of you but, after showing Emily, we joke about how we often find it to be true. Like the other night at the Feist concert at Prospect Park.

Palmyra Trip

We had a fun weekend up at my parent's house. Emily had her first pageant experience as well. I enjoyed being with my sisters and brother. It was especially fun playing catch with frisbees and footballs before the performance began. We stopped by grandma's house as well.

Duty, done

So I was on Grand Jury duty in Brooklyn for the past two weeks. Unlike a trial jury that hears one case, we heard 35 cases and decided whether to indict (true bill) or to dismiss (no true bill). It was an interesting experience. Here is a list of a few things I learned:

(1) Where not to go in Brooklyn

(2) Most crimes happen at night

(3) Drugs aren't that expensive

(4) Cell phones are hot items to steal

(5) Grand Jury Duty=lots of reading time (read three books)

(6) I'm proud to be a Brooklynite (based on my fellow jurors)

(7) Brooklyn is quite diverse (and Russians are nice)

All in all it was a good experience. Heard a few terrible crimes though. I was also able to share some of my beliefs with a few people on the jury along with a Book of Mormon. I kinda think Grand Jury duty is a waste of our time if, like in other states, a judge can just do what we did. They let me go free for ten more years in NY State.