Quick Quote

For those of you interested in my final paper... I am writing a little ditty about pride and its effects on the American Justice System. To do so, I am using quotes from philosophers throughout history like Aristotle, Cicero, David Hume, Kant and so forth. One of my favorite quotes comes from Jean Jacques Rousseau when he said,
"The first person who, having fenced off a plot of ground, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society”

Think about it!

Another good one is by David Hume he says, that “A man of sense and merit is pleased with himself, independent of all foreign considerations. But a fool must always find some person, that is more foolish, in order to keep himself in good humor with his own parts and
understanding”

I do not know why I felt like posting these quotes, but I did...

Talk to you later.

The Littlest Mermaid

Calling ALL Mermaids! Young Abizella is ready to be inducted into the Mermaid clan, Davi Division. All of you that have sea water coursing through your veins, come join us at the beach! The littlest Mermaid needs to know that she comes from a long line of mermaids (especially you desert dwelling mermaids). You have 2 weeks to get out here for her induction ceremony (i.e. 2nd birthday party). Come freshen up those dried up fins!

Hey Everyone!

Hey Everybody!

I've been super bad at this blog thing because I forgot my password and could never sign on! So I had to make a new one! The summer has been pretty exciting so far! I just hang out with my friends (and all of you guys! you are much more exciting then my friends my age! haha) I really enjoyed going to Cherry Hill with Jenny and Matt! But like I was saying I'm usually found hanging out with one of my friends, except for Tuesdays & Thursdays, where you can find me at Moodle's. Yes, yes, I babysit Ashie & Coach. I only get the chance to take pictures when they come to my house (and they only come to my house when I'm about to go crazy or my mom thinks I'm about to go crazy!! She worries too much.) Haha, they are the cutest boys. I have the cutest stories from babysitting them. Ashie is my little helper when I babysit. He always gets things for me when I'm caught up in something and he always is a big help! He is such a polite little boy. I really do enjoy watching them, I always look forward to it over the long weekend! I really want to watch Missletoe's kids! They are SUPER cute too! I really think you should put more picture of them up on the blog! I was really excited when I heard Cyncha was expecting! Babies, babies and more BABIES! :] Haha, well, I'll try to post more! Love you all <3

-Lilmis-

Some of Glama's Collection of Picts.

Ashie and Coach at the

4th of July swimming

Party. Coach was not

overly into swimming

although he did take a dip. Ashie loved the pool and swimming, but he was all over the Costco ice cream bar.

Coach is modeling his blessing outfit for Aunt Missletoe so she can check out the outfit. Little How-ju-ma-call-it, I am not sure if our next delivery really has a name, outfit is the same, but in white. I had to have the store order a white one in, they were all out! Let me know what you think. The material is a cotton blend type of material. Top is hand pleated.

Ashie's Party

Fun had by all! It is easy to please a whole bunh of 2 year olds!

Pictures of the boys

Since it has been a while I thought I would post more pictures of my cute boys!

Enjoy!

Rad Trivia

Since Cindy brought up the topic of Rad I have a question that Nate and I have been disputing about. Nate believes the song Cruz and the girl (you know the one who played Becky on Full House) slow bmx biked danced to was Forever Young, but I think it is Send me an Angel. What are your thoughts? Maybe I just need to break down and rent the movie. Chances are I will laught really hard and wonder why we ever liked the movie so. Lets all rent it and discuss.

Happy Birthday

I probably would have posted something on time if Mindurs would have reminded me... (Just kidding, she told me 4 times to do something)

I cannot think of just one instance involving Steve that I could classify as my favorite moment. Steve has always involved me with his friends in sports, movies and concerts. Steve took me to my first concert when I was 12, it was Oingo Boingo's farewell concert . Before the concert started, Steve looked at me and said that I might smell something during the concert, and not to worry about it... After going to probably 100 different concerts in my life, I always think of the first one.

One of my favorite concerts that I went to with Steve was our 32 hour road trip to San Diego to see Depeche Mode in concert when I was 18. We left Friday at 1:00pm and got home at Sunday morning. During that time, we went to the beach, he taught me how to gamble at an Indian Casino, talked our way out of a speeding ticket by calling a cop an "asshole", went to Mexico for lunch (Big mistake!), got the oil changed, went to an institute dance, slept on a crappy bean-bag, went to the concert and ate at In and Out Burger 3 times.

On an unrelated trip to a football game in San Diego during the 2004 season, my friends and I rented a minivan. Steve flew down, met us there, spent the weekend with us and drove home with us. Everybody agreed that I had the coolest brother.

Anyway, I could go on... But I will leave it there and say thanks for everything Steve! Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Steve!

My favorite memory of Steve was probably when he was in 6th grade and I was probably in 4th. It was back in the summer days when we got up and watched the Brady Bunch, the Price is Right and a few Ronco informercials (Mom always thought if we had cable we would only watch TV, well we still only watched TV it was just terrible TV). Steve and I loved the movie Rad. Who didn't? If you are unaware or did not live in the Davis home during this time period, Rad was a great 80's movie about a BMX bike rider named Cruz. Up by Sugar House Park they were doing some construction, leaving the perfect dirt bike racing track when construction was not going on. Steve got the Underwood brother together and we would go on what felt like a day long trek to the track and ride our bikes. I remember loving the fact I got to come along and hang with the boys. One time when we were out riding bikes, Steve and I went to Sugar House Park to slide down the river. I can't remember if we had one bike or 2 but a Bike got a flat tire. It was a very long walk home so we made sure to reward ourselves by hitting up the Mc Donalds on the way to buy some ice cream cones. I remember thinking I would never get home but found comfort in knowing Steve was there with me. We got home so late it was dark. Grandma Smith was living with us at the time and she was very upset that we were missing all day. She gave us the rightful punishment of washing our mouths out with soap for coming home soo late. Do you remember any of this Steve? Anytime with Steve was a good time. I feel lucky to have had a summer of BMX biking with him.

Happy Birthday Steve!

Steve's First Birthday!

After reading Misseltoe's account about Rusty and his hair, I thought

everyone would enjoy seeing some of Steve's famous do's!

Steve is absolutely gorgeous........with this famous hair do. He insisted that his sisters curl his hair with a curling iron! Please notice where Steve is sitting. He is sitting on the back wall behind our house. The background is my "hill." hard to believe it was so desolate and dry!

"My Way"......
I love this picture...Steve always has to do things "his" way! I asked him to vacuum the floors. After a long "discussion" why it wasn't his turn to vacuum, he conceded and started to vacuum. He had slept on the hide a bed the night before. So as he started to vacuum, he started at the kitchen and vacuumed towards the hallway. Instead of putting the bed away, he just jumped up and vacuumed the bed and then moved to the other side and finished vacuuming the room without vacuuming under the bed.

Steve has always been very G.Q......He knows the value of a good pose. His sisters do not have anything on him.

Anyone who knows Steve will tell you he knows how to have

fun and make any activity fun. Steve you are the best and I love you so much. I am so grateful that you have allowed us to be a part of your life. Happy Big 3-0! We have been so blessed!

Love you lots....Glama

Good Times...I'm Just Sayin"

I thought everyone would like to catch up on the pictures from last month.

As you know, Dad and I took an impromptu trip to Lake Powell with Uncle D. and Aunt C. Good times, we would have liked to stayed one more day, but as you all know, the boat, wave runners and things like snow mobiles do not work on Sunday.

We took a little motorized rubber raft up to the end of the river and hiked to the Defiant House. This is an Anasazi ruin. Some years when the water has been high we have almost boated to the ruin. Other years we have had to hike a long way into the ruin when the water is low.. That is the fun thing about Lake Powell, every time you go there, even if you go to the same place...it is not the same trip because of the changing water levels.

At night we had a full moon, but the cliffs hid the moon and all we could see is the walls of the canyon bathed in moon light with fabulous shadows. As dusk came on, out came the bats and the evening temperatures would dip into the cool 90's. Dad insisted on sleeping on the back of the boat, while I had the honey moon suite ( known such because there is a privacy curtain, but it is too hot to close it) under the bow of the boat to myself. As we sat in the light of the evening, Dad and I both agreed the only thing that would have made the trip better would be to have all of the Davi' there except for Murphy....I don't think she would like where we tied the boat there was no land. You had to jump into the water if you wanted out of the boa

The best part of the trip was the wave runners. Dad and I took a long ride out of the canyon where we were staying, across the river drove up another canyon for exploration. Must say, I can be a real mean Mama on a wave runner. I think I have found my sport!

The Fouth of July Swimming Party is Back!

Little Missy brought her friend.

I've missed the good times at Uncle Zella and Aunt Jack's. The good news, is cousin Julie has stepped up and now we have established the old tradition of the 4th of July swimming.

Good Times, I'm just sayin.......

Rusty

Steve has had...and I am sure will yet have.... MANY nick names. But probably the time of life that I spent the most time with him was before he went on his mission. We were both out of highschool, going to the U and working at the pool. Steve had this thing going all summer long where he didn't wash, comb or cut his hair. What was the point when you are in the water most of the day, right? Well his long staw-like locks took on a redish hue and thus the nick name "Rusty". Rusty was very popular with the receptionist crowd. Most of the ladies that worked up there were about 4-5 years older than him, and a lot more sophisticated than a recent high school grad (especially since he wasn't a Farmer). But they LOVED him. I was managing the pool on Friday nights then and I would often find Rusty on his breaks leaning over the counter chatting with Reagan. I would join the crowd and we would huddle over issues of SL Weekly or the Private Eye and read the "Men seeking Men" or "Women seeking Women" personals trying to guess which of our swimmers posted them. Good times.

There were a couple of guys that would come and jump into the pool at about 8:45 p.m., 10 minutes before we would clear the pool for the night. Scotty would always get out of the pool when you asked, but there was a guy Rusty named, "The Minute Man". When you finally broke down after yelling at this guy that would not stop swimming and grabbed his foot after he did a flip turn, he would pop his head out for a second and say, "I've got another minute" and keep swimming. It was infuriating. We all wanted to GO HOME!!! Instead of hating his guts like the rest of us did, Rusty made friends with this joker. An ingenious move, as how can you be a jerk to a friend. The Minute Man would still say, "I've still got a minute" but he would willingly get out after one more lap for Rusty.

The other "Minute Man", Scotty, was a single guy that taught 6th grade. He was actually a pretty good guy. He and Rusty were pretty good friends, although their friendship was pretty much based on lies. Rusty had convinced Scotty that he was the lead singer of the Ocean Blue and that I played back up guitar. But looking back on it, Rusty probably had pure intentions as he pretty much had convinced himself that he REALLY was the lead singer of the Ocean Blue. Me being a proffesional back-up guitarist was much more laughable. I don't remember how it came to be, but one night after the pool closed Scotty took Rusty and I out to Litza's for a Pizza (sounds pretty creepy looking back on it). Rusty popped in a tape of "his" latest album. Scotty was REALLY impressed.

Rusty was always a good sport. He ALWAYS got stuck teaching the rotten day care kids that came in for swimming lessons. Of course the kids LOVED him. He also became the go-to guy for teaching Down Syndrom kids. He has a way of connecting with people that I have always admired.

One last story... one morning Rusty and I were both on the 5:00 a.m. shift. Which really meant that we had to get to the pool at about 4:45 a.m. to get things opened up. We did this shift ALL the time. I was driving The Bruiser and strangely enough Rusty pretty much kept his mouth shut (he must have been asleep, there was no way I was actually driving up to his expectations). We were heading down I-215 and Rusty calmly said, "I think that car is coming straight at you, you should change lanes." So I changed lanes. It wasn't until after the first hour of work that Steve wandered out on deck after taking his "break nap" and said to me, "Was that car driving on down the wrong side of the highway?" I thought back and it finally hit me, "Ya, that car was TOTALLY driving down the wrong side of the freeway." Good thing Rusty had enough presence of mind to tell me to change lanes, even if it didn't process until much later.

Happy Birthday Rusty! I love you! I hope you have a good one Saturday!!!!

The Rest of The M-Clan

The last 7-8 weeks have been quite a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I think for any parent it is difficult to see your first child leave your home. Then add the fact, he has joined the army in a time of war. Yes, it is only the army reserve. But for me, I know the realization is not if, but when he is deployed. Yes, he will be a medic. A Combat Medic. I am doing alot better these days. I think it has been 2-3 weeks since I just cried. I have been trying to keep busy dejunking the house and spending time with the girls. We have seen a couple of movies. I have even taken them to the mall, the BIG one south of us. Ohh, my feet hurt. Remember the shopper I was at their age? Well, I'm not their age anymore. And boy, can they shop. Little Miss has to try everything on in the entire mall. And of course, nothing looks good enough. So, we usually don't leave with too many packages. But, I think their favorite part is the slurpees we always get on the way home.

Ally is doing great. The evening we said good bye to Mikey we celebrated with Ally. It was her orchestra banquet. She was awarded the outstanding Junior award, was elected Vice-Pres for next year, and lettered in music. Wow! What a night! We were sooo happy for her. Then she left for Young Musicians at the Y for a week. She had alot more fun this year. We just recieved her AP US History score, a 3. She didn't do as well on her AP Calculus as she had wished (2). I tried to make her feel better, by letting her know how I didn't do so well on my AP English (2). Besides, there are alot of great people that wish they would have done better on their exams. In order to have enough room in her schedule next year, she is currently taking a concurrent Poli-Sci class. It is an Ed-Net class. So it has students from across the entire state. Most of the time, she has the high score for the class. I think the reason she likes the class so much is the debates. She is still working at THE Restaurant on Fridays and Saturdays.

Little Miss is staying busy, well, being Little Miss. She is into clothes, hair, phones, MSN, and BOYS. She spends alot of time at the pool with friends. She is babysitting Ashie and Hay twice a week. She is so good with them and loves them soo much. It is so much fun having them here at our house some of the time. Ashie keeps us laughing whether he's chasing bubbles in the backyard or putting toy buckets on everyones heads. Miss loves taking pictures of them, with her of course. She has had some bad tummy problems for a little while. I finally took her to the Dr., he took blood and told her to stop eating dairy for 2 weeks. It has been a loooong 2 weeks for all of us. But, she hasn't had any tummy problems. However, I think the phsycological problems from not eating ice cream and pizza could be a bigger problem.

Our puppy dog is now 13 years young and has lost her hearing. You should see us try and communicate with her through sign language. You really can't teach old dogs new tricks.

Steve the Hero

In the few years I’ve known Steve, we’ve created countless memories that have become favorites. So I will tell about the time that Steve became my hero.

In December 2004, we took our first road trip together to see the Utes play in the Fiesta Bowl. We embarked on this pilgrimage with the Loutensocks down Highway 89, which proved to be somewhat of a mistake (the road, not the companions). Once we were about twelve miles south of the Utah / Arizona border, we abruptly hit a traffic jam! As luck would have it, on this two-lane highway in the middle of nowhere, a horrible car accident jammed up the road for at least a dozen miles in either direction.

The first hour passed quickly as we were surrounded by good company and good conversation…but I became a little uncomfortable because I had to go to the bathroom. Venturing into the quickly darkening landscape was entirely out of the question. Hundreds of people were stuck in this traffic, and many began getting out of their cars since our vehicles were literally parked on the highway. I couldn’t and wouldn’t just go outside. There wasn’t a gas station for at least 50 more miles, and the road wasn’t even clearing up for us to drive those 50 miles. Another hour passed and I knew I couldn’t bare it much longer…what would I do?

About forty-five minutes later I told him I now really really needed to go, and just couldn’t hold out much longer. Suddenly he thought of a solution. He walked me to a motorhome parked a few cars ahead of us, checked the plates, and noted they were from Utah “so naturally they’re Ute fans,” he reassured me. “And any Ute would help out a fellow Ute fan under circumstances such as this.” I cringed as Steve knocked on the trailer door. The situation reminded me all too well of a similar scene from the movie Two Weeks Notice where Hugh Grant helps Sandra Bullock find a toilet inside a stranger's motorhome when they were stuck in traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. But this was not a movie; it was really happening. The camper door opened, and sure enough all the occupants were decked out in red Ute gear. Steve gently mentioned that his girlfriend needed to use the restroom and kindly inquired whether they would be willing to let me use theirs. They laughed and invited us in. Just a minute or two later when I came out of the restroom, I found Steve telling the family some crazy story of his – and they were hanging on his every word. He had worked the Steve Davis magic on them, and his quirky charm had won their admiration, and mine. He was my new hero!

Happy Brithday, Honey! Thanks for letting me share the next 30 years + forever with you!

Ode to Steve

Steve will be turning 30 this Saturday - wow you old man. He!he! I can say that because I am only turning 29 this year. In celebration of Steve's 30th birthday I thought we all should post our favorite Steve stories. The best part is we can say whatever we want - no holding back, like at his wedding dinner. Melissa here is your WARNING you may or may not want to read some of these posts, but maybe after two years of marriage you have seen this side of Steve.

Steve is very inventive he was always making up rules for me and others to follow. I've been told of bodily function rules for riding in the car with Steve. B and Dad know what I am talking about. When we shared the bruiser Steve got this crazy idea that he wanted to be like the Dukes of Hazards and the only way you could get into the car was through the unrolled windows. If you were found breaking this rule you would be scrutinized by Steve. One of my favorite rules is when he found a green beat-up construction hat on the side of the road. This hat became known as the piggy hat and you had to wear it every time you drove the bruiser. The funny thing is I never saw Steve wearing it while he drove the bruiser. Hmmmm.

Steve is also very stubborn. When Steve got home from his mission I so graciously shared the Jeep (also known as the Heap) with him. For some reason Steve didn't like cleaning his garbage out of the Jeep. He would just let it pile up. Well one Sunday we were out at Uncle Dave's house for something and Steve wanted to leave. He could leave with the rest of the family or he could take the Jeep. Since I was sick of the mess he had made in the jeep I said he could only take it if he cleaned out his mess. Mom and dad backed me up on this one. Well after what seemed like hours of reasoning why he shouldn't have to clean out the Jeep he finally gave in. Yes, what makes Steve such a perfect lawyer is he will hold his ground even if he knows he is wrong and most of the time his opposition just gives in. Not this time Steve gave in and filled at least one garbage bag possibly two garbage bags full of his garbage. Little did I know that he stored the bag(s) in the back of the Jeep and dumped the garbage back into the jeep the next day. Darn-it I didn't win after all.

Remember that time Steve got a bruise on his butt the shape of Africa? Oh yeah how can anyone forget - he had to show each of us it every time he saw us. All of the stories I mentioned above are what makes Steve Steve and makes each of us smile whenever we think of him. Steve despite all of the crazy things you made me do I love you and am glad I have an inventive stubborn brother like you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY you OLD MAN!

Where are the pictures?

Since I get in trouble for not posting pictures her is my excuse. When you are using something archaic as a dial-up connection it is nearly impossible to post pictures. It takes about two hours for each picture to down-load. So I figure I would blog from home and download the pictures when I get into work. Sorry about the wait, but that is how life is. I think someday in the near future I will be getting a faster connection for Internet. Keep your fingers crossed. Or if you are that desperate for pictures you can all contribute to the MINDURS NEEDS A LAPTOP FUND. Ohhh I like that!

Drool Cloth Anyone?

How do I confess that perhaps I may be losing it. Maybe just a little. It started last Monday when I walked into the house, I had a feeling to look for my phone. I had dinner to worry about so I passed on that thought. Mindurs and Nafurs where there and we were going to BBQ burgers. Nafurs had already started the BBQ and time was of the essence.

Tuesday, I went to get my phone out of the car and there was no phone. So I did what you always do when you misplace your phone....you call yourself up and walk around with a ringing phone listening for your cell to ring. Out to the car with phone in hand.
Ring....Ring....Ring....and no sound from the cell phone. Okay, we will try it through out the house. There is always the possibility of a dead battery.
Ring....Ring....Ring....and still no sound from my phone.

I remembered having the phone earlier at work on Monday. Certainly I must have left it there.
No phone to be found in my office. At sales meeting I announced I have misplaced my silver razor phone and if anyone sees it around the office, to let me know. I was amazed at the number of minions of real estate sales people on the case of the "missing phone." "Have you called yourself?'' I was asked over and over. (duh)

I finally called T-Mobile....after verifying who I was 5 different ways, they refused to give me the numbers that were called on my line after I remembered using it the last time around 3:00 pm. I asked for hints such as, "does it look like a familiar number I would call?" They would not tell me so I suspended my account until I could come up with an answer.

On the T-mobile website I looked up my most recent calls....and...low and behold.....the phone had been used 2 times to make calls. Who could the culprit be? After all I was sure I did not make any calls after 3:00 pm. Let's see, who could someone be calling.....2-7-2-3-1-4-6! Not once but two times. I recognize that number..... Aahaa! I remember, I did call Mindurs at the house, but where could my phone be?

Let's see...I did go to Dan's on the way home. I had a lot of stuff from work to be carried in as well as the groceries. I remember putting some stuff in one of the grocery bags. When I put away the groceries, I placed big bag of grapes into the fridge without taking them out of Dan's sack.

Eureka! My phone must be in with the grapes in the grocery bag and because it was in the fridge I could not hear the grapes ringing when I called my phone!

I rushed home to search through the grape bag, digging and digging! No phone.
While in my futile pursuit digging through the grapes, Dad casually mentions that he has good news and bad news and good news!

It seems my phone was found in the parking lot at the office. (Good news!) It was only a little bit crushed. (Bad news, but not really bad news.) The sim card might still be working. (Good news....my whole life is on that card!) I must have placed it on the roof after calling Mindurs and drove off.

Sure enough...it was still working. Besides being a little crushed, the face crystal was cracked with a black mark that kept me from seeing who was calling or the number I was calling. Other than that, it seemed to work just fine. It would do until the ever growing black blob on the face got so big or until I decided what I really wanted to do for a new phone. I really have few needs in life. Perhaps the real reason was I did not qualify for any discounts on a new phone.

Now I know this story is getting long....but here is the really sad part....so if you have stuck it out this far, you will see why I may be ready for the drool cloth, babbling in the corner.

Today I placed my phone in my gardening shorts pocket and went to do my morning watering and chores. I came into the house, pulled the phone out of the pocket, made a few calls and placed it back in my shorts pocket. I continued to work in the office and ran down and put a white load of wash into the washer and did a couple of jobs downstairs and ate breakfast. After an hour or so, I decided I needed to get my shower and really start my day. I dropped my shorts and undies and slipped into the shower. After my shower I picked up all the dark clothes, including my shorts, and place the load into the wash.

10 minutes later.....I began to wonder...."Where is my phone?" You guessed it! Yes! it is a very clean, dead dead phone. I have been too embarassed to tell Dad. I guess he will learn about it when he reads the blog. Drool cloth anyone?

Ashie is TWO

We spent about a month celebrating Ashie's 2nd birthday. His first birthday party was at aunt Missletoe's where he was spoiled with cupcakes, cars and planes. He has had three birthday parties since. Lets just say he was really spoiled. It is hard not to spoil someone as cute as he is. wink!

Having Ashie in my life has been one of the best things to happen to me. His birth was challenging, but everyday since has been a blessing. Here are a few of my favorite memories.

Holding Ashie for the first time made the nine months of pregnancy and the delivery totally worth it.

Ashie's first smile just melted my heart and it still does today - I am such a push over.

Once Ashie became mobile life became a huge adventure and he hasn't slowed down since.

Most parents don't like it when their little ones learn how to say No, but everytime Ashie say's NO it makes me giggle inside. I don't let him see me giggle because in actuality saying no to mommy is naughty. When Ashie say's no he gets this stern look on his face sticks his pointer finger out at me and with a deep voice he say's NO. It is so dang cute.

The best gift a mommy can get is an unsolicited hug and a kiss. Ashie gives me these at least once a day and my heart just melts. I am such a softy.

Being a mom really is the best! Thanks for the wonderful two years Ashie!

What's Mikey doing?

Just to catch everyone up on Mikey. He is in SC. He is doing great. When I read his letters, it's like a little kid in a toy store. In his last letter he said, "I know I'm going to get that wide-eyed look of shock from this. I just wish I could see it. We'll be throwing grenades pretty soon. We've been practicing with fakes, so the real thing should be soon. Don't worry, I'll be fine." He also mentions the best part of eating MRE's is the peanut butter M&Ms that he might get for desert. He is not allowed any candy, cookies, or treats of any kind, except for what comes in the MRE's. The DS "disposes of this contraban properly". Mike thinks it is funny. He told me at the beginning the food was pretty good there and he was going to be careful not to gain any weight. Ha,ha,ha. Can you imagine the amount of calories you would have to take in to gain weight after all the running, marching, situps, and pushups he does in a day? What is he worried about? They do something called combatives. It is kind of like wrestling but military style. He wrote "unlike when I was in school, I won all my matches today". He was doing great in the final round of these combatives until he got hit hard in the nose and ended up with a bloody nose. They made him sit out the rest. He's qualified on his weapons and PT. So he is well on his way to graduation. I am so excited to see him.
The realization of the weather there, has not hit me yet. I am told there is no reason to dry off when you get out of the shower. When you walk outside you will be soaking again.
We are so proud of him. He is really working hard. He is happy to be there and told us he knows that is where he is suppose to be. Knowing this is what keeps him going through the tough times. Not once has he regretted going.

Luckily for us, Indiana is not on fire

However, our apartment complex was last week when we were pulling in for the evening. We got there before the fire fighters did and just sat back and watched this entire building go up in flames. This building is just across and down the fairway from us so it was pretty scary to think it could have been us. 16 families lost their homes in this fire, and sadly, from what we overheard, it sounded like most didn't have renter's insurance.

The cause of the fire was fireworks. Friends of ours said they saw it on Good Morning America the next day as part of a warning to be careful when playing with fireworks. We then received a letter from the apartment office staff letting us know anyone caught playing with fireworks would be evicted. We've been trying to think of ways to break our lease so I may have to stop by the fireworks store and see what kind of goodies they have.

Was That The Dryer?!

Today Supreme Court Justice Bryer was the guest on NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me". Of course we were a captive audience. We learned some interesting things about Justice Bryer like how he just missed being Jr. Justice for the longest amount of time by a couple of weeks. And how he picked up his robe in Boston about 35 years ago. It is made from synthetic fiber and does not collect lint (Paula Poundstone likes to get down to the details). We were all shocked to hear that the Supreme Court doesn't supply such an item. But the story reminded me of the time that Uncle B and I were in Washington D.C. when Pops was doing his Supreme Court internship. Pops had scored us some good seats for an oral argument. Uncle B and I were getting a little anxious because the court was running a bit late and I believe that we were all sitting there in a reverant hush. Suddenly, we heard a " BEEUZZZ!" coming from the room behind the bench that we were anticipating the Justices to walk through at any moment. Unlce B leaned over to me and said, "The robes are dry, the justices should be out any minute."

Will the Real Phrogbottom Please Stand Up!

Okay, okay.... I realize I am slow at coming to this blog thing. I have been really handicapped at trying my hand and making it work. I have become discouraged many times and have put it away for another day....again and again.

We will try once more.

While in Boston, Missy viligantly looked for a frog picture to attach to the Phorum.... I must say, she did a really great job. Were we not all impressed with the impostor pooch in his frog finery sitting on the lily pad? You could have fooled me....It looks just like Murphy in her favorite Halloween Costume. But Jenny and I wanted a picture of the real thing.... so off we were to victimized our dear little puppies!

"Here Murphy, here Murphy, let's try on your favorite frog costume." as we snatched the unsuspecting pooch from your peaceful existence. It took two very strong and determined women to dress our 12 pound dog in her Phrogbottom outfit. I think she looks pretty good. I am not too sure if she felt the same way.

Well maybe Buckley would be more willing to be the poster pooch for Phrogbottom Phorum. He seemed to like being the Head Phrogbottom and willingly, proudly posed for the camera.

Now Murphy, being the alpha dog, didn't like the fact that Buckley was wearing her outfit. ( I am not sure if you all know, Murphy can be a little possessive sometimes. She has a problem with sharing.) After all, SHE is the "real Phrogbottom" and SHE is the one who has carefully, patiently and unselfishly tutored both Mazie and Buckley. So it is her place to step up to the job of poster pooch and be stoic at all costs. ( Murphy said Mom has told her so many stories about Grandmother Smith; how as a small child Grandma was very stoic.) So Murphy could be stoic and try the costume on one more time....just so briefly for the picture. She IS rightfully the Head Phrogbottom and should rightfully represent the family. Where do you think the phrase "dogs are phrogs" came from anyway?

"Okay.... I'll smile for the camera," Murphy says......"cheese!"

I am sure you all recognize the Murphy's happy teeth. Just don't stand too close. Lily pad anyone?

Pepsi Fans for a Weekend

We know the right people. Kyle and LeeAnn aka The Kyles have become good friends of ours after having spent the last year in all the same classes with Kyle. Anyhoo, Kyle's father is a higher type exec with Pepsi-Co. A few weeks ago, Kyles asked us if we wanted to go to Chicago for a Cubs game as his pops could get us great free tickets through Pepsi.

So, after anxiously waiting for this game to arrive, we were finally on our way Friday night. We drove up to Chicago and spent the night at Kyle's parent's house. Let's just say that Pepsi pays their employees well. Kyle, his father and I woke up early on Saturday morning to golf at the Royal Fox Country Club where he lives, one of the most fantastic courses I have ever played, all compliments of Kyle's father and his great job with Pepsi. While we were golfing, Melissa and LeeAnn went and did what I think they both like to do best, shop.

After a quick lunch, we were on our way to downtown Chicago for what was billed to be the MLB game of the week. Sadly, the billing did not live up to it's name as the Cubs lost 13-4. However, we did get to sit in some phenomenal seats in historic Wrigley Field, and at the end of the weekend we were out maybe $30. It's good to know the right people, even if you do have to drink Pepsi with a smile on your face while doing it.