Pre- and Post-Party

We had our annual work BBQ party the other Fri. night.  Sorry, no pic's, but it was a nice time.  We set up the ping pong table in the middle of the backyard and it stood up well enough.  The dog must've had a real good time with lots of food he should not have eaten.  Over the night he vomited and pooped all over floor (on the tile, thankfully).  The smell welcomed me in the morning.  Bobbins took JoJo to a birthday party after we got up.  JoJo wore the dress she got at the state fair.  She showed off for the camera.  Watch that part, about 30 seconds in.  Only watch the rest if you have a strong stomach.  Mom, this video is for you.

Whedon on "Zomney"

It's probably a mark of my cynicism that for a minute I thought this video might be a parody of the anti-Romney line, but upon further thought and discussion, it's just plain anti-Romney.  Still, I did get a laugh out of it.  To Whedon, I ask that he please get back behind the camera and stick to making great movies like The Avengers instead of lecturing us about how Romney hates the poor.  I bet Romney gave 10x more to charity than Whedon has.

Lunch

Talk about the life.

              

                   

'New' Scooter

Some kid (possibly down the street) left an old, beat-up Razor scooter on the curb near our house.  Bobbins and I cleaned it up and made it new again for MM.  Even though she hasn't mastered riding it, she seems to enjoy it.

            

St Marys - Brophy

Had our annual trip to Phoenix College to watch St. Marys take on Brophy in football.  The Knights had some good offense in the 1st quarter but fumbled on their first possession, which the Broncos converted to 6 within two plays, and missed a field goal on their second.  We left after the raffle at the start of the 4th quarter.  The girls enjoyed themselves.  MM made a couple new friends, cheered on the cheerleaders, and took home a balloon.  It was enjoyable to ride our bikes.

                      
Final score: 58-6.

MP9K 2012

It was tough without our Mama and Leader (hence no photos), but the girls and I awoke at 5am and drove out to Tempe for this year's Race for Maggie's Place.  I figured I could push JoJo in the Bob stroller but wasn't sure what to do with MM.  Thankfully one of our friends introduced me to her neighbor, who agreed to watch MM.  JoJo and I were off and finished the 10K in just over 54 minutes, which is about 9min/mile.  Not too shabby for pushing a 25lb. baby for six miles.

JoJo and MM were entered into the kids' dash.  MM trained a few times beforehand in her Minnie Mouse running shoes, so she was ready.  We were one of the last to start, but she finished strong, and even got to high-five Luis Gonzalez (whose charity was a major sponsor) right before the finish line.  It was a fun outing, but we missed Bobbins.

A Bowl 2012

Based on his outing last year, Zach once again participated in the Academic Bowl a couple weeks ago.  I got the intro's to his 1st match and some of his 2nd match on video, but not his last, against CLAS Gold.  That one was a thriller and came down to the last question.  Zach's team, Engineering Gold, started strong, then faded in the face of a CLAS onslaught.  They mounted a little comeback, though, and got w/i 5pts at the last question.  The moderator, a Dean from the College of Education (!), was horrendous.  I'm not sure she could've been much worse in mis-pronouncing words/names, re-reading questions, and other mistakes.  Her mis-pronunciations threw Zach and his team off on that last question, and the CLAS Gold tool was able to decipher her first to form the answer, sealing the win.  Zach's team was so close.  Maybe next year.  The video's a tad long.

2012 Ballot

Pretty easy vote this year, at least for President and Vice President, Senator, and Representative.  We sent our early ballots in today.  We voted for Paul Ryan for VP as much as for Romney.  I doubt I'd ever vote for a Democrat, but their anti-life policies sure make it easy not to.  Ecstatic not to be in Ed Pastor's district anymore and hopeful that Vernon Parker (who I'm not very fond of) will triumph over Sinema.  The nicest surprise of all would be for State Senate.  Oddly enough, I actually know both candidates.  I've drank and hung out with Chad Campbell and like him as a guy but disagree with his politics.  Here's hoping Auggie Bartning wins the seat.

"Hot"

MM at the Bobbins School of Writing

"Baby JoJo"

At Nana T's back in Sept.

30 Days of Dressing

MM got herself dressed for almost 30 straight days, earning a sticker for each successful morning.  Per her deal with her Mom, she got to get Thrifty ice cream from the store.

MM Trike

5 Kids

Forgot to post these two shots of Bobbins and Nadia w/ all their kids.

                 

Baby Will !

JoJo sure loves babies, including her little cousin.

                    

                 
Rock-a-bye baby

Back Home

Bobbins made it home from the hospital for the second time yesterday.  Thanks for all the thoughts & prayers.  Nice to know everyone is thinking of us.  We're not sure of God's plan but trust that it's at work.

Pool Day

Uncle Mark was able to go swimming with them one day.

                   

             

              

                

First Debate

Only saw the two closing arguments, and based just on that, Romney killed the President.  Not even close.  Obama really needs a TelePrompTer.  I'd say Romney nailed it.

My favorite tweets of the night:

Vanity Fair:  Good LORD Obama wouldn't win a student council election against a chubby nerd with that closing argument.

Razor:  After being challenged and getting pummeled for 90 minutes, Obama is booking a pillow fight on The View, stat!

La Brea Tar Pits

I jetted off to Seattle for a meeting and Bobbins & the girls went to spend a few days with Mark, Jessica, and baby Will.  They mostly hung out and lounged by the pool, but visited the La Brea Tar Pits one day.

                

                 

                

San Juan Cap

From Wash DC, I flew to San Diego instead of Phx, where Bobbins and the girls navigated past the airport's major construction and collected me at the curb.  On our way to Nana T and Poppy's, we stopped at the Mission San Juan Capistrano.  Although it's mostly in ruins, it's still a very neat stop.

After hitting the initial museum, we all posed as Spaniards.

                          

                          

Hand-carved, gold-encrusted altar from Spain, inside the original chapel, which was not destroyed by an 18thC earthquake (as the main church was).  This is the only documented place where missions founder Fr. Serra said Mass.










Statue of Fr. Serra

           

                  

The Dog on Vacation Too

The Dog got his own little vacation at Uncle Zach's.  Plenty of quiet and good long walks at the ASU Research Park.  And a little sneak on the couch.  That bum.