Bobbins' B-day Gifts

Welcome Julia!

Julia, our exchange student from Recife, Brazil, arrived a couple weeks ago.  With other students, she flew all day from Recife to Miami and then to Phoenix, arriving at 10:30pm.  We were all pretty tired but excited nonetheless.

The girls made up Julia's bed, Bobbins' cleaned, I did all the yardwork, and we all whipped up a cool sign:

The next day we took her to Mass, then to Costco (a uniquely American experience) before a birthday dinner with Bobbins' family.  Quite a first day!

We Have Swimmers

End of summer and the swimming nears perfection
V I D E O       (http://youtu.be/nPmNzBcWEdk)

New Winter Dress

What is Sex?

As always, G.K. Chesterton is instructive:

Sex is an instinct that produces an institution; and it is positive and not negative, noble and not base, creative and not destructive, because it produces this institution. That institution is the family; a small state or commonwealth which has hundreds of aspects, when it is once started, that are not sexual at all. It includes worship, justice, festivity, decoration, instruction, comradeship, repose. Sex is the gate of that house; and romantic and imaginative people naturally like looking through a gateway. But the house is very much larger than the gate. There are indeed a certain number of people who like to hang about the gate and never get any further.

My B-day Presents This Year

This year got me.  Other than turning 30, I actually felt pretty old on my birthday.  It was 20 years ago that we had a big family reunion in Texas.  I won glory with the lowest individual net score in the family golf tournament, even playing with Great Uncle Jack and Great Uncle Phil (not intimidating at all).  I was on the team of first-born sons that won too.  Wish my Grandpa had been there to see it.  It was 20 years ago that I got my driver license.  The examiner let me take two tries on the part you had to back into cones.  I used my Dad & Jay's old brown truck.  I was somewhat scared driving home on Hwy 95.  It was 20 years ago that I went to Denver for World Youth Day with my parish youth group.  Featha & B 'met' on this trip, and Featha dropped his walkman in the port-a-potty.  We wore huge sombreros and were the toast of the town.  The McDonald's food sucked.  We slept in an elementary school.  There was a sweet dude who had no arms and played the guitar with his toes.  Sweet enough that 'Obscene Sean' fell asleep during it (the chairs were comfortable).

At least this year I got some good gifts.  My Dad & Jay gave me the bread box of my youth and a good book to peruse.  My mom bought me a new softball mitt and a gun holster, a nice leather one from Galco.  Now I've got the full complement:  an inside-the-waist-band (IWB) holster, ankle holster, and an outside-the-waist-band (OWB).  Now if I can just get some more .40 cal ammunition....

JoJo's Shots Around the House

Pretty much what our mornings are like.  The girls playing around, Bobbins still sleeping, me rushing to get out the door for work.