Boys Room Painting

Bobbins really wanted to get the boys' room renovated, so for the 4th of July holiday wkend, I took on the painting.

Later, she hired a guy to install the wood floors. Now all three bedrooms on that side of the house have wood flooring.

Relics Visit

As part of the fortnight for freedom, a relic each from St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher toured the United States, including Phoenix. We went to the Cathedral for the evening veneration. This was really cool for me since my son, Thomas Fisher, is named for these two heroes of England. I still have a harder time with relics, but hopefully they had an effect on their namesake.

JoJo's Birthday

JoJo's cousins happened to be in town around her birthday, so she took her cousin Anna with her to the American Girl Doll store for a special day (like MM had in April). We had dinner, cake, and other presents at the house that evening.

CA / Bullhead

While I was on that two week work trip, Bobbins loaded up the kids and took off for California. She didn't want to sit around the house while I was gone, and I don't blame her, although it was a lot for her to take on. The worst part was that she dropped her phone in the ocean at Mike and Nadia's and lost all the photos. She had to resort to an old school blackberry-like phone. She also stopped for one night at my Mom and Steve's. She had Mike's kids in tow when she drove to Bullhead.

I flew home from Wash D.C. to Las Vegas, and my Dad & Zach picked me up. The next day we had a big lake day courtesy of my sister Katie. She and my dad rented a waverunner and a boat. They staked us out a beach. We parked at the dam (big savings in time and momeny) and met my dad in the boat to be ferried to the spot. Owen loved the waverunner, of course, because it's like a motorcycle on the water. The girls also loved it. We had plenty of junk food and enjoyed hanging out. I especially appreciated having Dallas and Annakendall there.

 

 

 

 

We stayed in a VRBO near Silver Creek that actually worked out quite well (kitchen and laundry) and was as cheap as a hotel room in Laughlin. Rather than golf, I stayed in with Bobbins and the kids Sunday after Mass. We were thrilled to see Fr. Peter one last time before he retired. We even got him to smile!

We had some nice BBQ dinners at my Dad & Jay's. I had Monday off so we had all day to get back to Phoenix and to reality.

Marine Corps Parade

I did get to do one cool thing during that work trip: the Marine Corps Parade at the Washington, D.C. barracks. One of the guys in our class was a retired Marine and had been stationed there many years ago. It was an impressive display, of course, and we had decent tickets. We had beers and burgers afterward. The best part was running to the barracks so we wouldn't be late. The retired Marine has Parkinsons but that didn't stop him - there was no way he wasn't going to be on time!

 

 The guys in black were the precise drill team and were regular Marines selected for this duty. They are the ones that throw rifles and are pretty bad ass. The guys and gals in red are the professional band. They are also Marines but are musicians first. They are pretty awesome too.

Work Trip

In June I bit the bullet and went back east for a mandatory two week training course. It actually turned out to be a good class with some great people. The instructors really care about our profession and about us, which was nice. We were at a hotel and had to take a van in every day. No one else volunteered, so I stepped up to be the driver (which meant I had a vehicle on the wkend). We all had a good laugh that driving this massive vehicle was good practice for me and my family some day. My classmates got me these gifts below, since I was their "dad" driving them around everywhere.

We had some nice dinners in Fredericksburg, and Melissa and I drove out to see Rhonda and her girls (and do laundry). Rhonda made a great meal and we had fun. I also found two beautiful churches. I'll admit, it was fun being away the first week, but by the second, I was really missing Bobbins and the kids.

School Fundraiser Tournament

The girls' school had their annual fundraiser scramble golf tournament at Orange Tree in June. This year it was me, Sean, Jack, and Will. We had a great time. This was one of the last times hanging out with Jack (whose drive we used twice, including on the last and hardest hole, #18). I hit a great tee shot on #4 for a tap in for birdie. That eagle was due to a gimmick but still nice. We struggled the last few holes but managed a birdie on #17, an easy (but long) par 5. It was hot and we were tired. We were one of the last 4somes to come in, for some reason.