Brett's home!

For Brett's (cough)40th(cough) birthday, I sent him to the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas last weekend! It was a no-brainer. Since his book was just released, he just HAD to be there to network and sell some books! (I knew he'd have a blast, too.)

His report on the trip is on his blog. Pretty cool stuff!

We're so glad he got to go, but we're extra glad he's home!

Ryan is 11!

Today's Ryan's birthday! Since his party isn't until this weekend, we had a low-key celebration today. He began by opening his present from Auntie Ames:
Then he enjoyed TWO Sausage McGriddles from McDonalds for breakfast. (The boy can eat!) After a fairly leisurely morning, we all went to the Harkins Cine-Capri to see The Simpsons Movie.
We enjoyed the flick! The Simpsons' couch in the lobby was pretty cool, too.
We followed the movie with Little Caesar's pizza before heading to the first night of VBS. (Poor kids: They had to go early with Mom!) Afterwards we went to IHOP with some of our fellow VBS-ers. Thanks to nightmarish traffic on I-35W (another day, another hour lost on I-35), we were still in the van headed home at 11:19 p.m. when Ryan officially turned 11.

It might not have been the typical birthday, but it was a fun one!

Happy birthday, Ry!

Happy birthday, Anne!

Today is my friend Anne's birthday! To celebrate, we had a mini-reunion at dinner last night. It was WONDERFUL! Although I don't see them nearly often enough, I do get to catch up with Cynthia, Amy and Anne (on the right side of the booth) from time to time. But for this occasion, two other friends joined us: Kanette and Dana! We were all UT students in the University Avenue Church's campus ministry around the same time, and it had been AGES since we'd all been together.

(Can you see the size of that chicken fried steak on my plate? Iron Cactus calls it their chicken fried strip steak, and I wouldn't have ordered it, but Amy made me. Well, she recommended it, anyway! It had me at "jalapeno cream gravy.")

Anne, our actress, seemed to like her red carpet birthday card:
We ALL liked the mousse the restaurant provided for our dessert:
And Anne loved her new iPod!
The best part of our dinner, though, was the conversation, which often led to much laughter! We talked through appetizers, we talked through our dinner, we talked through dessert, we talked long after that. Then we moved to the parking lot where--yep!--we talked some more.

It's crazy to think it's been more than 15 years since we were in college together. Some of our memories are so fresh in our minds. (Others? Not so much! We decided those hazy recollections are the events that we can re-invent more to our liking!)

OK, girls. We really can't wait another 15 years to get together. Last night was too much fun! (And y'all still need to help me figure out who that guy is--you know, the one with the pecs.)

After our dinner I spent the night at Anne's place. Max was a gracious host (as was Anne!).

As delightful as the weekend was, the trip home was NOT. The drive usually takes me three hours, but today? Almost five. This is just what you DON'T want to see when you're ready to be home: speedometer at 0, rain on the windshield, nothing but tail lights on the interstate and frontage road.(This was between Temple and Troy. It took me 50 minutes to move three miles. Aargh.)

But you know, it was absolutely worth it! For a chance to get together with these friends whom I love so dearly, I'd do it all again this second!

Take me home!

FREE to good homes: 1 gorgeous gray female, 2 handsome black males, 1 adorable black/white male

All of these kitties have great temperaments and will make excellent pets. Interested? Take one (or two or four)!

Back blogging.

Today's my day to try to catch up on blogging, so here are some backdated posts:

Uncle Mike's birthday

Ryan's return from camp

San Antonio, day 1

San Antonio, day 2

Sorry, but the lime sorbet and brown shag carpet story will have to wait for another day!

Guess where we've been!

The kids and I just returned from a "quick trip." Can you tell where we went?


OK, that one's not too specific. Does this one help?





Give up? THIS will give it away:

We have more pictures and stories to share, as well as an explanation for the lack of posting lately. (It has something to do with lime sorbet and brown shag carpet...)

San Antonio, Day 2.

San Antonio, Day 1.

Our boy's home from camp!

Comanche cabin.

Here's Ryan with the other campers in his group at Ailihpomeh:
We're so thankful that the camp organizers are posting photos from camp! We're anxious to see more as the week progresses.

Uncle Mike's big birthday.

Mike got a couple of surprises for his 50th birthday. For one, his daughter Cara surprised him by flying in from Cleveland on Saturday. Then on Sunday, a bunch of his friends and family gathered for a surprise party in his honor!

An appropriate cake for the comic book guy!

What lovely gifts for the 50-year-old!

And who would've thought Mike would get such a nice shirt from his Aggie host?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mike!

Camp, Take 2.

After church Sunday, Ryan and I headed to Morgan, Texas, to Camp John Marc. The reason? Camp Ailihpomeh! Ryan missed hemophilia camp last summer because it conflicted with our California vacation, so it's good that he could return this time around.


Unlike Camp Impact, which is on a college campus, Ailihpomeh is a traditional summer camp. Ryan and the other guys will fish, go canoeing, have a camp-out one night, and generally enjoy the great outdoors. We can't wait until Friday to hear what they did, and we miss him already!

The ride home was awfully lonely, but the scenery was nice! (Makes me think of Robert Earl Keen: "The road goes on forever...")


And I have to confess: I fell off the wagon!

I couldn't resist the lure of Dairy Queen, so I went through a drive-through in Cleburne for a Snickers Blizzard. I instantly felt guilty about it, my internal carb-counter spinning wildly out of control! It's a good thing we don't have DQs around here anymore, or I would be in big trouble! (And yes, it was GOOD!)

(P.S. - Tiger was disappointed that he couldn't stow away in Ryan's suitcase!)

Birth announcement.

It is with great joy that we announce the arrival of

Classic Video Games, 1972-1984:
A Complete Reference Guide
Arrived: Thursday, July 12, 2007
Weight: 1.5 pounds
Length: 10.25 inches

Proud Family: Brett
and the rest of the Dubs

Tears.

Paul's journey on earth is over

I can't understand...

I can't imagine...

I can't stop crying for this family I've never met.

But their faith, their courage have made me a better person, and through their website, I've learned so much about appreciating the GOLD in every single day.

God, please bless the Saxon family.

Prayers for Paul.

The Saxon family continues to bless me through their example as they care for their son Paul. Here's an excerpt from today's post:

Let's never forget that God is in control of Paul's life. Keep your prayers rolling forward.

1 Peter 5: 10 - And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

I'm praying for Paul and his family. Please join me in keeping these prayers rolling!

Invasion of the Webkinz.

With its bright colors and cuddly creatures, THIS is a website you'd never guess could be so appealing to preteens:

Ryan and Katie are both caught up in Webkinzmania, and they're having a great time! Their cousins and some friends in small group had introduced them to the concept (get a stuffed animal with a special code, go online to take care of said animal, play games to earn Kinz Cash to pay for food, clothes, furniture, toys, etc.). This summer they finally got their hands on their own Webkinz, and they're now budgeting their computer time so they can get on the site!



In addition to budgeting their time on our PC, they also have to decide how to spend their Kinz Cash. Their pets' health, hunger and happiness are tracked online, so there is some amount of planning and responsibility involved: a good thing! Another plus: Both kids play well together when it comes to this website. They like to watch each other play, and they're pretty good about taking turns logging in.

So hurray for Webkinz!

Our pot of gold...

...at the end of the rainbow: HOME!

It's official...

We ARE the crazy cat people! But aren't the kitties precious? Want one? We're still looking for homes for ChaCha's babies!