Jim turned 50

Jim turned 50 last week. The picture is of his cublicle at work, and that is underwear not diapers. Why might you ask is underwear stung across his cubicle? Funny story! A couple of months ago, Jim went biking with a fellow co-worker straight from work. So he had to change in the office bathroom into his bike gear. On his way out of the bathroom, he inadvertently dropped his underwear on the floor and went on a bike ride. Well, is was found by others and pinned to the bullentin board (knowing full well that they were Jim's). And as you can tell he has never been able to live it down.

What a night

Last night was Erin's Ring Ceremony at the High School. The ring ceremony is the presentaion of their High School Rings to the Junior Class and the official declaration that they are now Seniors. Anyways we were running late (for a good seat) but managed to get there a couple of minutes before it started (Thank God we live a mile from the School) Oh! in my haste I forgot the camera - sorry no pictures. Well, the weather outside was horrible, the sky was a bit green, Erin was convinced that we were all going to die because a Tornado was coming. We pictured the headline on Morning Paper, "MHS Entire Class of 2009 gone due to Tornado hitting the building during Ring Ceramony". Anyways I diverge. The ceremony (which I thought was going to be special and a tear jerker) was a dissappointment. We couldn't hear a word of what the speakers were saying, mainly because the PA system sucked, we were in the highest seat possible and the fact we were in a building with a Tin Roof during a terentual down pour. We later learning that Mandeville got 7 inches in a hour. Here's the Kicker. After the ceramony as people started to leave, they came back with news that the parking lot was flooded. In some cases, the water was up to the side mirrors on the cars. As people went out to check their cars, they all came back with the same story. The parking lot was under 2 - 4 feet of water. Of course, we took the new car. Luckily, Jim got to the car and found that the water was only up 1/2 on the wheels and nothing in the car. Whew! Thank God we were late and ended up parking on the high ground. Unfortunately, many of our friends did not have the same experience. If I can find any picture I'll post them. In the end we got a bit wet but still ended up with a Senior. (I'm gonna cry). UPDATE: This is a picture Erin's High School Ring

Fly

Richmond Weekend

We had a great weekend in Richmond. First we got to spend some time with Jim's Sister and her family. The boys were crazy for their Uncle Jimmy. Then we went to a beautiful wedding held at a Vineyard in the hills of Virginia. We ended the weekend with lunch and touring the city of Richmond with our dear friends, Laura and Ans. I've been from Montana to Lousianna to Virginia in a weeks time. Now it's time to settle down and get back to work.

Erin's Blog?

I should call this the Erin Blog because I feel that most of the information is about Erin. But I do have a comment about Jake at the end of this post. OK - So the picture is Erin's picture that she painted for Art Class. She got 2nd place in the Art Show for this genre. Next news - the kids got their ACT scores. Jake got a 23 (not bad as a Sophmore) and Erin got a 30. The Avg Score for a Senior is 19-21(?). So the kids are smart - Do I give Jim credit or is it from my genes? Oh, the never ending debate.

New Car

We finally had to make the decision to get a new car. After many hours researching on line, and a couple of test drives, we bought a new car. The decision was forced upon us, when the Blue Jeep (125,000 miles) broke down on the Causeway (2nd time in 3 months). The tow bill was $225 (ouch). The decision came down to a Ford Escape, Ford Edge, and Saturn Vue. We decided that the Ford Escape had the best gas mileage but only in a V4 and we were concerned about the power the car would/wouldn't have once the whole family was in it. The Saturn Vue was an excellent price, I could get alot of perks, but it was just too small for my adult size kids. So that left the Ford Edge. Its a bigger vechile but the kids (and Jim) will fit comfortably in the back for our long trips to Dallas, Maryland and Florida. If you were wondering what will happen to the Blue Jeep, we are keeping it. Jake insists that it's his car and will fix it. I figure if it can drive the 1 mile to school and back, then it will do. It pretty much has to last more 1 year. Then off to the junk yard.

PROM

Erin had a great time! Before Prom, she went with a bunch of friends (and date) out to dinner. They went to a nice (expensive) restaurant, that had a Prom deal - $60 a couple including tip. After the Prom, was an party at a friends house (who lives in the neighborhood, thank God - no driving).