probably a boring post for you but i couldn't be happier!

just when i was getting ready to pull up the pumpkin plants that seemed to be dying, i found these three gorgeous little fellas! hooray!

*sigh*

birthday boys

(above: wyatt, landon, and ian)

tracey lamerson graciously allowed me to combine ian's birthday celebration with wyatt's last night ~ resulting in nine boys playing, fighting, wrestling, hitting, roasting hotdogs & marshmallows, telling ghost stories, watching movies, and finally sleeping (around 3:00 a.m.). aunt juj and taylor even crashed the party (aunt juj had both ted and tracey as students in high school!). the kids had a blast, and ted and tracey were so incredibly hospitable. we really love them alot.

baby #1

hooray! we're finally expecting! (no, not a real baby...a baby gourd. you know, from the volunteer in the post below...)

isn't she cute and fuzzy? she measures approximately 3/4".

growth

this unexpected, little volunteer...

has become this:

now, if we can just get some fruit on that vine.

why we're jets fans

our cousin, eric smith, plays for the new york jets. last year he started at safety (many of you will remember the vicious collision between he and anquan boldin). there was a massive debate about the helmet-to-helmet contact between eric and boldin, but i honestly believe that kerry rhodes' involvement in the play didn't help matters, and eric found himself in an incredibly dangerous situation. (eric was knocked unconscious as well.)

at any rate, we got to hang out with eric at our family reunion a few weeks ago. he is delightful in person. quiet and reserved. great with the kids. kate and ian were on cloud nine the entire afternoon. (my grandfather and eric's grandfather are brothers, and for those of you who don't know, yes, my maiden name is smith).

at one point in the afternoon, many of the relatives were talking about what fantastic athletes the smiths have produced...and it's true. my grandfather was recruited by the st. louis cardinals prior to WWII. my cousin rob was a tremendous basketball player and now coaches at urbana university. eric's sister stacy is being recruited out of groveport to play college volleyball. all of the other cousins have shown an enormous propensity toward athleticism. it's pretty cool.

so anyways, here are my kids with one of their heroes. they have many, but i'm pretty sure eric ranks right up there at the top.

random thoughts on a sunday evening

• what is the filmy residue that builds up on the inside of the front windshield of my car? does anyone else have this?



• i heard the song "rock of ages" by def leppard a little while ago on xm radio. it reminds me of you, d.j. owens.



• i would like to create a web site just for people who can't sleep in the middle of the night. that way, insomniacs (or people who are just plain full of anxiety) can log on, chat, and know they're not alone.



• ian has started referring to his genitals as his "willy wonkas". i have no idea where that came from. he usually just refers to them as his "boys".



• have any of you seen the "coming home" series on ESPN that's hosted by rick reilly? excellent show. i've seen it twice, and both times, rick has featured christians: kurt warner and josh hamilton. leo wants me to email rick and see if he'll do a special on chuck ealey.



• my kids are currently dancing/jumping up and down on my bed while watching zac efron sing "lady's choice" from the movie hairspray. zac is awfully cute, if i do say so myself.



• philip burguieres is one of my heroes.



• when my sisters and i were little, our father would make us be quiet during the opening themes of tv shows so he could tape them on his tape recorder. i can still remember him shushing us and holding the white, rectangular microphone up to the television. (he only did this during the 1970s.) my personal favorites are here, here, here, and here. in the 1980s, i fell in love with this, this, and the best tv opening of all time: this.
  


• have you ever had a paranormal/ghostly experience? i have smelled my grandmother's cigarette smoke a few times since she died in 1991.
  


• true or false: "you can't control how you feel."
  


• what song do you have stuck in your head, right now?
  


• i love comments. leave some comments. nice comments.