Baby Girl!

I keep forgetting that most people don't visit the maternity blog, so I'll post it here too. It's another girl! Obviously, we would have been happy with a boy as well, as long as he was healthy - but a girl is great! Won't have to cram 3 boys and a dog in one room, we have girl clothes around, MaraJade will have a sister (whether she likes it or not), and it's balanced!

Joe Edward Flanagan 3/1/1930-9/4/2009

My Grandpa Joe - my mom's dad and whose name Mace has as one of his middles - passed away September 4 after a long battle with emphysema, pneumonia and such.

From the Seattle Times:

Joe E. FLANAGAN Joe left us on Sept. 4, 2009. He was a retired beer truck driver, avid bowler and horse race fan. He is survived by wife Arlene; sons Eddie (Delsie), Kevin & Tim (Heidi) Flanagan; daughters Linda (John) Burrell, Jolene Warden and was predeceased by Kyle Kochel. He also left sisters Emma (Carl) Soderberg, Helen Thomas and brother Ray (Lois) Flanagan, many grand and great-grandchildren. Come celebrate Joe's life with us on Sun. Sept. 20 at the Mt. Baker Comm. Club, 2811 Mt. Rainier Drive S., Seattle, WA 98144 at 1:00 p.m. We'll share memories, stories and food.

Maceism of the Day - 9/17/09

So I'm at Toys R Us with all the kids to buy the boys some Legos. Everyone's wandering around, looking at the various items. There's one of those displays in a case, with some Legos assembled & looking super cool. A boy, maybe 6 years old, is completely enthralled with the display, calling down the aisle to his mom about how cool they are and so on. Mace comes up next to him to see, and so the boy turns his enthusiasm on him - like any friendly kid would. After a few seconds, Mace says, "Hello?! You're talking to a stranger!" The boy immediately shuts down and says, "Oh. Yeah," and goes back to looking at the display, now completely silent.

Oh Safety Town - your influence lives on.

Losing your mind...

happens so slowly, you just sort of don't notice it. Not until that final straw lands and you go over the edge. Sometimes it does so slowly, drifting down and falling softly onto the pile of similarly harmless-looking straws, all of which are deceptively suffocating. Other times, it's that last giant stick that comes crashing down on your little teepee of sticks and straws and obliterates your carefully-constructed cage. Either way, when the fog clears a little, you're left in the same condition - with one little hand waving weakly out the top of the mountain.

"Your grammar is a measure of your character"

Perfect!!

Thought this was kind of interesting....

As I was posting the beach pictures, one of MaraJade kept reminding me of something, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I remembered, and found this picture of me at the beach. I must be 2-4? Anyway, thought it was fun.

Summer Fun - Benson Lake - July 2009

What do you do when it's over 100 degrees and you just can't take another day in your boiling house? You go driving around, trying to find a place to cool off. We found Benson Lake, where I'd been a few years ago with some church friends and the boys.

It was really nice - places for everyone to sit with shade, shallow, silty water for a long way out, very nice.

Monster chose to hang out with me on the towel and eat most of the time

Mace as Harry Potter