Future best friends

Ethan is two months older than Chase, but our little guy is still terrified of his Vegas cousin.

Quote of the day

"Let's move to an apartment with a gym. I think if a group of girl scouts wanted my wallet, they could easily get it."
- Ryan Earl Roe

Heading to Aggieland

I'm headed off to Utah and I have made several plans for my trip. 1. I will devour the coconut shrimp tacos at Cafe Rio. 2. I will relish a ham and funeral potato meal at Juniper Takeout. 3. I will feast on a dish of my choice at Le Nonne (everything is good there). 4. I will consume a burger and raspberry shake at LaBeau's in Bear Lake. 5. I will make a trip back to Cafe Rio for a pork burrito or salad. 6. I will ingest that creamy chicken and mushroom fajita thing at that Mexican restaurant in the old train station (the name has already slipped from my mind). 7. I will maybe stop over at Firehouse and get my chicken cordon bleu pasta on. 8. I will enjoy a scoop of Aggie Ice Cream!

Just kidding family, my plans with you are more important than my plans for my stomach. And I probably won't eat all of this food. But I'm still super excited for all the culinary pleasures ;) that Cache Valley offers!

Friends

Our longtime friends and fiercest Speed Scrabble competitors, Kipp and Ashlee, are selling security systems (Do you feel that your home is unsafe? Click here and leave a comment.) in the Baltimore area so we get to see them often. Last weekend, we visited Baltimore with them. This week, they came and toured the Jefferson Memorial and the Holocaust Museum. We love hanging out with them. Ethan and Ryan are posing for the camera in the Baltimore harbor and Kipp is ready to bomb someone.
Kipp touching the sky surrounding the Washington Monument.
Remember that rare black squirrel I spotted at the National Cathedral? Well there's an albino one near the Jefferson Memorial.

Please help our little McKay

Our nephew McKay is a miracle child and a blessing in the lives of everyone around him. For detailed information about McKay (and a chance to cry your eyes out), click here.

This is from his Web site, Miracles for McKay:

McKay Roe teaches us everyday and continually reminds us of that which is most important. For not being able to speak, McKay has an uncanny ability to always draw attention to his beautiful blue eyes calm expressions, and the magical gift of life. He is such a sweet boy and has a special influence on all who meet him.

McKay was born with a severe medical condition wherein a brain malformation has caused cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, seizures, hearing loss, cortical blindness and other physical disabilities. He does not talk, has never cried, but will randomly coo. He is fully dependent on others for his personal care and is confined to a wheelchair. McKay lives at home with his mom, dad, two brothers, and a sister.

This year, McKay celebrates his 8^th birthday. Due to his growth and physical development, his needs are becoming greater. He is growing out of his car seat and his wheelchair is too heavy for his mom to lift in and out of a vehicle. As friends, we have noticed the family’s need of a handicap accessible van which, due to high expense, is a purchase difficult for them to acquire alone. It is our goal to raise enough money to help this family afford what has become to them a necessity, a full size handicap accessible van. McKay and his family all deserve this miracle.

If you are interested in donating, please send to:

Davis Education Foundation
Miracles for McKay Fund
PO Box 588 Farmington, UT
84025-0588

All cash and check donations to the
Davis Education Foundation
must specify the
Miracles for McKay Fund.

Lauding the little

The upside to spending 12 hours a day every day with someone who poops his pants is that small things are magnified. Things that are so simple to do every day, like say, turning off the light or saying the word, "please," are crowning achievements for our little guy. We have become praisers. "Good job, Ethan," is uttered probably more than 50 times a day in our house. I get excited when he zips up a zipper or gets his shoe halfway on his foot. Or when he points out a big truck.

The only problem is that when I am with people taller than 2 1/2 feet, I forget that these tasks may not be so monumental. Like last week when I pointed an airplane in the sky out to Ryan and he muttered, "Yeah, an airplane. Thanks." Or last night when Ryan turned the switch on the lamp and I exclaimed, "Good job!" and had to hold myself back from clapping.

I heart the Olympics!

I got so into the gymnastics Olympic trials on t.v. this evening that I teared up while watching some of the routines. (OK, so I also sort of cried watching a weird preview of American Gladiators and I have never seen that show, nor intend to ever watch it, so crazy hormones may be partially to blame for my emotional gymnastics-viewing experience).

I can't wait for the Olympics. And I decided that the U.S. and the rest of the world are in serious need of some wins right now - even if they come only in sports.