The squirrels in Athens are getting nervous. Visiting mom today, I set up a styrofoam plate in an Azalea bush and mom and I took target practice about 25 feet away. In the attached photo, shots 1, 2, and 3 are mine. Mom then fired the rest of the shots only missing the plate once! She was holding her arm out straight and also gripping the handle differently.

But here is the amazing thing. There is a cluster of three shots, #4, #6, and #7 that are all together! I was amazed that #4 and #6 were so close and then #7 went right through the middle of those two. I flipped the plate over for shots #8 and #9 (which I mislabeled 7 and 8.) So mom even had the closest shot to the center of the plate.

Now you know why the squirrels are nervous. Oh… and happy birthday Fiona!

Claire posted a long French paragraph on Facebook written to Kelly. She “used her head” to write it, and not a computer. I had to use Google Translate to understand what she had written.

What’s a father to do when his children start fighting in a foreign language… praise them or scold them?

Kathy and I drove downtown to join Ted and a couple of his workmates to celebrate Ted’s birthday. It was a gorgeous fall day. Ted gave us a tour of the bridge design floor. We got to see Jenny and her shrine to Austin. We also got to see Ted’s workspace, which looks like a next of paper, only instead of having an egg in the middle, it is Ted’s chair. In Ted’s defense, the place was not designed with paper in mind, especially the giant rolls of plans he has to reference. He probably needs to just take over more cube space like Jenny has done.

We walked to the Georgia Tech campus and had lunch at Juniors. It was mostly college kids rushing in and out for lunch. We all grabbed stools along the back bar, so it made for a good vantage point to watch all of the cooking and coming and going.

On Saturday, Kathy had an all day RCIA workshop, so the three girls and I drove up to Athens to help celebrate Ted’s birthday at Gramalie’s. I dropped Kelly and Gabrielle off downtown to shop at a craft fair going on, as well as walk around. They quickly ran into Nicole who was able to join them for the tour. Claire needed to study, so she stayed with me. I went by Grant and Jami’s temporary house, where Fiona and Michael showed me their new rats. Grant explained that he researched having rodents and decided rats were the smartest and wouldn’t bite like gerbils and mice. He picked out the big gray one (on the right) because it had “dumbo ears.” Michael got a brown and white one (on left.)

We all then headed over to Gramalie’s to watch the UGA Auburn game and enjoy a very pleasant afternoon and evening. At dinner, I noticed Ted was sitting with 7 girls. (Kelly’s friend Jessie had joined us) so I had to get a picture of that. Grant, Michael, and I ate at the counter. (Jami, like Kathy, was off on some mission.)

Ted chose a chocolate outside yellow inside cake, which mom made and was delicious. Ted explained he used to pick different cakes (like strawberry) since Dad would always get a c.o.y.i. two weeks earlier. Without Dad’s choice in play, the c.o.y.i. has moved up on Ted’s list. Perfectly delicious logic to me.

Carol (the thoughtful child) reminded us all that it was Mom and Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary. She Grant and Jami sent flowers. I called Mom pretty late Friday night. She was reading a book and “napping between pages.” She said she had a little display of her wedding album, wedding photo, and the flowers Carol Grant and Jami had sent her. I asked her to send me a picture of it, so she did. (Click to zoom.)

As the first born, this reminds me that I also have a 50th coming up.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Our plan was to meet at Danny’s mid-afternoon and then go to the airport to pick up Nicole returning to the Peace Corps. I drove from work. Kathy and Kelly drove from home. I got there early, so while sitting with Danny at his kitchen table, he got an email translation of a voicemail just left by Kelly on his cell phone. (Danny uses Google Voice to handle all of his voicemail.)

Now Kelly knows Danny does this and that Google will translate her voice message to text to send him. So she talks funny and even uses pig Latin to trick Google.

Somewhat exasperated, Danny reads the following out loud to me:

Hi if we Ian. Don’t you know I fit to get off that so if you need to call and tell us what exited to get off that house job her. Robert didn’t lose sweetie. 2 less okay doing drive in non 3 cross day. My name is Dan.

So he just called her back to find out they were looking for an exit number…. which they had already figured out. We all arrived over an hour-and-half before Nicole came up the escalator.

Play:

A nice fathers day morning that included a walk with Kathy and the dogs. I found over a dollars worth of change in the pool parking lot. Claire got up and cooked party pancakes and bacon. Danny wandered in from a night out with a “Happy Father’s Day Dad!” greeting… just in time for breakfast. Nicole called from some remote location in Armenia where she is participating in a recycle-training camp. She was in good spirits and will be hiking up a mountain with seven other volunteers mid-week. Only 8 more weekends in country!

There was a happy Father’s Day email from Gramalie to Bob, Grant, and I. Not sure she knows Ted got a happy father’s day card with a dog on the front from Katie and Austin.

Kelly got up with a bit of an upset stomach, possibly from the graduation party she and Claire attended with the Fadeley family. Granma Nimmo (Nancy’s mom) was there and bragged on how handsome and cute she always thought Kelly and Claire’s mom and dad were… how much she really liked them. Later they realized she was talking about Grandad and Gramalie, and there was much laughter with the family. (So that cute is you mom!)

After breakfast, I opened up some nice presents seen here. Kathy put together a photo collection from the beach to put in my office. Kelly picked out a new colorful, square coffee mug for my office. Danny got me the last Johnny Cash CD with a DVD along with some beers. And Claire made me a cool tie-dye T-shirt . She also made one for herself, Danny, and Kelly. And finally, I got some “fun-size” M&Ms and Baby Ruths.

For some reason, opening all of the presents had Kelly cracking up and almost unable to breathe. She’ll have to explain.

Then off to church for our LAST mass in the old church. New church gets dedicated Thursday. It is really nice. Kathy and I might have to have another wedding ceremony.

After Danny and I finish a Guinness and Sweetwater half-and-half, we’re all heading to see Toy Story 3.

Happy fathers day to all and to all a good night!

Claire’s Status: I love you mamma c! 🙂

Kathy C and 2 others like this.

Kelly: I love her more. #1 fan right here.

Claire: i made her laugh more this morning… score.

Kelly: no way, you missed when i brought her breakfast. she was laughing even harder, AND the first thing I did when I woke up this morning was make her laugh.

Like I do every day…

Claire: but she could barely breath when she read the MENU. and thats all she cares about. which i made all by myself.

so har har …

Kelly : Okay, you made her laugh once today, I usually make her laugh once every day of my life.

Soo… what does that mean?

It means I’m her #1 fan, as stated above.

Claire: i make her laugh everyday too. that cake thing will outdo your raft… one sharp object and its a goner.

Kelly: I was the one who picked out the cake thing….? An no you don’t. Remember when mom ranked you as the 3rd funniest child in the family?

Kelly: …and I was the 1st funniest.

Kathy: hahahahahaha!!!!!

18 minutes ago

Jeb: Thanks to all 4 kids for making Mom’s breakfast in bed routine one of the funnest ever! (Even Nicole was able to join in via Skype from Armenia.) I’m not sure she ever laughed so hard.

6 minutes ago

Kathy: Dad is right… this was one of the funnest Mother’s Day morning breakfasts in bed. I was tearing up alright, but it was tears from laughing so hard. How did I get so lucky to have 4 great kids? I know I didn’t do anything to deserve that blessing, so I am just thankful. I love you all!! xoxo

2 minutes ago

In Mom’s move, she and I went through a lot of old files to determine what needed to be shredded or kept. I figured any tax files older than 10 years were not needed. The box below holds old tax records and check registers, both sources for The Histories.

Several files were bound with decayed rubber bands. But the files wrapped with telephone cords were secure. (Zoom in and see center file.)

I also found this vintage John H. Harland company check register.

The Christmas Card project went like clockwork this year, although the clock showed 2 a.m. as I dropped off the cards at the post office. Everyone chimed in during ideation about what the card theme should be and how it should look. Even Nicole got in on the action thanks to her holiday visit from Armenia.

We left one item off the time line… Danny coached the boys St. John Neumann softball team to a victorious season. His mom and Claire both traded off as assistant coaches. It’s funny to hear young boys at church call him “coach.”

Notes on the card:
• The card originally started out as Santa’s Facebook page. Not sure when we switched to Baby Jesus.
• The scriptural quote is the same used in Linus’s soliloquy from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
• Linus’s post is 44 years ago because A Charlie Brown Christmas came out in 1965.
• The Joseph image is from a painting of Jesus, Joseph and Mary in the workshop.
• The Mary image is from the Mexican Lady of Guadalupe icon.
• Kelly and Claire came up with the idea of having the gifts, which is based on a Facebook feature.
• Christmas Story #1 is about us cutting down Christmas trees and Kathy laughing so hard.
• Bob helped identify the artist behind the Mary and Baby Jesus painting. Liz Lemon Swindle’s Be It Unto Me.
• The number who “like this” is based on the estimated number of Christians in the world, 2.1 billion.
• The “like this” icon was used on the mailing address label, next to the addressee.