Should 18-year-olds vote?

We celebrated Nick's 18th birthday on Friday.

Nothing like a brother to help you party on...

Becca is a party animal, too. Cute boys. Well... maybe I should say crazy boys.

Nick brought his good friend, Chris, to his birthday dinner at the Texas Roadhouse Grill. They have the best prime rib ever! We are glad that Chris could join us.

Happy Birthday, Nick! We love you!

Really now . . . I have serious doubts about the age we consider our kids adults. I think they are too young at 18 to have the responsibility of voting, being on their own, getting married, and especially fighting our wars. Why do we push them out so early? Maybe we should let them hang around until they are 20 - no longer in the "teens" before bestowing all of the responsibilities of the adult world - let them get a couple of years of college under their belts and experience life other than high school before turning them totally loose. We don't let them legally drink until they are 21...

Riding the Birthday Saddle . . . Yee Haawwwww!

After the birthday dinner, Nick went to work with Allen and experienced what it is like to be in a jail. I think it really opened his eyes. The next day, poor Nick had the flu! He barfed all day long. What a way to spend your first Saturday after starting school! We were pretty worried about him and almost took him to the emergency room to get hydrated but he rallied in the evening and started keeping liquids down. He laid low on Sunday and drank lots of Gatorade and sprite. Today he was all better, thank goodness!

First Day of School

So... today was the first day of school for Becca and Nick. Becca is happy to be a Sophomore. She is lovin' high school. I can't believe she is this old. Nick is a Senior and is excited to get out of school early each day because he already has enough credits.

At Cordova, where I work, we did not have students until Tuesday. Mr. Gunn, our principal, has a tradition of serving cookies and milk after the first day of school for the teachers. They can sit around and talk about their day.

Mr. Coey and Dr. Griffith enjoyed their cookies! (so did Mr. Chavez there in the back...)

I find it interesting that every year our office is FULL of students that don't get picked up after school those first few days. The Primary school actually had little ones there until almost 6:30. (our office closes at 4:30) They get out at 2:30. What's with the parents, anyway?? It reminds me of the time I forgot to pick up my second grader, Becca, on an early release day. I went at the normal time and she was sitting out on the curb all by herself. I felt so bad! I don't know why she didn't go in and have the office call me. Maybe it was her timid nature. I always had a hard time remembering that on Tuesdays she got out early.

Anyway, we are now into the routine of seminary, band practice and school! No more sleeping in at our house...

Mermaid or Whale?

Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said:

¨THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?

A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern:

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans).. They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barren Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don’t exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don’t have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore they don’t have kids either. Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a hot chocolate with my friends. With time we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren’t heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, ¨Good gosh, look how smart I am…¨

BTW: We just joined LA Fitness :)