Tammy is finally back in the seat of her new Ford Expedition. After just over 2 years in the Freestyle we have relented and gone back to the larger vehicle. This is a 2008. It's just like her 2003 with a couple new features like a sun roof, heated and cooled seats, a backup camera, and my favorite feature, an iPod line-in jack.
If you want any ideas for a birthday present for Tammy, I suggest a gas card.

Sometimes cats do the darnedest things. My cat does not like to drink water from a bowl even if I refill that bowl every day. She prefers to get her water straight from the tap.

While in Las Vegas for a Conference a co-worker won two tickets to see KÀ at the MGM theater. I quickly stepped up and volunteered to use the second ticket. I have wanted to see Cirque du Solei for several years. Three years ago I actually bought tickets for KÀ but was coerced to trade them in for David Copperfield tickets.

Brandon started work today as a paid referee at the local soccer association. Yes, that's right, he has a job. Last month, he decided he wanted to be a ref and went through the clinic to get certified. He can work as a linesman or as a referee for games of youngsters younger than he is. Today's came was between two teams of 10-year-olds. At one point he had a coach yell at him because of an offsides call. Welcome to the working world.

The presents are all opened. The parents get to read the directions while the kids are busy assembling. Later today there will be the sounds of video games and movies but for now things are quiet. We enjoyed hosting a small Christmas dinner last night after church. Now we look forward to a relaxing day. Merry Christmas.

Missy went to a conference/competition with her dance troupe in Houston over the weekend. It was a very interesting experience. The girls spend all day in classes learning new steps and how to chain them together. In the evenings they complete with dances they work on throughout the year. After a full weekend of this and a long drive to and from Houston she and mom were exhausted.

Katherine Isabella was born today at 12:33. She has blond hair and weighs 8lbs 5oz. Mom is doing great. They will get to go home in 48 hours.

I was out this morning in the back year and I spotted the steam rolling off the pool dancing in the sunlight. The pool is about 76 degrees and the air is about 40 degrees. I took a quick picture with my phone but it does not really show the beauty. The pool is heated via a solar panel that keeps it warm about 9 months of the year.

For Tammy's birthday this year we orchestrated a surprise dinner. The surprise was that her two sisters flew in for the weekend. Together with her parents and some friends we conspired to get her to the restaurant on time on Friday. Her birthday is still a couple weeks away. She walked in to the dining room and was naturally surprised to see us all there. She initially did not realize it strange to see everyone. It took here a second to process who was actually there and what it took to get them there.

I had a little run in with a manhole last night. I was turning from Abram street onto Oak street in Arlington when I heard a very bad sound (technical term). The pitch of the engine changed, my dashboard beeped at me and showed the oil warning light. I was only a block from my destination so I drove on and parked. When I got out, my suspicions were confirmed, I was loosing all my oil.