Memorial Day Weekend....

It was great. Thanks to Loe and Amber who took time out of their busy schedules to spend time with us. We met them at the Atavan concert on Saturday. (The concert was great. Christian said that Teddy was off his game. I didn't notice. I figure if he was off his game it was because his brother was flying in that weekend. I know that would make me off my game. Of course I spend most of my time off a little anyway!!)

Anyway, the girls spent the weekend. I was so happy about that. Loe has the most beautiful little doggie and the three kids took Gizmo to a park. Apparently they also found a hill to roll down as they were covered with grass when they made it home. They also purchased crayons and coloring books and chalk. It was soooo much fun watching them color and play. I did participate, but was a little sad because I guess I'd assumed I'd do stuff like this with my grandchildren in Michigan instead of two college students. But, life is good. We also watched Monsters, Inc.

I love that movie. Matthew adores the little girl in it. Probably because she's so darn cute!!! Afterward we went to Buffalo Wild Wings where none of us had wings!!! It's been since Matt's birthday in 2005 that I've eaten there. It was good....yummy wrap.

There was a bonfire for Teddy's brother, Jeph, that Christian invited the girls to. They, in turn, invited Tyler. I objected. I knew what kind of fit Christian would throw. And I was right. At midnight Christian called me to complain that I allowed Tyler to go. Let me state for the record that I didn't think it would be a good idea. However, Lauren explained that she doesn't drink and she would like to have Tyler hang out with her. I'm a sucker for that kinda logic. Even if I know that my 23-year-old is gonna be pissed. LOL

The next morning was strange. I probably would have had a break down had it not been for Lauren. I mean that sincerely. If not for her then poor Matthew would have gotten a phone call from me at 4:30 am his time. Again.

Jami said that we could go to the fair with her and the girls. Tyler and I could go. With her, Christian and the girls. I was so excited.

But first I had to drop Christian off at her house. I couldn't wait outside while they got ready. Heaven forbid I'm allowed to wait inside. Nope. I was only allowed to drop him off. When I said to Christian that that seemed weird since I was going to come back to follow them to the fair he got mad at me. And yelled something about he's just concerned about him seeing the girls so he's not going to argue about me with Jami. Fine.

I met the girls and Tyler at Starbucks. No sooner had we purchased our drinks when Christian called and said I could come over. So I packed Tyler into my car and drove back over to Jami's. Tyler played with Cammie while I held Caitlin.

We went to the fair and I was so excited. I've been in Michigan since May 8th and have spent two-one hours visits with the girls as well as two visits that were a bit longer. I had imagined that we would spend a couple of hours at least. We let Cammie ride about four rides then Jami said it was time for them to go. So Christian, Jami and the girls left us. After spending a total of 45 minutes with us. I could hardly contain myself.

I figure that it's fine. Tyler's flying into Omaha tonight. I wanted to stay here so I could spend some time with the kids. I know that's not going to happen, though. Not a chance. So I'm making plans for other things. And I'm counting down the days until I get back to Paradise.


~deb

Long time no talk.

Alrighty, then. Long time, I know. I've had little time to do this, so sorry. So, lemme run you through this Memorial Day Weekend.

So, we drove from Pennsylvania (As some of my friends say, "The American State where the vampires live.") on Thursday, getting in late; about 10 or so. We come home, Jared just woke up, and we just lazily move about the apartment; we run for food we don't even eat. Yay!

Now, mom passes out about 11 or so, I stay till 1, then am too tired to do anything. Even eat. Yeah, a Skirmont too tired to even eat. I was wooooooorn out.

We get up the next morning, Chris is back and all of us just stay hanging out till it's time to go. I call people, talk to them for a few hours. Now, it's time to go; mom and I drive to Tedbeatzs' house and I help them put everything into their van and the PT Cruiser. I ride with Atavan and Tedbward the III's friend, Mikey. We go, stopping at a gas station for drinks and food, when Tedbeazy gets back in with my Coke, I'm talking to friends. He inquires about all of them ("Inquire" meaning, "asking if they were hot and how he wants to meet them all").

We get in the car, listening to whatever they were in the mood for; Four Years' Strong, Panic!, Everclear, etc. We go out and have a fun drive, cracking jokes, making Tedbheazy smell everyone's shoes to find out whose feet smell the worst. Stuff kids do.

We eventually get to the venue, which is an Internet Cafe, and are three hours early. My God. Three hours. So, Mikey and I get pizza, they mess up our order, but we say nothing and eat it. We go back out, and Radio Pirate DJ show up, we all say hi, talk, socialize. The other bands start showing up, Our Movie Star, Green Light Go, and Storms In May. Continuing to do the same, I go in and see if I can help anywhere; RPDJ enlist me to help carry stuff in and set up stuff for them.

Abby (Josh LaFave, singer/guitarist to RPDJ) shows up and freaks out that I'm there and runs and gives me a bear hug. Her friends do the same, and all ask when I leave. Abby sees if my mom is still here. She sees her and is happy, more on her in a bit.

I hang out with Amandajoy {Atalove}, CJ, Loe and Amber the whole night, with a few people coming back and forth. I go up front for Atavan, most of the are sick. Joe is so sick he can't sing, Chris is just able to, and Josh is just getting over being sick. Tedbizzle is wearing the coolest shorts in the world. Seriously.

They wait for the sound system, Joe and Tedbenis to get set up and ready. So, killing time, Josh and Chris start talking, cracking jokes and got the crowd to cheer for Tedbigger to take off his shirt. Abby said I should I should take off my shirt as well. Tedbilliam's playing pretty much naked now. He is wasted right now, you can tell, he was off his game.

So, they play and have different people to come in and sing for Joe. They end, and RPDJ [For whom, this was their last show ever. :'( ] set up and play, what they said, was the best show of their career. And, I hope for them, it was. So, we talk to different people, I end up talking to LaFave and Abby all night about different things, and mom and I drive home. Again, by the time I get home, I'm too tired to eat anything, I just stay up a little while and go to bed.

I wake up and Amber is sleeping in the living room and Chris is on the La-Z-Boi, with Loe is in the van with her dog. So, we wait for everyone to get up, and the girls are together. The girls have nothing to do today, and offer me to hang out with them; I accept. We drive to Panera Bread and have a late breakfast, and then drive around town, finding a park we take the dog for a walk and get the muse to get coloring books and crayons. We drive to a dollar store to get the coloring books, and they have no crayons there. Seriously. No crayons. Crazy, huh? Yup, truly. So, we go to Mejer and get the crayons and street chalk. We come back and start to color, mom eats and will join us in a bit. The girls and I go out front and draw a smiley face with "Welcome 2 Hell" written around it, with hearts above it.

So, we go out to dinner, Buffalo Wild Wings, and we come home. We don't know what we're doing tonight, so we just come back and wait for a call. Chris invites us to a bonfire at Tedbigger's house. We call Joe to show us the way, and we meet up at Meijer and drive to Teddy's house.

It's a long night, with a lot of stuff that happened. Too much stuff, but let me give you a quick rundown. I meet people (all of whom think I'm Chris' OLDER brother), carry Tedbeazy to his bed (he says "'Peace', the king says, 'Peace.'"), Joe almost gets into a fight, and Joe and I play Pretty, Pretty Princess.

I get a ride from Joe (Chris and the girls had to stay at Ted's house for several reasons) to the house at like, 3:30 or 3:40, and I crash when I get to the house.

I wake up, everyone is here. They're all back, the girls and I go get coffee and mom and I drive back to the house, the girls go back to K-Zoo. We get a call from Chris, Jami wants us to go with them to the fair.

We show up at Jami's house and I play with Cammie for a little bit, while Chris gets Caitlin in the car, and Cammie has stuff all over her shirt so she has to get a new shirt. She gets one and Chris yells at me for not bringing Cam, but I can't really grab her and him to put her in the carseat with out a shirt, can I?

While we are heading into the parking, someone cusses at Chris right into the window, he goes berserk and tells their supervisor, who screams at them. It was brilliant.

So, we get going. We go to the fair for an hour with Chris, Jami and the girls. They have to leave, and mom and I stick around for a while, doing other stuff there.

We came home and watched Lost. Still watching it actually. So, yeah.

That was our weekend.

Gonna watch Lost.

<3>

Pennsylvania

We visited Aunt Sue, Aunt Collen, Uncle Kelly, and Granny Netty.



.....


'Nuff said.

CD reviews for Atavan and Sing It Loud

Atavan/Sing It Loud EPs Review
Category: Music

Okay, so I'll do both as it is. I'm just lazy, and don't want to work hard. So, here we go...

Atavan '...With The World Asleep'

From the slow, minute long opening to the original crowd favorite "Bodyfire" you can tell these kids (The oldest is 23) know what they're doing better than most mature bands. The song hasn't changed much, mainly just tighter overall, with a better bassline, provided by new bassist Joe Marks. Then, in the next song, 'Don't Touch,' you can hear the sound that will be more resonating throughout the rest of the four songs. Dual harmonies from Josh Goof (Vocals/guitars) and Marks. Providing a more hooky bridge, and a more mature sound than a lot of bands have nowadays. After 'Don't Touch,' the next song, 'This Won't Stop,' a Jimmy Eat World/Hawthorne Heights match up, is perhaps the weakest song on the EP, but the chorus will be caught in your head for days. When 'Sleepwell' starts, with the opening line, "I'll take a chance on this silent city," you're kind of wondering just how quiet Detroit can be, but the chorus, will leave you wondering just how badly she screwed him over and he is still this nice to her. The next song, 'L & T Are Keeping US Together,' starts with a drum/guitar opening, and is easily seen as a strong first single, even having a whole crowd singing it back to Goff at the first show they played it. The programmed bridge is the highlight of that song, with the breakdown right after giving anyone who listens goosebumps. Singing, "Wrap your legs around this misunderstanding," the band give the perfect back drop to a single. The opening to 'The Shakedown', a synthesized voice singing, 'Closer to me, closer to me' gives you the first bit of dance in the song, which is filled. The rest of the song seems like the best song any of them can write or play. If this EP doesn't make you dance, cry or want to love whomever your with all in the same song, then you have no emotions.
5/5
Sounds like:
-Panic! At The Disco's "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out"
-Cobra Starship's "Viva La Cobra"
-The Red Jumpsuit Appartus's "Don't You Fake It"


Sing It Loud EP (Epitaph)

The first chords played and Pat (Vocals/guitar) singing his words over the backdrop provided by the band, give you a hooky mix of All Time Low and Motion City Soundtrack. Doing dual vocals between Pat and Kieren (guitar), the band's catchy keys and muted guitared verses, leading up to the large, hooky choruses. The lyrics are just as unique and original as the music. The addition of 'Bite Your Lip' was a pleasant surprise to older fans, but the leaving out of the best part of the song, is a disappointment. But, the EP is consistently good.

4/5
Sounds like:

-Motion City Soundtrack's "Commit This To Memory"

-All Time Low's "So Wrong, It's Right"

-Farewell's "Isn't This Supposed To Be Fun???"

How this week has been

Wow. A week. Maybe more? Really? Huh. Okay, so, yeah. Anyway, here's what we've done.
Last Friday, Chris, Jared and I were going to take Joe to a concert to see the bands and hang out. It was, Farewell, Every Avenue, Hit The Lights (headliners), and, the ones I wanted to see, Sing It Loud. I wanted to see Pat Brown (Singer/guitar, Sing It Loud) a close family friend. That day, though, I didn't know if I'd be going. Chris and mom had...a....disagreement. We almost left that day, so we just drove around for a while and then got to talk to Chris in a public place and decided to stay till Sunday.

So, we get on the road. Joe and I sing along to Panic! At The Disco, talk about rap, and just stuff like that. We get there, and looking around for SIL's van we wait only a few seconds then they show up. Pat Brown jumps out and gives Chris a hug, and then after my brother says who I am, Pat exclaims and gives a bear hug. We talk for a few minutes and he gets to business, Every Avenue took all the spots for free admittance. XP

So, I help carry some stuff in and then go wait in line with Anna, the girl I hung out with at the
Atavan show, and her friends. We talk music and everything that comes to mind. We pay to get in, and we just walk around the skatepark and look around. Eventually sitting down while the first band goes up and plays. They really suck, some local band. It was amazing that they were that bad.

So, the next band goes just, the Swellers, a really good pop-oriented punk band. Like, a happy Bayside. (Look it up)

Now, it's time for Sing It Loud, and they were without a doubt the best ones who played. The songs were all hit amazingly and they had so much energy. Next, Farewell played. A little to sugary for me. Like, way to sugary, even for me.

After Farewell, local Michigan boys, Every Avenue, play. They start out their set with a chant of "Michigan" and they have a high energy set. They were perhaps the third bets of the night. Now the headliners, Hit The Lights, a pop-punk band, played. It was like we weren't watching a pop-punk band, more like a punk band. They were a lot like Comeback Kid on stage.

So, after the show, I say bye to a few bands I had been talking to, Anna and them left during HTL, and I wait by the SIL van, while Chris got a game plan. SIL came back with us to Chris' house and stayed the night with us. Mom was ecstatic when I told her on the phone.

They come back to the house, and we stay up for a while and just talk. Me, mainly with Nate (bass) and Ben (keys), and Chris with Pat.

I went to bed when we were all too tired to keep going.

When I woke up, Nate was walking around in his underwear and no one but Ben was up. My mom, Nate, Ben and I talked while we waited for everyone to get up. Nate did some work outs, I added some, and Ben talked on his phone with people. They had the attention span to keep talking to us and wake people up. As people started waking up, Chris (drums), their tour manager, and Kieren (guitar), Pat was the last to get up. They left after a while, and Drummer Chris and I talked about surfing and how the band needs to come out to Hawaii, which they were all on board for.

So, we wait to go for a day, and leave on Sunday at 10. The drive was loooooooooong. A lot of construction. Like, a lot. We had to take a detour in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

After hours upon hours, we get to Aunt Suz's and Uncle Kelly's house. We have a quick night. I slept on the couch and mom with Aunt Sue in her bed, Uncle Kelly had to work that night.

We wake up, Uncle Kelly comes home. Him and Aunt Sue talk about what she has to do at the hospital, which took four hours, and Uncle Kelly watches the news and asks me about how Chris (my brother, this time) is.

Uncle Kelly, Trystan and I play games that night and watch American Gladiators. When, the girls came home they bring root beer floats. We pig out and go to bed.

Yeah. That's been it. Now, I dunno what we're doing today.

Yup. I'll keep you posted.

<3
Ty

Its been a week!!

Okay, over a week has gone by and it seems like forever. Its just me and Belle. And if you think a dog cannot make you feel guilty, well guess again. And for those of you who know Belle, she can do it with a single look or gesture. It sounds like Ty and Mom are having fun and there is probably more ahead. Enjoy the road....miss you guys. matthew (dad) xo

Last Night

Soooo....it's been a busy few days. I've been doing a lot of stuff. Let's see, hanging out with random members of Atavan, staying up playing games every night till 3, watching Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air and drinking coffee at past midnight.

Last night was the best night so far. Joe (bass/vocals, Atavan) picked me and Chris up for a band meeting. We met up with Josh (vocals/guitar, Atavan) and a few girls at a place where Rosewood (Yes, the same Rosewood from Atavan's CD release party) was playing an acoustic set in a coffee house. We watch them, made cat calls, and Joe went outside to smoke and I went to hang out with him outside (since he knows I don't smoke he just talks and will take a puff every few minutes). One of the girls followed us out and smoked, also.

After that, we said by to the girls and went to their meeting. We saw Justin, who made advances on Chris, Alex came in at that point, starting to feel up and hump Josh and Joe, and went close to Chris and licked his ear. At this point, Chris made an obscene comment involving his penis.

They sat down talked business, I walked to the bathroom and talked to a few of the rappers playing there that night for a few minutes, no one even noticed I had left. Anyway, then Justin tried to kill me with his water bottle, truly. He almost killed me, I walked by him and he shot it, it went right past my head.

So, Josh, Joe, Chris and I saw the girls at a intersection light (we said things like, "Oh, dance off!" and "How much is it? It's Ty's 18th birthday.") Josh and I started walking down to his car, and I got a ride from him to the diner. We had a nice talk involving music, girls and how Michigan sucks and the guys in Atavan should move to Hawaii and that I should teach him how to surf.

We came up to the diner and saw the girls (yet, again, but this time, the girls were saying that they were going to marry me or Chris, depending on how much we talked to them). I got up to the bathroom and Joe took my seat. So, I came back and sat on his lap and started to play with his nipples, which made him say that I was like a younger, sexier Christian.

We had a bunch of coffee, did so much and didn't get kicked out, had random conversations, and then went outside at around one. We hung out in the parking lot, more smoking from everyone except for Josh and I, and did many things that mothers should not know about.

Yes. That was last night.
It was awesome, and I found out a lot of things.

<3
Ty

A few hours with the 3Cs....

Jami invited Tyler and me to her house yesterday to spend some quality time with the kids.

It was amazing. We'd not been able to spend much time there previously just because life sometimes does that. Saturday was the CD release party and Jami's mom's birthday (Happy Birthday to you!). Sunday was Mother's Day and Jami had had plans with her family for that day. I don't remember Monday. Does anyone out there know what I did Monday? :)

Anyway, back to the most beautiful children in the world...

What I find most amazing is how friendly they are. I did not expect any of them to actually want to snuggle or anything for a while. I was so wrong. Caitlin let me hold her and carry her the first night I met her, which was Thursday. Cameran was so funny when I saw her again on Friday and she beat all that yesterday. I was stunned when cute Christian (Christian the younger. Can't call him little, he's a man of six now!) assured me that he could remember me from the Ronald McDonald house. That was December 2006. However, I'm convinced because he told me I cursed. I know, I know, I have the mouth of a sailor...but how does my six-year-old grandson remember that? I know I'm going to be in trouble with Matthew now.... *sigh*

Back to yesterday's scene of the crime...One of the best memories I have of yesterday is Cameran jumping in (not-so-cute) Christian's arms when he walked through the door. She said, ever so softly, before she snuggled his neck, "I've missed you." Besides hearing her say, "Daddy" which always gives me goosebumps, this was amazing to hear.

She has always been such a Daddy's girl. Even when she was a baby she would roll all over the floor to get to him. Before that Jami would tell me that Cammie would arch her back and yell for Christian to get her. So funny. So very endearing. Especially for this Nonni

Her language is amazing. Keep in mind that the last time I saw her she could not hold up her head. That was when she was 16 months old and had just been diagnosed with her cancer. At that point, however, she was doing better than when she'd just been diagnosed, at which point she had the physical abilities of a two-week-old. When Matthew saw her, about a year ago, she was barely pulling herself up on furniture. I think when he saw her she was getting more chemo, but may have been just the IVIG treatment. Either way, she was moving, but not running as a typical almost-two-year-old. So, hearing her laugh, watching her run, seeing her climb trees, all of which she did yesterday, that was all a pure miracle to me. I will never cease to give thanks for the miracle that is my first granddaughter.

As for Caitling...ah...perfection. I'm not sure if it is because she's the third child, or just her personality, but she is so charming. She is absolutely willing to be adored but will allow you to show her books and she'll demonstrate such an ability for mimicking that it is extraordinary. She is just starting to really talk. I need to work with Tyler to have him teach her how to say Nonn. Christian the elder taught Tyler how to talk...so I think it's only fair that Ty teach his niece how to speak.

I always tell Jami that the girls look like me, but in reality I think that Caitlin is such a beautiful mix of both parents. She has exotic almond-shaped eyes that are a chestnut brown. She has beautiful blonde hair just like her daddy and grandpa Normie had at that age. It is even curly like theirs was. I have to ask Rin if Normie had a curl on the back of his head....Her complexion is pure peaches and cream...much like her daddy's was. Too bad she also has his ginormous hands, LOL. Big old hands on a little bitty girl. My hope is that she can grow into them. That will make her about 6'4" and only 11 months old....hm....perhaps I should rethink that? =>

Cute Christian showed me his garden yesterday. Tomatoes, zucchini, parsley, basil, just to name a few. I took some photos of the plants with Christian. He was so proud of everything...and has a right to be proud!

If you look at the photos you'll see a beautiful woman with blonde hair in some of the photos. That is Jami's great aunt Kay. Extraordinary woman. She helps with the kids. Not sure how she manages all that energy.... I adore this woman. She and I took the girls for a walk and it was so wonderful. I really enjoy talking to her. She is truly one of the most intelligent women I know. I hope I am as wise as she is when I grow up.

Ok...let's see. I could go on and on. But I should shower. It's almost 11 am and I smell. Josh, Joe, Jared, Tyler and Christian were up last night playing music and the X-Box so I had a hard time falling asleep. Of course they're all still alseep so this may be my only chance for the shower. I should really grab opportunity while it knocks.

love,
deb

Atavan Show

Okay, so it's a few days late. I can finally get on for longer than twenty minutes. So, this is finally being put up. Sue me.

Last night was the reason that we came out.

The Atavan CD release party. It was amazing.

Hanging out before and during the show, mom worked the merch table while I hung out with a few kids I met through Atavan’s facebook. All the kids were killer.

We met everyone’s parents. Joe’s mom and dad, Josh’s mom and dad.....It was awesome! XD

So, the music.

The first few acts were okay, Rosewood and Our Film Star. Rosewood was an acoustic act, and Our Film Star was Cartel, just not catchy. Next was Radio Pirate DJ, who was amazing. They had an energetic set, and killed the crowd. After them was Forever In A Day. Not quite as good as RPDJ, but still catchy and energetic.

After the, silence fell and the stage was being set up. You know what’s coming.

Chris, Josh, Joe and Tedb (or Tedbizzle or Tedbeat or Tedbigger or Tedward the 3rd or Penis, for some reason) hit the stage and started with Don’t Touch. They powered through all six songs (and one acoustic song, which Josh did solo and was amazing), jumping around and the songs were all amazing. Joe and Chris were jumping around the stage. It was as if they had no cords, running throughout the stage and egging the crowd on.

After the show, I got CDs, shirts and stuff. We hung out with the bands, and just was having fun. Josh and I were so hungry we almost left just to get food.

Anyway, we did that, made some friends and told the singer to RPDJ and his fiancée to look us up next time they’re in Hawaii.

All in all, very fun night.

Hope to get you all CDs soon and I gotta go. Watching a movie, and that’s why this wasn’t as random or as funny.

<3
Ty

Happy Mother's Day!

I am sad that I cannot show my appreciation for Deborah as a mother on this day. However, I am very very happy that she is able to spend this day with her boys. That is where she belongs today, taking it easy enjoying a vacation with both of them. We love you and glad that you are in all of our lives. Never doubt your mothering abilities.........

The Show....10 May

I wish I were there for the screaming crowds and energizing atmosphere of Atavan's CD release concert. I only know that it went fantastic; mom and Tyler will fill us in on details when they get a chance. Great job boys!!!

Eating

Okay, so we're currently in Parnera Bread and my laptop is online finally. After two days, I can check my MySpace.
Thank God. So, what was I supposed to say? Oh, yeah, how the trip is. So, I guess I'll start from the second flight on?

Anyway, so, the second flight from LAX to Detriot was....more annoying. I don't know how they pulled it off, but they did it. My hat's off to the people. The lady we talked to out front was cool, but then we boarded the plane. And, it descended into a quasi-hell.

The lady next to me was unresponsive. Which, in my not-so-humble opinion, is more annoying than not wanting to get up for you. It made me mad. Because, again, I had to pee badly (I had a soda, a huge water and a coffee/espresso thing). So, a four hour flight of needing to pee, but not peeing made me mad. Next, we fly in ten minutes AHEAD of when we were told by the pilot that we were going to fly in, which was ten minutes before we were supposed to. So, we're TWENTY mintues ahead of schedule. Yay! And, they all rejoiced....prematurely. We sit in the plane for thirty-five minutes, just to move the plane twelve inches. Which, if everyone got off the plane and pushed could've taken only ten minutes. All the while my bladder is telling me, "I'll kill you if you don't empty me!"

Fun.

So, we get off the plane, get our baggage, which the tram to the claim was louder than Hawaii and Japan put together. Including the Americans overseas. We get our baggage and off to the car rental! Yay!

We find the place for the rental shuttles, we're at the end of the line. No coat, carrying our bags. Fun. We wait, this awesome dude calls for us to get our shuttle and it arrives. We go there, find a map and get to Waterford, now, we call Chris. And get directions.

Yeah. Bad idea.

On out to Waterford is easy. We make it in about thirty minutes, at least. Call up Chris and get lost. Driving past the same street maybe, a good....ten times.

We call Chris and have him give us directions on the phone. We get there, and go in. Joe and Jared help us in. Joe and Jared are the coolest dudes on the entire planet. Next to me, of course.

Joe is just killer overall. Fun to hang out with and talk to. Jared is funny and always has to insert his opinion. Pretty much, like a Skirmont.

Then, Jami and Caitlin come over. Caitlin is the coolest baby. Jami is like Joe. Just without a penis. I think. I dunno, I didn't ask to look.

So, Jared, Chris and I (Chris took Joe to work before now) get the bright idea to go get some food. It's 11 at night. Awesome. So, we run out and grab food to cook, Hamburger Helper, and the reason Chris said, "Because, microwaving something is cheap, and I want to make a nice dinner." Really.

We get back, Jami leaves and we eat. Watching Superbad, Chris and I pass out.

I wake up and Joe is looking over at me, obviously I was doing something amusing because he was laughing at something. So, him and I talk, I tell him I was play Rampage and Jared never played it before. Joe makes a slightly rude hand gesture in Jared's direction and we start talking about music. We end up talking about Comeback Kid, and I whip out my laptop and show him the pics I had of that show.

He has to go home and Chris and Jared drop him off on the way to work. Mom and i have all day.

I'll finish this later. Maybe tonight at Jami's. Anyway, gotta eat and go.

To be continued...

What was I thinking?

I think the last time I had a great idea like this I joined the Marine Corps. And we all know how well that turned out. :) Seriously, I started doubting this great plan that Tyler, Matthew and I had cooked up about an hour before we were to leave for the airport.

Before that it seemed like a good idea. Me, the boy and a rental car for 30 days on the mainland. What's not to love?

When Belle (the dog) started hanging her head (like she does anytime she sees a suitcase) I started thinking this plan through. Truly, if the dog recognizes it's not a great idea, how much longer will it take me to make the same realization? Apparently a few minutes.

I begged Matthew to not make me go. He started talking about the money and blah blah blah. Seriously. That's all I heard after he opened his mouth.

So I boarded the plane leaving paradise for points East. Cold points East. Very cold points, I might add.

Tyler mentioned the person who was our aisle mate. Yeah, whatever, Tyler. Your bladder, blah, blah, blah. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I had to sit between the two. On one side of me is a person with no sense of personal space. And that wasn't even the person in the aisle to whom I'd given birth! This guy touched me more intimately than anyone has a right to...ugh. And, as soon as I'd nod off Tyler would have to tell me one more important thing about some band thingy or something. Or tell me how great the book he was reading was.

I love the guy, but we have four weeks of him passing on this information. On the plane I want to sleep. (Keep in mind we boarded at 10 pm., flew at 10:25 pm and my bedtime is 8 pm. Give or take two hours.)


sigh. Four more weeks. Four. More. Weeks.

deb

(P.S., from Ty, okay, I'll stop talking about my bladder today, if you don't mention your's either!)

Okay, so we're on our way. We're sitting in a deli/Burger King/Starbucks. Yeah, weird, I know. Get a koscher sandwich, a heartattack inducing burger and a shot of espresso all at once. Yum! THAT'S a breakfast!

Anyway, where was I?

Oh, yeah, the flight was good. I guess.

The back of the plane, literally, the back. Like, no seats behind us and we couldn't lay down. You know how uncomfortable that is to sleep? So, we have a guy in the row in front of us take our pillows. Alright, to be truthful we offered them up for sacrifice. Semantics.Next, the guy at the end of the row was asleep almost the entire time and if he wasn't asleep, he wasn't getting up for no one but himself. So, I have a God knows how long airplane flight of water, Dr. Pepper and now a Caramel Espresso Frappiccino in my bladder. I think my bladder will explode soon, but oh well.

It wasn't too bad. I read the first quarter of my new book, Percy Jackson and The Battle of the Labyrinth; listened to Circa Survive, Coheed and Cambria and Glassjaw; tried to watch a movie I got bored with; wrote some lyrics and STILL had a couple of hours to go. So, it wasn't too bad. Just long, and not being able to pee made it that much longer. Isn't being able to pee like somewhere in the Constitution? Like, the first amendment? Your know isn't, "All men are allowed to do their God-given right to pee whenever they want" somewhere in there?

Okay, I know I keep going on about not being able to pee, but you know what? Dr. Pepper, water and a Caramel Espresso Frappiccino does that to you! Anyway, we're just in LAX and wanted to give you an update.

So, yeaaaaaaaaaaah. Off to go exercise the first amendment!
Love,Ty, pee-er extraordinaire.

We're Off!

Deborah and Tyler start their trek eastward. We're having fun now!