Brother...

Travis, or as we affectionately call him "Brother".

In our home the names have been changed to protect the innocent, although there really are no innocent as we are all guilty of something at sometime... Our Brother is quiet a peculiar character. To the naked eye he would appear to be somewhat of a "hermit" but take a closer look and you'll see this boy has his finger on the pulse of all that is cool (at least to him). He knows more about technology, music, geography, history and current events than anyone else I know. Inside the soul of this man is the boy that wore the very same smile he does today, he is quick to smile, quick to forgive, never complains and loyal to the end. I have always said that there isn't an animal or baby that doesn't love Travis and after all aren't they the best judges of character on the planet??
Brother loves shopping at Vintage clothing stores and Thrift stores and on a recent trip spotted this Tshirt. Days later Michael Jackson died and he couldn't resist going back to get it. I mean really, how many of us even come across Michael Jackson Tshirts in our day to day journeys??
I was surprised to find out that when you look up the word ROUTINE in the dictionary it did not have a picture of Brother next to it. Although if you look closely, definition 4 does have his name in it:

rou⋅tine

–noun

1.	a customary or regular course of procedure.

2.	commonplace tasks, chores, or duties as must be done regularly or at specified intervals; typical or everyday activity: the routine of an office.

3.	regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure.

4.	an unvarying and constantly repeated formula, as of speech or action; convenient or predictable response: Don't give me that brotherly-love routine!

He is as grounded in his routine as the Pope in his religion. Don't mess with the routine and no one gets hurt.

Recently Brother posted "5 Facts" about himself on You Tube, we loved watching his video and were a little surprised at his facts:
1) I have never broken a bone- taken many bad falls but never broken a bone.
2) I LOVE MILK! I drink at least 2 sometimes 3 BIG glasses a day.
3) I LOVE Soccer, I played for alot of years as a kid and love everything about the sport.
4) I Love Roller coasters!
5) I LOVE Star Wars, everything about it!

So, as you can see, this man-boy is a pure, simple soul. What you see is not always what you get- simple on the outside but very complex on the inside.
We love our Brother, after all he is the world's best boy!

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Near Tragedy at the Mud Volcanoes

On a recent trip to visit Jessica and Travis' relatives in Niland, we were told about "The Mud Volcanoes" just outside of town. So on our way out of town we decided to take a trip out there to see them.... Well as usual Mama-ratzzi was snapping pictures left and right. Makenna in front of the bubbling pool of mud, all of the kids in front of the slightly spewing volcano. It was pretty facinating actually and all of us were quiet intrigued... until dun, da dun (morbid piano sound).... I stepped in the exact spot Makenna had been standing in, she was now on the other side of the bubbling pool and posing for a picture and WHOOSH!!! Down I go, straight down, up to my knees in the thickest mud you've ever seen. And I could NOT move my legs at all!! At that same time she goes running at the speed of light into the desert screaming "mommy's going to die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" while covering her ears! Oh my god, I was laughing so hard I thought I'd pee my pants, which didn't help in trying to get my legs free. Not to mention I was also trying to grip onto my $125 flip flops that I was not ready to leave behind! Well Jessica and Travis came over and were trying to help me out but at the same time couldn't get too close or they'd also go down into the mud... I managed to get out once I was willing to give up the shoes! BUMMER! Well, just as soon as I was freed from the mud, down goes Jessica! Luckily for her, her sandals were strapped onto her feet! Now we had to calm Makenna down, convince her that this was as funny as it really was and that NO ONE WAS IN ANY DANGER. Then with over 3 hours of driving ahead of us we needed to find somewhere to wash off all this mud. Thank God the gas station in town had 2 water faucets in back and we were able to get cleaned up. The pictures just dont show how so very funny all this was! All Travis could say was "Well now we know that Makenna isn't good in stressful situations."

Summer Solstice 2009

Ahhhhh the first day of summer!! As a kid I think the only day that out does this one is Christmas, but since that is still 6 months away it's like Christmas in June!! After about 40 days of gloom we had a glorious day of blue skies which translates to FILL THE POOL! Today was also Father's Day so we did honor those that raised us but for the most part it was a day of relaxing, enjoying the company and good food! Makenna spent the day with her dad but the second she got home it was time for a swim- in her undies! Jessica still has our towel and her bathing suit in the car from our waterpark trip last week so it was Skivvy Swimming for Makenna- she's not shy so it was all good.
Last year I asked Makenna these questions and thought it would be fun to ask her them again this year. Here are her answers.
Q. What 3 wishes would you ask if you had a Genie in a bottle?
A. A million chocolate bars, more stuffed Lambs and blankies.
Q. What is something you'd like to do that your not allowed to do?
A. Go skiing
Q. What Superhero power do you wish you had?
A. to make things dissapear, including myself.
Q. How do you know that Mommy loves you?
A. when she gives me hugs and kisses.
Q. What is your very favorite thing to do with Mommy?
A. Go to the mall.
I may need to change the questions next year because I think these may be too corny for her...they seemed funnier last year when I asked her.....Happy Summer!!!