Sad & Lonely

Erin has abandoned me for her studies.....




Battlecat abandoned me for Erin......

.... and my TV abandoned me at the repair shop for the hands of a random thief. If I had a picture of this particular act, I'd have turned it over to the police....

So what does a man do with no wife, dog, or TV? Laundry..... and cleaning the kitchen.

I went to see D Webb.... yet again

I was checking out Derek Webb dot com one day and saw that he was going to be back in Houston in November (this was like 4 months ago that I realized this...) and I swore with an oath that I would attend his show......

Anyway - Thanksgiving came, and we had Joshnita and Lynn in town. They came in on Tuesday night... on Wed. Erin had us slaving away in the backyard working on the patio while she was at school....after Erin got done with school and we decided to go to Galveston and Kemah since Lynn hadn't been. While everyone was showering etc I decided it was high time I got a haircut.... on my way to great clips I decided.... why not support a local business.... over the next hour I discovered why I don't.... I had the worst haircut experience of my life to date... and I'm too traumatized to say anymore about it.....

So we went to Galveston and walked on the beach and then went to the Aquarium in Kemah.... which seems to be the only restaurant we take people to..... on Thursday we chilled at the house... Lynn made the most amazing stuffing from scratch and we pretty much just cooked and worked in the backyard for most of the day. We had Jason, Julia, Eli, Jason's parents, and Tank & Trolley over for dinner (that's 8 adults, 1 baby, and 3 canines for those of you scoring at home.) We had dinner in between football games... and I consoled myself with Pumpkin Pie while to Broncos decided to suck.....

On Friday Joshnita and I hit Circuit City at 5 AM then went over to the Home Depot... then we came back and took a nap. After I got up I demonstrated true husbandly humility and service by taking Erin to JoAnn's Crafts......After we ate breakfast (biscuits and gravy) we all piled into the Jeep for a trip to Katy Mills..... a gigantic outlet mall (my Mom and I once spent 12 hrs there.... we rule)... we looked at cowboy boots with Lynn..... most of the boots I saw were $300 plus..... it's not easy to be a cowboy

Erin and her Dad, Lynn

Joshnita, Lynn, and Erin at the Aquarium.

I took the Utahns to the airport 'round about 5:45 AM..... then I picked up my friend Hieu (who was in China for an international management course) that evening.... in between the Utes blew it on the football field... I was expecting them to get destroyed.... so the fact that they threw the game with dumb penalties and dumber defense on the last possession doesn't make me too sad.... I really thought we'd get punked by 30.....

D Webb full circle: When Hieu and I got back to my place (Hieu left his truck here while he was gone) he mentioned a concert on Sunday night..... I had to repent in dust and ashes for not remembering the D Webb bonanza......

So Sunday, Hieu and I went with Becca (from Kaleo/small group) and her friend Sally (who is Egyptian and was in a classic rock chick cover band)......

When we arrived at the show I discovered that it was not really D Webb... but a whole host of fine fellows.....part of Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God Tour...... (speaking of which... definitely buy that CD)

Andrew Peterson came out first and played the title track off his album Far Country (thanks to ginodean.net for getting me into this guy!) and then the following folks walked onto the stage:

D Webb, Sandra McCracken, Andrew Osenga, Randall Goodgame, Jill Phillips, and Andrew Gullahorn (Please check out www.squarepegalliance.com to listen to some of their tunes and www.squarepegalliance.net for bootlegs etc) Everyone took turns playing some of their original things.... I had no idea that Goodgame had written so much of the new Caedmon's Call album (Share the Well), he and Peterson just came out with a children's album called Slugs and Bugs and Lullabies and they played a really funny song about a bear that Randall wrote for his son. The best song by far was written by Andy Gullahorn......He's married to Jill Phillips... which I didn't know until she got up with him and talked about their kids..... but he starts out telling a story of how he used to be a real man living on a farm in Austin, TX and shooting birds with a shotgun - trying to get them to land on a chair.....then he said something like... after being married ten years I've discovered that marriage is about the feminization of man... and that made me depressed so I wrote a song about it.... The song was really funny and actually pointed he was singing about how most of the 'manly' things we do are really expressions of loneliness.... but the last line of the song reallyhit home.

He sang about how when he was a real man he used to watch Jean Claude Van Dam killing guys, and now that he's married he just lays in bed with his wife and watches Gilmore Girls on DVD....

Corey and I used to watch Steven Segall flicks (no matter how bad they sucked artistically)..... my dad and brothers and I would watch Van Dam.... and now..... after almost 3 yrs of marriage.... I am a Gilmore Fan.... and I own all the DVDs....

After an hour or so of hearing some original tunes, they all came back out with a ton of other folks making up the percussion section and played straight through Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God which was just awesome..... if you are some place where you can catch this tour you definitely should.... best $7 I've ever spent on a show ( I think the RBF show that Jonathan, Sarah, Erin and I went to was more than $7).

Oh... one last update for any Brewer's Blues alumns who'd like to e-commiserate: I'm playing on an outdoor soccer league at the local Young Men's Christian Association (7 v 7 - short field). My team (The Free Agents) is composed of players who weren't already on a team..... as you can imagine we rule..... the league is co-ed and we've only had a woman show up once so we usually play a man down... and have only had one sub for the two games we played a man down.... today we got owned 6-1.... I played the first half in the field... and the second half in goal.....it made me think of the good ol' days (before Ethan and Craig tore ligaments in their legs..... so I think this is circa ginodean.net sporting a Utah Rugby t-shirt) when we weren't so organized and would get drubbed...... I miss those days... it's always easier to handle a good butt-kicking when you can discuss the loss at the Bayou over some sweet potato fries.....

All for now

DYNAMO!!!!!!

This weekend Erin and I went to Ft. Worth for Jason Brewer's Wedding.... Jason was my roommate in Seattle! We stayed with Brandy (Battlecat met Daisy) and since we were in town, we went to the MLS Cup Final.... the 2nd overtime period was amazing, and we were sitting in the Houston Supporters section..... people were crazy.... flags everywhere... orange gas...... just nuts.... what an amazing experience. The Dynamo won for those who don't know.... and if you are looking for some entertaining soccer discussion.... you have to check out www.mlsnet.com and listen to MLS Radio.... Jimmy Conrad is incredibly funny to listen to... and most of the players that come on the show are quite candid in their responses.....


In addition to attending the MLS Cup Final... Erin and I would like to announce that we are adopting a girl!

We've been trying to find a sister for Battlecat for over 6 months.... and the perfect girl has become available for adoption. Bluebell is currently being fostered by a family in SLC... and she is going to fly back with us after Christmas to meet her new sister!

(Bluebell is in the middle)

Other than that, Erin and I are looking forward to the arrival of Lynn and Joshnita for Thanksgiving. Erin is at the beginning of the long road leading to her final basic sciences exam on Dec. 15th..... she is studying all the time and always needs prayer.... Erin learned how to do some of the more 'uncomfortable' examinations one might receive at a physical recently in school.... I'm so proud of her....

I'm sure I'll post again sometime soon...

Erin went to Utah for the weekend....

Something is weird with the blog formatting..... all my links have disappeared....here's hoping a quick post will fix that....

Erin went to Amy's wedding shower this weekend in Utah and she took the above picture.
It's a picture of my little brother sporting a toilet paper wedding dress... word on the street is that some video exists of a few other men in similar attire, but I've been threatened with Cub Scout era photographs appearing on the internet if I put them up on the blog.

This weekend was also Jenny's Birthday so she and Richie were in SLC......

Because Erin was out of town.... Battlecat and I went on multiple walks, and I started watching Arrested Development.... Season 3 was $8 at Costco the other week..... I haven't seen the other seasons but I'm really enjoying Season 3.

I also went to see The Departed which was way intense...it's one of the first movies I've seen where I didn't want to slap Leonardo Dicaprio..... he was amazing in this film.

I also spent some quality time with the Matthews. Jason and Julia taught me a new card game by taking turns beating me in the card game..... I came to the realization that if I spent enough time at home watching tv I could destroy anyone on that new game show 1 vs 100..... and Jason and I batted around several suggestions for reinforcing the perimeter of his home. Possible ideas range from tacks on the fence, to a gorilla taking up residence in his backyard, to poison-tipped blow darts and fishing wire.....

That's all for this update...

Back in Houston.....

Behold.....ChristopherGinoDean.net modeling an old school leather Bronco helmet.....

I was on the campuses of CU, CSU, and WY last week for work, and the highlight was meeting Chris at the Denver Broncos store at the stadium! I picked up a hat with the really old logo (the horse not the D), a pacifier for our neighbor Abby G, and a collar for Battlecat so she can show the Broncos some love. Every time Abby G wears her Broncos onesie (pictured below)... they win.... so I figure maybe the pacifier can remind the Broncos not to suck....

Erin had this past weekend off of school as she had finished exams! To celebrate we cleaned one floor of our house and the main bathroom. Battlecat was quite sad as there were multiple vacuums running at the same time. We cleaned the fridge... the stove..... it was that kind of a weekend..... On Monday we did spend a little bit of time actually hanging out... so on our neighbors recommendation we went to see 'Little Miss Sunshine'. By the end of this feature I'd nearly wet myself..... so if you can deal with a foul-mouthed and seriously inappropriate grandpa.... then you'll probably dig this show.

This past weekend was also the National Desiring God Conference at Bethlehem Baptist Church. The topic: The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World. The audio can be found here:

http://www.desiringgod.org/

So far I've listened to Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and Voddie Baucham along with both Q&A sessions.... phenomenal.

Erin is back in school - so that's a bummer..... and Battlecat has runny poop which is a different form of bummer.

That is all for now.......

Please don't suck tonight Utes....

Battlecat buries a bone!

Battlecat explores an alternative to digging up our backyard.

Lake House/Layton/Exams

Lots of things have happened since the last post:

Battlecat discovered that water is not such a bad thing as she made her first ever trip into a body of water (other than our bathtub). She really wanted to eat a duck... but alas ducks are wise to these types of things. Battlecat roamed the backyard of the lakehouse freely and played with Tank & Trolley - she came when called (with two exceptions!) and discovered that one of her life's passions is chewing on blocks of wood!

Jason and I built a Deck.... Julia hung out with her main squeeze Eli, and Erin studied....

I went to the SLC this past week for work. When I finished with work, I got to hang out with many people. Here are some of the highlights:

I got to talk social activism and oil companies with E-Pac and his crew.
I had lunch with Sam and Jonathan Hays
I had dinner with Jonathan and Christina (who seems to love lil' Jon-Pow in spite of his recent fashion/facial hair salute to 3rd World Refugees)
I went to O2: J-Rad brought the Word, and I got to see many friends who I've missed dearly
After O2: Went over the Jonathan and Sarah's (w/ Jonathan/Christina/J-Rad) We watched old Salt Co skits on DVD, and Stella licked me when I tried to kiss her... she was quite giggly.
I saw Sean and Rachael... Rachael was making some sort of pound puppy backpack.... so Sean and I retreated to the man cave for discussion.
I saw Chad and Sarah - we drank some coffee and had a really good discussion on Africa, Skid Row, etc.
I had breakfast @ Ruth's with my Dad, Joel, and Jonathan....Ruth's biscuits change my life and it was awesome to see my brothers at the same time.
I had lunch with my mom @ ZCMI center..... taco maker...mmmm....
I had dinner with my family and Juanita and Joshnita at TGI Fridays..... Josh drove.... and I have to say that he is a beautiful man and did a great job.
I hung out with my mom & dad all day Saturday!
I missed Erin the whole time..... and I missed Battlecat.

I'm back in Houston now... Kaleo had our first official meeting at our new meeting space.... The portable church crew did a sweet job and Bill is preaching through Ruth (you read that right....).

While I was gone Battlecat staked claim to much of the upstairs.... I've been taking her for walks and playing with her to tire her out... and once she falls asleep.... I will enlist the services of her arch nemesis - the vacuum cleaner and we will re-claim the upstairs space.

The next two weeks are going to be tough for us. Erin is taking exams which means she will be studying 24 hrs a day. Please pray for her strength and resilience that studying wouldn't overwhelm her and that I can be a servant to her especially over these next two weeks.

No New Song to Sing

Long time no post....

I just finished Blue Like Jazz....there's a lot I'd like to say about that book... I really enjoyed it, but I will save it for another post. Right now I just want to draw all readers attention to:
www.freederekwebb.com

Derek Webb is my all-time favorite artist, and his latest album: Mockingbird is available for free download. Derek is making the album available to the public to generate more dialogue regarding the issues raised. I encourage everyone to check it out.

A few of my favorite tunes on the record:

Mockingbird
Rich Young Ruler
A King and a Kingdom
My Enemies are Men Like Me

Erin and I are off to Julia's dad's lakehouse somewhere near Gun Barrel City, TX.....
This will be Battlecat's longest roadie, and a true test of her ability to listen as she will be off leash roaming the lake with Tank and Trolley.

Please check out the album - it's amazing... even if you think the music sucks.... listen to the lyrics.

Check this out

Hop on over to Chris Snow's blog and check out the Aug 16th entry if you get a chance.

http://csnow.blogspot.com/

Astros etc.

Last night Erin and I went to the Astros-Cubs game with our good friends the Matthews. It was their son Eli's first baseball game (he's a month old...). Clearly Brad Lidge didn't get the memo about it being Eli's first game and gave up a home run in the 9th (as is his custom)... and the Astros lost in 18. Follow the link to Jason & Julia's blog for some pictures.

Battlecat has gone completely insane recently...... I decided it would be a good plan to let her shred some of my old undershirts..... as it turns out... that was unwise. Battlecat has taken to running laps around our coffee table and she likes to put her paws on Erin's lap regardless of Erin's physical location (In Bed... Standing in the Living Room.... on a couch... in the bathroom).

Erin and I have a bad habit of starting long movies after 10PM... which automatically makes a movie suck, even if it could have been good had we viewed it at a normal hour... the resulting effect is that we now watch the Gilmore Girls pretty much exclusively when we have some free time to watch something.

Whatever longings Erin and I may have had for a child... our desires are now being met by two new additions to friends. Erin is spending Friday afternoons watching Abby G (our neighbors daughter), and we see Eli Matthews with some frequency.... I even hold Eli... although I'm still pretty clueless about what you do with a baby when they are awake and squiggly....

I am currently working on a plan to breed Battlecat with an Alpaca to create a race of 'Battlepacas' that will eventually become the dominant species on the planet.... for further info on alpacas visit: www.ilovealpacas.com

Back in School.... Back from Trips

Erin started school on Monday..... pardon me while I try to contain my excitement..... As you may have noticed... we've been absent from blogging lately. Here's why: Erin went to SLC after we got back from Belize and stayed there for the rest of the month. I had one week here with Battlecat.... alone..... one man cannot contain Battlecat. Jason & Julia had their baby! I went to SLC for a weekend visit, and then to the Canadian Rockies (eh) for a week long field course. Our neighbors Chris & Martha had their baby on Pioneer Day (that's the 24th o' July for you non-Utahns.....) they were elated to find out their baby was born on a state holiday! So.... Brandy is coming to visit us this weekend! We're going to a water park... I'm sure Erin and Brandy will sew something.... and we'll probably watch some Gilmore Girls. And now.... Pictures.

Aspen meets her new sister Allie

Erin and I went to the Red Iguana with some friends.... including: Amie and J-Rad

Rachael, Jonathan Hays, The Boom, Lazlo the Destroyer, Christina, Jon Pow

Destroyer, Christina, Jon-Pow, J-Rad, Amie

Two cute little llamas

SEAN... and Rachael

Bearded Lovin'

Pow!

Canada..... ain't it pretty

Banff

el oso

I was studying fold and thrust features.....

What type of fold is exposed here?

Self-Portrait.... Katy Wiest captured in the background

Bald Eagle

Banff... again

Belize It

Erin and I went to Belize for a week of vacation.... and it was awesome! We stayed at Ramon's Village, and spent most of our time in hammocks on the beach! For the first three days we were there we just chilled out on the beach. Our room was the top part of a thatched hut, and it had a mini fridge, and a microwave.... but no TV. At first the no TV through me for a loop, but it turned out to be really good. There were no distractions. Erin and I could just hang out. We played a lot of cards, and I've discovered that deep down inside of me lies a Rummy Champion waiting to be unleashed on the world.

The first tour we went on was to the national Belize Zoo and Cave tubing. The Belize Zoo was beautiful, and we had the tour guide all to ourselves. All the animals in the zoo are native to Belize, and in their natural habitat. It seemed like very few of the enclosures were artificial... it was almost as though they'd thrown up fences in random areas and whatever happened to be there during fence construction was what you saw. After the Zoo, we went out to a jungle resort for cave tubing. A river had cut through some limestone outcrop creating some spectacular caves...... and being a geo-geek I really liked it. We hiked for 30 min or so upstream with our intertubes and then floated the river. The river was high, and the water was really moving. At one point there was a fork in the river, and everyone else went one way andI got sucked the other direction where I was sure to be eaten by crocodiles..... somehow I managed to right myself, and caught up with the group... but it definitely wasn't pleasant for a few minutes.....

The next tour we went on was of some Mayan ruins called Lamanai'na which means 'submerged crocodile.' Because we were staying on an island (Ambergris Caye) we traveled by boat everywhere.... the total trip to Lamanai'na was ~3 hrs.... but the trip was beautiful. Our first time to the mainland on boat we saw dolphins, and what our guide claimed to be Tiger Woods yacht.....When we went to Lamanai'na we passed a huge Mennonite/Amish settlement...which was pretty sweet.....after an hour so up one particular river, it opened up into a beautiful lagoon and peaking above the trees you could make out the tallest temple. The ruins were really cool, and Erin and I climbed the tallest one.... unfortunately we had to go back down which is brutal since I have 'height issues.' Anyway, this temple was smaller than one we'd climbed at Chichen Itza on our honeymoon so I felt OK about it.

The next day we snorkeled and saw sharks, and sting rays, and a random assortment of colorful fish. Overall we had an amazing time in Belize. There was a couple on the island who ran a frozen custard shop which changed my life......they had pumpkin pie custard..... two scoops pumpkin pie + one scoop vanilla.... = thanksgiving any day of the year....

But I digress... After we got back from Belize we drove out to Beaumont to pick up a puppy for Erin to bring to Juanita.... the puppy - Aspen - and Battelcat got on quite well... I think Battelcat misses her. I miss Aspen's cuteness... but not her need to pee at 4 in the morning every night she was here!

And now: pictures

View from the plane

Corey Duncan and another monkey

Italy v Germany..... I only caught parts of it, and it caused me much angst

Erin and I: Self Portrait outside the caves

Ramon's from the pier

View from the High Temple at Lamanai'na

Erin snorkeling at Shark Ray Alley

Erin and I in are natural habitat

Ramon's by night

Battlecat and Aspen

Officially an MS2

After 11 months of classes, studying non-stop & tests—I have officially completed my first year of medical school! Now only 5 more months of Basic Science classes to go and then I will be on to Clinical training. It has been a very long year—I can still hardly believe it is really over. I am SO tired of studying! I am very much looking forward to this month to relax and try to recuperate a bit. Throughout God has been very gracious to me and Jake has been very understanding and patient, taking very good care of me! I have an enormous amount of information crammed into my head somewhere—I’m sure I don’t remember everything I am supposed to have learned, but hopefully I will remember enough that I can build on it during the clinical years.

This is a silly picture of Battlecat. During test weeks I pretty much sit on the futon for about 15 hours a day studying. It’s good and bad for Battlecat—she doesn’t have to be home alone, but she finds me frankly very boring. Lucky for her generally Jake comes home in the evenings to talk & play with her. However during my last week of tests Jake had to go out of town for work and so Battlecat had only boring me for company…and though we have very good neighbors with dogs that come and get Battlecat to play for a little while, by the end of the week she had had enough of not getting enough attention! As I was trying to study for my last test, she kept jumping up onto the chair I was sitting in…it was really funny though because she wouldn’t sit next to me even if I pushed her to the side…she kept sitting directly on top of me.

Jake & I just returned from vacation in Belize last night. We had a great time and will post some pictures and tell you about it soon. For now we must return to watching the World Cup Final!

Sadness

Erin called me at work today to see if I'd heard that the US has leveled against Ghana.... as I was asking her to explain how they scored she went silent..... then she told me that Ghana had been awarded a PK for no apparent reason... and I knew the US was finished.

When I got home from work guess what was waiting for me? My US Soccer Hat had arrived in the mail! I wore it as I watched the game on our DVR in disbelief..... I thought we were the better side against Italy, and I thought we were the better side against Ghana.... if Reyna doesn't jack his knee... then Dempsey's goal puts us up 1-0. If McBride was standing three feet in any direction, Beasley's goal puts us ahead against Italy....oh well.... I guess all the fair weather fans can go back to feigning an interest in the 768 game-long baseball season. There's still a lot that interests me in this cup..... and I guess I'm back to supporting Italia.....

Erin's first exam is tomorrow... she's been learning about parasites and random neurological disorders.....amongst other things. The other day I came upstairs and she was watching a lecture on various STD's which made me nauseous.

My Mom & Dad went to a family reunion this past weekend in OR for the Umbriaco side of the family. I was quite sad to miss it as I haven't seen many Umbriaco's lately. It's always nice to be around family....even family you've never met.

I've been thinking about this quote a lot lately:

“The gospel always comes to people in cultural robes. There is no such thing as a ‘pure’ gospel, isolated from culture”-- (David J. Bosch. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. 1991:297)

Specifically how this relates to Lord's Day Worship..... and contextualization of the Gospel in the way it's presented in song, Word, and sacrament....

I wonder if that statement is true. I suppose I'd need the full excerpt to really evaluate it but it has me thinking of this paradox: The Gospel is transcendent v the Gospel is imminent; The Gospel transcends culture v the Gospel is received in 'cultural robes.'

Where is the balance in that tension? Is it a cop-out to say that because the Gospel comes to us in cultural robes that there is no transcendent way of communicating it (I'm thinking here of the Lord's Day context)? Is it a cop-out to say that it really does come in cultural robes as though it were an unavoidable conclusion? And therefore the cultural robes limit the audience?

I think to some degree this 'contextualization' discussion (though profitable) has become a shelter for us to run to when we need things to make sense. When pragmatics overwhelms our faith in the Holy Spirit - contextualization becomes our friend. It makes us OK with the fact that we only reach people who look like we do, because our gospel is robed in our culture. It seems to me that Christ crucified means the same thing regardless of the time period in which it's received, and that Abraham believed God's promise concerning the Seed and that it was credited to him as righteousness is still the Gospel.... we all come to faith in the same way. I think the real 'contextualization of the Gospel' happens post conversion as the Spirit provides a context and lense for interpretation. I think there is a transcendent way to speak the Gospel to all mankind regardless of their culture..... and I'm sick of being bound by this 'I can only reach people like me mentality.'

Wasn't it the Christ who said 'Love your neighbor as yourself?' I don't recall any qualifiers in the Holy Writ regarding loving neighbors who you identify with culturally...... nor do I remember reading anything about it being more effective for neighbors of similar cultural identity to love each other. The Kingdom transcends culture. How are we announcing the Kingdom with this 'oh well... I don't identify so perhaps someone else can reach them more effectively' mentality?

Are the answers holy mysteries we're just not meant to grasp? I doubt it........ I think we've just lost sight of the Holy City and all our means of contextualization are referenced to the city that passes away.

Ps. 46
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

I'm not sure if this post will make much sense to the readers.... but it's late (12:45 AM) I'm trying to stay up with Erin tonight so she will have energy to study.....

This blog is brought to by the letter 'p.'

Happy Birthday Battlecat!

Sat. June 10th was Battlecat's 1st Birthday (and my 25th....),

We celebrated with new toys, tummy scratches, and long walks. We gave Battlecat a soccer ball toy with 4 ropes for tugging attached to the ball. The ball contained a noisemaker, so whenever she bit the center of it, an announcer's voice could be heard saying "He shoots.... He SCORES! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL" It's pretty awesome... any time Battlecat bit that part of the ball she'd freak out....she'd dance around and bark... and then as soon as the voice stopped, she went back to chewing the ball!

After we celebrated Battlecat's birthday, Erin and I went with some friends to Doneraki's. Doneraki's is a Mexican restaurant here in Houston. When I was here 3 yrs ago for an internship, my friend Hieu (on my right in the picture) and I would eat there all the time. It was close to where he lived, and the menu's stated that it is the "Most Authentic" Mexican Restaurant.... who can pass that up?

Anyway, we were all at the restaurant eating and hanging out... and this mariachi band comes out and starts playing for a large group near us in the restaurant..... after they are done playing... Hieu disappears to 'go to the bathroom.' Shortly after his return I was swarmed, and the next thing I new, I was wearing a sombrero and I had whip cream on my face from the spoonful of dessert the waiter served me... while I was still stunned from the donning of the 300 lb. sombrero.

We had a great time at the restaurant and then went back to our place for cake and ice cream. A couple others came over and we sat around and talked while Battlecat entertained all with wit, charm, and soccer ball.

Today Jason (also pictured above with his wife Julia) taught Battlecat to catch a tennis ball in her mouth. Battlecat's previous experience with balls mostly involves chewing them to pieces.... sometimes we'll throw it, and she'll go and pick it up.... but she never brings it back... she just gets bored and walks off..... but now we've got a new move to work on.

Erin has finals starting on Friday and then she's officially a 2nd Year Med Student!!!!!!!!!!

We're going to Belize for a week after she finishes and we're really excited. We're staying in an amazing hotel (www.ramons.com) and will post pictures of our trip sometime before December.

Other than that... I am freaking out about the World Cup.... tomorrow I'll be quite distracted in the morning.... go USA, and go Italia!

Joshnita

Joshnita and Erin
Kemah Boardwalk by night
Joshnita and Erin at the Aquarium
A view of the bay from the restaurant

The Code of a Superhero.....an exhibit at NASA

Seersuckers pictured here to commemorate the engagement of John Roberson.

Picturas

Mom, Dad, and I on the ferry to Kemah
Erin and I: Self-Portrait
Umbriaco's at the Aquarium
Longhorns outside of NASA
The International Space Station Mission Control Center
Proof that my mom likes Battlecat!