cieran taking full advantage of the bunk beds that were in our hotel room. this may be one of the few times in cieran most likely short-statured life where she will easily be able to touch the ceiling. 
September 18, 2008
Daily Photo 9/18/2008
September 17, 2008
Daily Photo 9/17/2008
at tuna harbor park just south of the SS Midway they have a huge sculpture depicting the famous photograph shown in life magazine of the sailor kissing the nurse on V-J Day in Times Square.
September 16, 2008
Daily Photo 9/16/2008
before we came home after the marine graduation we stopped in fashion valley. one of the more fru-fru malls in the area. where the security guards zip around on seg ways. we even saw him getting on the elevator…going down.
September 15, 2008
Daily Photo 9/15/2008
- American Idol WATCH OUT!
cieran and i will, at times, speak into imaginary microphones to each other. sort of like we are interviewing the other. we don’t use any props. we just make a fist and talk into it. while we were camping in our good seats waiting for the graduation to begin my sister broke out the playdo. i had caine make a microphone with it. cieran took, stood on the seat and begin to belt out the most beautiful song i have ever heard. i didn’t understand one word of it…not one. but it was still one of the cutest things i have ever seen. it wasn’t until after her singing was all over that caine said i should have video-ed it. wow, thanks caine. seeing it live on video would be the only thing that would make this any cuter!
September 12, 2008
list of 100 (more like 60 but whatever!)
my list of things to do has gotten stagnant. no movement. no change. get off your A$$ and do something, dang it!
he’s a marine now
so as of last week, my nephew is a full-fledged official marine. OORAH! the family travelled the short distance to san diego to be a part of family day and the graduation. we all had a great time seeing josh in person for the first time since june. most everyone got too much sun, cursed the humidity, and enjoyed the trip.
the crowd
there were 500+ graduates in josh’s company. which equals a lot of people. before on-base liberty on family day they tease you with short glimpses of our new marine. at the beginning and end of their 5.5 motivational run, which we were assured was a piece of cake for them at this point. but as we learned early on with the marines…there is a whole bunch of hurry up and waiting going on. which with a soon to be 3 year old can be a trial for everyone. so we all pitched in to keep her comfortable, happy & semi-quiet. grandma’s attempt was a lip gloss bribe.
i don't think the label proclaiming that it tastes good means that it's edible. but whatever!
the boys on the other hand had other ideas on how to pass the time.
their naps didn’t last long before they were asked nicely to sit the hell up before they were made to give them 20!
part of the waiting included on lessons of the Yes Sir, No Sir and Aye Aye Sir kind. the master drill instructor (lesson #1–they hate being called drill sgts) hyped the crowd by getting everyone whooping and hollering competitively pitting the families of each platoon against the other platoons. behind us was a “woman” who i think could have outyelled even the master DI. every time she added her voice to the crowd cieran would look back at her with confusion in her eyes. the woman was obviously female but her yelling voice was 100% male. which complimented my high pitched squeals that i tried to pass of as yells!
Daily Photo 9/12/2008
- Seal Tour, San Diego, CA
drive around and then boat around san diego. one of these days i’m gonna do this. caine and i almost did last san diego trip. but i balked at the near 30 buck fee per person. but this remains to be on my list!
September 11, 2008
century house museum
my mom is planning a wedding for a co-worker. she’s getting married in the garden of a historic house in town. we all took advantage of the cool weather that morning to go with her.
Dad, Mom & Cieran taking the main path into the garden
along with native cactus, green trees and bushes, and grass they have birds in cages throughout the garden paths. they have 2 very large peacocks that scared cieran and caused her to run for protection.
Cieran making a run from the screaming peacocks.
September 10, 2008
mountain climbers
while in san diego last week we stayed at a hotel in mission valley that was backed up to a mountain (smaller than mountain but bigger than a hill). so during some down time caine and kevin thought it was a good idea to climb the concrete drain structure coming down the side. going up proved to be much easier than coming down.
Proud of themselve that they are at the top. But now how do they get down? (Kevin on the left; Caine on the right.)
they literally spent a good 5 minutes discussing what technique would get them down safest. I heard 1) slide on your but; 2) slide on your butt down the concrete water diverter; 3) turn around backwards and hold on to walk down.
each and every person had a different “perfect” solution to getting down. and after each suggestion one of them would say “why are they up there?”…i have to admit that i was the supervising adult at the time of the climb and it didn’t seem like that big of a deal until they were up at the top…very high up at the top. finally they both used their own way to get down…mostly incorporating the just go for it technique while trying to keep their speeds under control.
Caine's dismount.
