Part I: Family
We just had :ethan: and :noah:'s birthday parties. It was a good time, with food, fun and play for everyone. Good stuff.

:ethan: has been growing by leaps and bounds in the last few weeks. He's quite verbal - sure, we don't know what he's saying, but it's out there, and he's quite emphatic about some of it. That's good in some ways, but when he gets angry.... well, you know how that can go.

He also like to play games. Lots of them. :jen: and I both wear glasses, which Ethan finds fascinating. He likes to play a game that we call "Glasses" and it's this: at every chance possible, he tries to grab them off our faces. Usually this is not well received, but he seems to think that the game is fun enough that if we give it a try, we may like it. He couldn't be more wrong.

He also likes to play "Throw", which usually involves him laying on the ground and then throwing a toy. If he's _sitting_ then it's no big deal, we just have to retrieve the toy in question and give it back to him. When he's _laying_, then gravity becomes a factor and it just starts to get ugly - what comes up must come down.....

The boys are having their birthday party this coming weekend. Since :noah: is on the 10th, and :ethan: is on the 8th, we're splitting the difference and doing them both on the 9th. It should be the same as every other year: burgers, dogs, beer, and swimming - you can't beat a recipe that works.

:emma: is doing very well, and has become quite a book worm. I'm rather proud of that fact, especially since as a third grader in the fall she's going in reading quite above the level that they're expecting of her. I'm also a little proud of the fact that at the age of 8 1/2, she's able to read multiple books at once (i.e. read one book one night, then another the next, and keep track of the multiple story lines). I don't encourage this in her since it takes longer for her to read things, but she seems to like it, and I think it's a great skill for later life (like having to deal with 6 hours of homework a night when she's older).

:abby: is doing quite well, attitude not-withstanding. She spends some time being all sugar and spice, and then she's just hell on wheels times. She's just so much fun to deal with sometimes.....

Part II: Work
We had a scheduled power outtage over the weekend. We (my supervisor and myself) spent a good chunk of Friday preparing for the worst case scenario, up to and including unplugging entire computer labs to prevent any possible spikes damaging computers. It was worth it in the end, however now I am faced with the crucial servers that I came in early to check on not being available since part of the network is just offline. Fun.

Aside from that, work has been amazingly good. I don't hate my job, and I don't mind going to work in the morning. Sure, it's got it's ups and downs, but I think that so far - and remember, I haven't even been here a year yet - this is the best. Job. Ever.

There's not much else - so I'll just save this now and finally post it, over a week after I started to write it....