I Couldn't Resist

"You're Rosalie - Image is important to you, you want to show off your best assets, and you have a lot of them- you think! You are also intelligent, which many people might not expect since you seem to be all about looking pretty. But deep down you're caring person that wants what most people in life desire: to be loved."

So I really couldn't pass this one up. I have to confess that in the past I have taken the Harry Potter "Which House Are You In" quiz . . . actually if we're being honest here I've taken it multiple times . . . to my dismay, and no matter how many times I re-took the quiz reciting the mantra "what would a Griffindor do?" Apparently, I am a Hufflepuff thru and thru. I was so dissappointed that I wasn't a Griffindor that until now, I remained silent about the results. When I took the Twilight quiz I was a little put-off by the results . . . Rosalie . . . really? There's nothing like a little reality check to make you think twice about your self-perception. Oh well, maybe it's time to start embracing who I really am, Rosalie or not . . . "deep down you are a caring person!??" I hope not too deep down!

The Tour Continues

Starting with the guest room, you will notice the bank of windows on two walls. This affords the best crosswind throughout the day and night. At night you are lulled to sleep by a constant soft wooshing sound. It is heavenly. All of you should stay in this room and enjoy. The strange photo of the computer is actually Pat's study done in a desert "fresh praline." The strange photo is because I wanted to show off these cool windows.





There are two bathrooms, but I forgot a picture of the master bath, but it is strangely the smallest bathroom. The main bath is long and lovely in beiges and white, with plently of magazines provided.


The master bedroom is a tropical green with the cutest furniture Pat and Jess found at a place called "Bali Agga," which imports furniture that is so exotic and beautiful. Everyone should stop in to look at this store when they come. Some of you will notice that Jessie and Emily have the same bedspread. Cool huh!!! Good taste runs in our family obviously.

The blue room is a haven the color of the sea and just waiting for more visitors than they have presently. So, I guess this means the Robinson clan should start planning the next full family get together at Pat and Jessies. I hear the Weiher's are coming for New Years, lucky them.

So, goodbye for Roy and Catherine from Waikiloa Village on the Big Island. We will miss the view from the porch, but mostly we will miss the warmth and love and fun of Pat and Jess, who we adore and miss sooooo much.

All Are Welcome!

Welcome Everyone!

Hi - I'm Catherine, Patrick's mom, and I'm guest blogging this week in order to introduce everyone to Pat and Jessie's new home. Get ready, cause you will see beauty, personality, and style. Oh.................I was talking about the new house. But of course, Jess and Pat have all that and more.zz

Jessie is hoping this porch soon will host a swinging chair or hammock. Patrick feels that this is structually a little shaky. To see who wins, tune in to future blogs. Further note: the master bedroom is the window farthest away and looks out over the valley and I think a hint of the sea.

Meet Alfred, the couch. He is comfy and luscious and accomodating to all shapes and sizes. Meet _____, the GIANT flat screen t. v. Names can be submitted to comments, cause let me tell you, this t. v. is a real presence and deserving of an appropriate name.

This is the new Pat. I'm not talking about the new kitchen table, but the new "Dry Dock Captain Patrick." During dry dock in order to be respected by the Old Salts at the harbor, Pat tries to look as rough and seasoned as possible. And for all of you who held dreams of "Captain Pat," it is "Captain Patrick or Robinson," also to increase respect and fear and trembling. Oh.....did you notice the adorable kitchen?

Well, this is just the start. Next blog...down the hall and to the bathrooms and bedrooms. See Ya Soon.

Okay, we were just missing everyone, the rumor is that Em and Josh are in California and it is just not fair that everyone gets to be together. This is a pitiful cry for comments...remember I'm lonely and besides my wife is to cute to deny!!!

New House

This tree has the prettiest flowers. It's outside the master bedroom window.

This is the backyard. It's HUGE!

I love this tree. It's right next to the garage.

Our little ocean view off the lanai, outside master bedroom.

The lanai.

Isn't this just the cutest kitchen? It's so bright!

More kitchen.

The front of the house, I couldn't figure out how to turn it.

Here's some pictures of our new house! We are sooooooo excited. Now we have plenty of room for everyone to come visit and be comfortable (hint hint). Love you all!

I know it has been way to long, but the real reason that I have seemingly left the face of the earth is because of the women in my life. Yes I did say women. To be exact there are actually four of the them, and just above is the biggest drama queen of them all. Sorry Jess. At 65 feet, she has devoured all of my time, thought and action, in a manor that is most befitting of her, she demanded it.
Even in the face of a hurricane, she still waddled out of the water, and as here full weight came to her, she sat down on her self and crushed both hulls. She only has to realize how truly massive she is every two years, and she was very clearly demonstrating that she was no more fond of it then I was. Not long after that we stepped her mast, and I found out that unbeknownst to me, that I could hold my breath for just over the two hours that it took to safely lay the 100 feet of aluminum and all included rigging on the ground at her feet.
Most of you know that my boating life started at 21, from a more then clean slate, and at 24 already a Captain and "Chief Engineer" (it still sounds silly), my seemingly upward moving career somewhere took a hard left and found me and my boat planted firmly on dry ground. It has been an interesting acclimation for me, and I think for Judi as well, (the owner of Ocean Sports.) She comes down every day just to check in, point me in the right direction, and to the right people. The thing that I find most interesting, is that every time I get dressed down by one of the mainstays in the yard, which inevitably happens two to three times daily, I always feel her floating that direction, listening intensely as if making sure that her dreams and visions have been placed in the right hands. I still don't know the answer to that question, and I don't think she does either.
I find myself in a land of men who have been doing their work twice as long as I have been alive, directing mostly older crew members, and leading around, welders, machinist, master glassers, fabricators, mechanics, harbor masters, electricians, painters, company owners, and all life long sailors explaining the ins and outs of my boat and exactly what I need and how we can figure out the best way to accomplish everything in a drastically short amount of time. Although overwhelming, I have figure out a trick, as soon as the boat is hauled out of its more welcomed surrounds, I stop shaving. By about the Fourth day I have just enough to call a beard, and it seems that I fit in a little better. Believe it or not it seems that a few of the real salt have taken a liking to me, although they would never admit and I would never point out, I think that they think of me as the next generation, a protege of sorts. Just as Judi I feel that they even without knowing are looking for the right people to carry on traditions and things held dear that reach back as far as time. Traditions that were built on the foundation of a need to find a place to belong. For some of us I guess that place must be the sea, or drydock, in our own turn.

Missing In Action

So . . . I should start with an apology that Pat and I have been missing in action for a few months now, but we're back, and determinded to keep in touch. We have both been so incredibly busy, me trying to adjust to having two jobs, and Pat having completed one "dry-dock" and having another coming up very soon. As many of you know we have also been on a serious house-hunt, hopefully will have some news about that very soon. The gist of it is that we miss you all so incredibly, and I vow to get better at blogging and keeping in touch.
The only free time that I've had in the recent weeks has been devoted to Harry Potter (to Pat's dismay), but I have been sooo into it. I just finished Deathly Hallows the night before last and of course I loved it. I have been sneaking peeks every few days at Angie and Catherine's blogs, I know I am sooooo lame for not commenting, but I have been loving them. I promise to go back through and add all my comments now that things have calmed down a bit in my life.
I posted this picutre of my sister and I last year when it snowed in California . . . in March. Amazing but true. It has been seriously hot here . . . I've been dreaming of wearing a parka and playing in snow, and this picture always makes me happy.
I love and miss you all, and I won't let it be this long again.

Triathalon Pictures

Some of the professional pictures taken at the triathalon I did are up on the internet. I still haven't rounded up my friends pictures yet, as soon as I do I'll put them on the blog. But if you want to see some good action shots go to hawaiiphotoman.com - then click on events by date, 2007 races, Kukio Challenge respectively. The pictures are grouped into categories and I am in - Kukio Swim # 272, Kukio Run # 383, Kukio Finsih # 634-638 (I am a little disappointed that I don't look nearly as tired or beat-up at the finish as I felt), there are also some gorgeous picutres of the race site under Kukio General # 073-094. Take a look and let me know what you think. It was an amazing experience that I wouldn't trade. Miss you all!

Kukio Challenge

Today I did my first "triathalon". It consisted of a 1/2 mile swim, 3 mile run and 4 mile paddle. And I finished . . . Second to dead last. I truly can't believe that I finished it, because more than once I said to myself, I'm done, I have no more. I had to dig deep for this one . . . really deep. I finished so far behind that they had already taken down the bouyes that marked the end of the paddle. But, almost last gets some serious cheers. I remember watching Ironman a few years back, the race starts at 7 am and at 11pm people are still crossing the finish line, and the people who cross just before the 12am cutoff are the most fun to see finish, they are the people who you know had to dig really deep to get there. This triathalon was only minor, and everyone does it for fun, the money to enter goes to a "protect the beaches" type of foundation, but to me it was a huge accomplishment. I been too scared to try so many different things in my life, and finally I said to myself, I have always wanted to do something like this, what could it hurt to just try? What's the worst that could happen, "I come in last?", or second to dead last?. I love staying fit, and being out in all the beauty that this island has to offer, and too often I forget get caught up in work and school, and don't enjoy it. So I decided fear is no longer going to hold me back, and why not start with conquereing a fear at the top of the list? Then the road only gets easier from there right? So I entered and spent the last week in pure, intense fear. But it's over and I actually finished. It was so hard not to give up when outriggers are flying, literally flying past me as my arms and back ached. The final half mile I had the water-patrol jet skis on each side of me encouaging me and telling me, "you're almost there" when I could see with my eyes I was not almost there, not even close. But I didn't give up and I finished, and I feel sooo good! So, on high from the race my small accomplishment, I suggest to anyone who will listen to conquer a fear, you'll never feel dissappointed if you try, and there will be one less thing (on hopefully an already short list) of things in your life you wish you'd done.

I will post some pictures of the race, and my very haggered looking self very soon. I have to collect pictures from people because in my emotional turmoil before the race I forgot my camera.

Maybe next year we should get together a family relay team ehhh? Abbie . . . I know the run would've been a cake-walk for you . . . (just think about it) we could kick some serious booty, and maybe not come in second to dead last. Love You All!

A Grill For James

I remembered as I was going back through old comments on our blog, (aren't they just the most fun?), that I never sent James a picture of the grill on uncle Pat's truck. So, this one's for you James, I am sorry I couldn't figure out how to make it straigt up and down, so everyone has to look at it sideways, but here it is. I miss you guys all so incredibly! Hope you like the grill!

Happy Anniversary

I looove this one below, and the one to the left if you look in the bottom left corner you can see Pat's # 1 finger peeking out. . . How cute!

We're both feelin' camera happy today!

It is our one year anniversary! Can you believe it?! It seems like just yesterday! We decided to go to the Outrigger at sunset today where exactly a year ago we became Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. There was something about being out on the same lawn, looking at the same ocean that was truly magical. It made me feel so grateful for Patrick, and reminds me of how deeply I love him, and apriciate him as my husband. He even humored my little photo shoot (we all know he'll thank me later). This pic is our "One Year" picture, also doubling as "We're Number One" which I thought was pretty clever, but Patrick doesn't look impressed. It was perfect anniversary to end the first year of our marriage, and I couldn't be happier. We even thawed out the top tier of our wedding cake but couldn't bring ourselves to taste . . . E.Coli is definitely NOT what I want as an anniversary gift. Moral of the story . . . I feel sooo lucky to be able to reply from the bottom of my heart that being married is "Awesome, Fabulous, Soooo Fun" when strangers I meet inevitably ask me, "so how's the married life?", and even luckier when I see the astonished look on their faces when they hear my whole-hearted answer, that let's me know that my marriage and my husband are rarities in this world.

Memories

I just returned from California from what turned out to be one of the most fun-filled and memorable vacations I have ever had. It was truly unforgettable and I am already feeling nostalgic for some of the fun times that we had. I already feel the need to reminisce on some of my favorite memories. So here goes . . . Candy shopping with Angie and both of us determined to find just the right shade of pink (yes, it does matter). . . Finally getting to meet Josh & Alex . . . My mom, brother and I playing Trivial Persuit "Genius Addition" circa 1972, getting sooo into it, and laughing as mom knew answer after answer . . . Playing Harry Potter trivia with James . . . Shy Chase's adorable reaction when I was the only one home when he awoke from his nap . . . Painting toenails and pinning curls in a flury for truly the most beautiful bride I have ever seen . . . Sipping authentic Chai Tea at an Indian resturant in San Francisco with my dad . . . Fresh Choice (need I say more?) . . . Riding across the bridge to see SpiderMan and laughing at Josh's stories the entire way . . . Watching Roy & Emmy's father-daughter dance (I had tears in my eyes) . . . Talking "Twilight" with Ang . . . Chase tenderly bandaging Uncle Pat's scars . . . Dress shopping with Angie and Abbie . . . Ben mixing the Chicken Salad with a passion, all while he danced . . . Going to the Stanford museum and finding "The American West" photo book with my dad . . . Trying to convince my mom to re-name her cats to Fat Jumbo and Scrappy . . . Watching my brother get famous in his newspaper pic and then again on High School Sports Focus . . . Backyard Quidditch . . . Ridi and Lori's dance (they're gorgeous) . . . Meeting Grandpa . . . Finally getting to see Pride & Prejudice with Catherine . . . Whack a Mole . . . Listening to James and Uncle Pat discuss the various interesting traits of water-dwelling creatures . . . Angie capturing Catherine in the hallway during "running charades" & holding on, all while starting her clues over Catherine's shoulder . . . Pat and Ben's intense seater war . . . And of course the glorious, beautiful couple alight with hapiness on their wedding day. There are so many more, hopefully enough to get me through until the next time we can all be together. . . I love you all so much!

The Wedding Jitters

This picture was taken the night before our wedding, nearly a year ago. A year . . . wow! I can't believe time has passed so quickly! Now it's time for another wonderful, beautiful, glorious wedding (get ready E & J)! People always ask me if I was nervous before my wedding, and the answer is yes, but then I go on to tell them that I spent the night before my wedding having a gymnastics competition with my soon-to-be husband and family. I truly think that night of silliness was like therapy for me, after that I was calmed and so gloriously happy.
Don't let me have you think that I didn't have at least one pre-wedding meltdown, because I sure did. The day of the wedding, my bridesmaids along with my mom went to get our hair done. I forgot that you weren't supossed to wash your hair before you get an "updo" so after being scolded by the stylist I felt on the verge. There were so many other things that I could have freaked out about that day, and my mom and I both still get histerical when we think about what was the straw that finally broke the camel's back. Eye drops. Yes ladies and gentlemen, eye drops. In my haste to pack a bag that I would need for the wedding day I somehow overlooked my Visene, and although I wasn't aware before this, it is really important to me. It didn't matter that there were more than 4 stores within 2 minutes of where I was that could provide me all the eye drops I could ever want or need. That simply didn't matter at the time. I just freaked out and cried and cried. My mom was so sweet, she humored me so entirely, consoling me that she would not let me walk down that aisle without wetting my precious eyes with some refresheing, "get the red out", wonderful drops. So disaster was narrowly averted when we found ourselves pulling into the nearest K-Mart and buying some. The incident to this day seems blurry, my mom still swears that I threatened to "punch someone in the face," but could the bride really be responsible for such threats?
After the eye drops incident, I was happy and excited. We caravaned to Macy's to get our makeup done after the hair, and as I was sitting in the makeup chair I began to "not feel so good." After being asked by one of my bridesmaids what I had eaten that day, and I couldn't remember one single thing, we realized that this bride was in great risk of fainting and my wedding video was not going to end up on America's Funniest Home Videos. So my wedding was supposed to start @ 5, but didn't really start until around 5:40 if I remember correctly, and why? Why? Because the bride was held up in the drive thru line at Taco Bell getting a bean burrito . . . hold the onions. And that's the reality.
It truly was the most magical, beautiful day of my life. Everything went smoothly and I would not change one thing about the entire day, eye-drop meltdowns and bean burritos included. So Emmy, get some sleep, have someone specially assigned to bring your eye drops, bobby pins, mascara, whatever toiletry is dearest to your heart, and definitely don't forget to eat.

I knew he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. Oliver has a personality unlike any other whale I have ever encountered. I first spotted him not more than a few days old laying on his back on top of his mothers nose rolling this way and that pectoral fins straight out of the water immersed in the brand new sensation of the suns rays on his bright white stomach. All humpbacks have different coloration patterns, and Oliver is unusually unique because of the amount of white he carries, something that is rare in the Northern Pacific group. Even more than his physical markings, you could always tell when Oliver heard the boat leaving our berth because with out hesitation he would start waving his arms in the air and slamming them down on the water calling out for us to come play. Two days ago after not seeing any whales for the past week, Oliver, under the close watch of his mother swam up to the boat one last time. He circled us on his side, on giant eye moving from one passenger to the next until he got to the back of the boat where he stop rolled on his back lift both his pectoral fins in the air and slowly rolled backwards deeper and deeper until his now impressive shadow disappeared. In the four weeks that we regularly encountered Oliver, he gained probably ten feet and twenty thousand pounds, not quite the little guy I first glimpsed but still just as curious, and I know he knew I appreciated the farewell

Oh Happy Day

Yes folks, the rumors are true . . . The braces are off! He's free free free! I can barely contain my excitement (which dwarfs Pat's excitement might I add). I bet Pat's not feeling nearly as nerdy when talking about his "Damon 3's", since they are off and he has straight teeth in a little over a year. (Okay a year and a half if we're being honest) But I think that's amazing! The Damon 3's worked their orthodontic magic and it was relatively pain free (which I know was not the case for Ben's braces seeing as we asked him how he felt after getting them put on and he said "it feels like someone kicked me in the face"). What a glorious day for Patrick, no more metal-mouth jokes, no more being embarassed because he "looks like a kid", no more comments from loud-mouth passengers on the boat saying "son, are you sure you're old enough to drive this boat?" And get this, the kicker is that Pat's braces removal came with a complimentary bottle of celebration Martinellies Apple Cider, complete with gift wrapping and decorative ribbons, and balloons (which Pat failed to mention until just now as he's reading this before posting). And not everyone gets balloons, he's "made some friends" at Dr. Yim's. Unfortunately he has yet to let me capture the "new" pat on film, so I guess you will have to settle for a picture of the apple cider. A lame second I know, but let Pat know your disappointment, and maybe together we can change his mind.

"B is for Bob"

Okay, firstly Angie I am so sorry for stealing ideas for our blog from you, but I was laughing out loud when I read about James's soccer coach! Then I thought about this shirt that we bought for our friend's baby Atticus (isn't it the cutest?), then my thoughts turned to Bob Marley (as they often do for some strange reason), then I thought about a game that I was playing at work a few days ago entitled "What's Your Theme Song", invented by yours truly (yes, I was playing games at work again). So the game consists of each person to think of a theme song that represents them best. Then as a group, we think of a song for each person, but they can't know what it is until they tell us what their own song is. It is a really, interesting way to find out about people's self-awareness, and learn what people think about you in a subtle, fun way. Yes it can be dangerous. . . but always interesting. It's also been more thought provoking than originally intended, because almost a week later, I am the only one to have chosen a theme song, although as a group we have chosen songs for a few of our friends, although some people are proving tricky. So, the gist? (is that how you spell that? it looks horribly wrong but I can't think of another way.), well the gist is my theme song happens to be a Bob Marley song, "Could You Be Loved". Not necesarily because of the words, but because when I hear it I can't help myself from feeling uterly overjoyed, purely free, and I just dance without even thinking if anyone could be watching. It's not the kind of dancing that you practice, and I'd probably be horrified if I say myself in a mirror, but it's just so free, like when you are really little and you haven't developed a sense of embarassment, and you just let all your limbs go in every direction. It also makes me feel like singing, at the top of my lungs, (this is to Pat's delight because we all know that I can't sing and I can't sing to such an extent that even my mom will admit that I can't sing. . . so you get the picture, it's pretty horrific). That's what that song does for me, so, it's my theme song. You all must listen to it if you haven't heard it, I know it'll have a similar effect on most. So it got me thinking, what's your theme song? Patrick claims he doesn't have one, but I know there's one lurking somewhere.

So that's how my thoughts turned from James's first soccer practice to Bob Marley, and now I'm back, isn't that funny?

P.S. 24 Days in the famous words of Yazan Jubran "Get Hyped"

Countdown to CA

It is officially 34 days until Pat and I come to California! I can't wait! Pat and I have been talking about how excited we are and listing all the things we want to do while in "the mainland." The first thing out of my mouth when Pat asked me what I wanted to to in California was "go to the movies." We just stared at each other for a second and let the hilarity of that statement sink in, and then had a good long laugh. I was just speaking in stream of conciousness, why would that be the first thing I want to do in California? Dunno? We are in fact going to the movies tonight, something we do all the time. Who knows? Can't wait to see you all!

P.S. I am literally bursting with hapiness for Emmy and Josh! I just can't wait! And Josh, I truly can't wait to meet the man that makes Emmy so happy!

LOVE YOU ALL!

"Body Jam"

I have just recently re-discovered a childhood passion of mine . . . DANCE! I discovered it by accident at the gym of all places. Now, I don't like to think of myself as a "gym rat", but I just LOVE exersize, it has become an outlet, a sort of therapy for me in recent years when I am feeling down or discouraged about something. So I love going to classes at the gym, something about the music blasting, when you start to feel the rythm and the beat and then you just feel like you are flying. I go to all kinds of classes, weightlifting that's coreographed to music, spinning, combat, yoga & swimming. Well they recently introduced a class at the gym called "Body Jam", I didn't really know what to expect, and for the first few months they offered it, I never ventured in. I finally decided to brave it with a friend of mine who heard that it was "sort of a dance-ish type" workout. Turns out, it probably the FUNNEST EXERSIZE EVER! It's basically just 50 minutes of non-stop dancing. You do some disco, hip-hop, modern and latin dancing throughout the class and slowly build a routine. I know it's sort of dumb, but the pure joy and freedom that I feel while dancing is amazing! I was an avid dancer all throuhout my life and can't believe that I ever stopped! After the second class that I took the teacher approached me after class and suggested that I take the certification class that's coming up in June so that I can be a "Body Jam" teacher. I am soooo excited about it! One of the perks to becoming a teacher is that you get a free membership, so then Patrick can go to the gym too. He went with me once and was surprised because the gym was neither "too girly" or too "thugged out" (he was asuming it had to be one or the other), I guess it means it is an acceptable place to work out for my Patrick. So anyways, the gist of it is that I have re-discovered dance in my life, a true passion of mine that hopefully I can figure out how to do forever.
P.S. I know I am a huge nerd, I need no reminding. Thank you!

Money to burn

March into April is the craziest time of year here at Ocean Sports and as the seventy-five hour work weeks string together I find myself less capable of intelligent thought, and my subconscious tends to take over. Now this is where weird things really start to happen. When we are all shopping, without knowing it we are all drawn to a certain aisle, and I'm not talking about the tool aisle where I've been scoping out the newest set of wrenches that I am going to buy as soon as Jess forgets about the set I just bought three days ago, but the aisle where our inner thoughts pull us there because something almost primal tells us that to achieve a better standard of living we need those very things. Well long story short after a two and a half hour shopping trip, where I was planning to provide a sustenance for the next few weeks, I came home with only two things, and as I went to place those items in there decided spot of convenience, I found that we already had seven different boxes of band aids. Water proof, especially for knuckles, spider man, skin colored, big ones, small ones, even ones with pre-applied first aid cream. What does it say about me, that when everything else fails I go for the first aid aisle, and what does it say about all of you!!

The New Love of Pat's Life

Well, it was quite the exciting day for the Hawaiian Robinsons! Patrick fell in love with this gorgeous Tacoma, and we bought it! We had been thinking about it for a long time, and a household joke was always that Pat already has his "dream truck" (which by the way is a 1995 Ford Ranger that has been in more accidents than it is years old, with no power steering, no AC, no radio, and most importantly no padding in the front seat, and a mysterious red dust covering not only the engine and the interior, but if you attempt to turn on the non-existant AC it blows out the ducts as well). So I have been steadily convincing Patrick that he deserves a new truck, his real dream car. As you can see in the picture I couldn't tear Patrick away from his truck bed gadgets long enough to even look at the camera, so needless to say, he's pretty excited. It will definitely make those long drives to work pass by a lot faster. He has always worked so hard so selflessley and never seems to consider his own needs, let alone wants, so it's time for him to have something super nice! We all know how much Patrick has dreamt of a new truck. It's a '07 Tacoma, V6 & 4x4 which doesn't mean much to me in girl world, but Pat seemed really excited about it and wanted everyone to know. And yes, everyone it has 4 seats, so whenever anyone gets out here to visit us, you won't need your head scarves because we won't have to ride in back. So congratulations to Pat on his first new car, he deserves it! We miss you all!

Bad Boys

For those of you who haven't had the chance to really get to know my wife, here is a little insight into how big her heart really is. It is true that every now and then I like to dabble in a T.V. series named cops, and for those of you that have never had the chance to partake of this must see T.V., the basic gist is all the people that you thought never existed getting their faces forced to the ground by at least four or five cops. Now if you have seen this show you know that no matter the criminal, nor the crime there always comes a time were the arrestee, shouts the words, "I'm not fighting, I give up." This declaration usually comes right after the eighteenth cop has just entered the screen and one wrist is already cuffed, as the other is being force to a right angle with one of the officers batons. This is were, without fail, Jessica always chimes in, as she bites her bottom lip and wrings her hands, "Why are they being so rough with him." She never seems to remember that just seconds before Billy-Joe had just tried to run over Virginia's finest, after swallowing half a baggy of heroin and pushing the "lady friend" that he has never seen in his life, out the passenger door. Jessica's ability to not just forgive, but seemingly to erase from her mind any wrong doing that you have ever brought her is something, I know, she had with her before she ever reached this earth. I have always known that my wife's abilities to keep those things which life seems to steal from us so early, is more than I could have ever wished for in life. Our children no doubt will find a safe harbor from all the storms of the world with their mother whom I have found doesn't just forgive but seems to take upon herself and free me of all the weight of the mistakes that I make daily.

What's Your Favorite Disney Movie?

Ohh the wonders of Disney. Patrick and I have had many discussions about Disney movies and have come to conclusions about which is our favorite. Patrick's is The Fox and the Hound, and mine is hands down without a doubt The Little Mermaid. The amount of hours I spent in my childhood best friend's pool re-enacting scenes from that movie was enough to leave me in a constant state of pruney hands, sunburnt face, and literally sleeping in my swimsuit. I remember tying my feet together before jumping in the pool, (probably a dangerous little game, where were all the adults right?) so my legs would look like a mermaid fin, and swimming through an obstacle course that we had made underwater by throwing various household items into the pool. (Anything from lounge chairs, to plastic grass hula skirts would suffice) By the point is that movie probably entertained and inspired a good portion of my childhood. I am ashamed to say that I have never seen The Fox and the Hound, but I have a feeling that it reflects the sweet & gentle child Pat that I have heard so many stories about. So, I have come to the conclusion that learning what everyone's favorite Disney movie is gives me a little more insight into who they are . . . So, what's your favorite?

P.S. A close second for both Pat and I is Peter Pan, (although my love for it was partly spurred on by the mermaids). Surprisingly enough another favorite was the recent Brother Bear, it makes me want to go to Alaska.