"Saudis give nod to Israeli raid on Iran" - Wow. I guess the adage, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is true. On another note, things are about to get more interesting in the Middle East.

My oldest son came home from his YMCA sports camp yesterday with a fever. He later threw-up in the van. We're unsure if it was a stomach virus or a reaction to the heat of camp. But, about 24 hours later (today), he's up and about showing no signs of sickness. Man, it must be nice to be (almost) 7 years old where you can shrug off sickness that easily.

The four day camp gave him a taste of soccer (liked), football (didn't like), basketball (liked), and baseball (didn't like, but he was sick too.) I think it's a good thing in that it taught him the basics and hopefully he'll choose one of them and join the sport. Of course, how we'll combine a sport with Tiger Scouts in the fall is anyone's guess.

My Uncle Buddy and Aunt June celebrated their fifty years of marriage yesterday. It turned out to be a family reunion in east Texas at their farm. Other than it getting hot as the day went on, it was a very nice day. The weather was clear and sunny. The food was good. And, the kids got along great. I'll be posting pictures to our family album soon, so keep a look out.

Congrats to them! 50 years! Wow, I would just have 50 years left on my marriage contract when that comes around for me. ;)

The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.
- Alfred Hitch*censormode*

I blame it on my wife, really. She introduced me to Facebook. Well, Keith and her both. They both wanted me on there so that I could talk to all of my old friends. Well, less than a week into it, I was bored. I liked those old school folks, but after "How are you?!", "How many kids do you have now?", and "Well, I live in XX and have YY kids and do ZZ for living", then we're pretty much done. I'll talk to you again in 20 years.

Then, enter Mafia Wars. It's an addictive Facebook application that caused me to rethink this whole Facebook thing. Mafia Wars is fun and allows me to meet lots of people that otherwise I'd have nothing in common.

So, I'm stuck on Facebook. Look me up. We'll play some Mafia Wars. Heh.

The entire family went walking today. Rather, my wife and I went walking while our two kids rode their bicycles. My oldest continues to get better although turns cause him consternation. My youngest, though, suffers from 'short leg' syndrome and can't quite reach the pedals. But, then again, he's only 3 (almost) and has plenty of growing to do. Although, he did just finish a huge spurt where he's outgrown his long pants.

In other, more sober, news...

I read today that 148,000 names of fallen American soldiers were read in California starting last Friday and finishing today. That's a very sobering thought that so many (and many, many more) have died to keep us safe. I can only say thanks to everyone who's served and gave the ultimate sacrifice.

My youngest son (~3 years old) came up to me yesterday with this finger outstretched and said, "Lick this, Daddy." "Uh...no thanks. But, go ask your Mother," I replied. Undeterred, he left and went to her in the kitchen. I didn't hear him ask her, but I did hear a "no way" from her. So, I assume, she also declined.

I've no idea what was on his finger, but my advice is to never, never, ever lick a three year old's finger. I've seen where those things have been.

From the "things you never think you'd say" category:

"Stop rubbing your feet on your brother's nose."

My oldest son asked to call his Granddaddy and Mutti last night. I agreed because we get free long distance and he gets to catch up with his grandparents. So, he called then took the phone in the other room for a while. In a few minutes, he came back into my office and handed the phone to me saying, "Granddaddy wants to tell you something." So I spoke with my father-in-law.

Apparently, my son called my father-in-law to get him to tell me to change the parental controls on my wife's Mac to allow my son more time each day. My son was "going above my head" to make me see things his way. My father-in-law had a good chuckle at my son, but you have to admire his boldness. This kid is going places...but he's still not getting more time on the computer.

After 11 years of marriage, my wife and I allow each other our idiosyncrasies. One of my wife's that really gets to me is that she puts her alarm clock on the bed about a foot from my head. This is because she has a hurt shoulder (a war injury from handling the kids.) Now, that's not a big deal necessarily, but she doesn't turn it off immediately when screams each morning.

One of my problems is that I have a very hard time waking up in the morning. As a response, I made a promise to myself a long time ago. I would set my alarm as late as possible but I would wake up on the very first ring. I wouldn't hit snooze. I would just sit up and get up. Once I did this (starting in college), my morning pattern changed drastically. But, my whole premise hinges on me setting the alarm as late as possible.

Now, enter my wife a decade later (and 11 years ago.) She has the opposite idea - get up before me (up to an hour), set her alarm early, and hit snooze 2-5 times. This has the effect of waking me up an hour early and having me hang on edge waiting on the snooze to go off again just inches from head.

So, yeah, I get upset, but I'm working on it. I'd rather be sleeping on it, though.