Some family pictures...

My wife was in the sword arch for a shipmate's wedding last weekend. It's not very often I catch her in dress uniform, so I brought along the camera and took a ton of pictures, these are some of the better ones.





I think it amuses Ruth that I get so picture-happy when she's in a dress uniform, although she does admit that she looks good all decked out and wearing her bling.

Certainly, I think she's gorgeous and I love the symbolism in the uniform. Beyond that, over time these pictures in her dress uniform will tell the story of every step in her unique journey, as she progressed from Recruit to Petty Officer to getting her commission. I want our kids and their kids to know her story and learn the lesson that no one is defined by where or how they grew up, but by their willingness to work and not give up. She'll be the first to tell you that some of those medals are of the "just happened to be here" or "perfect attendance" variety, but there's others that signify hard work and achievements she's right to be proud of.

Most days she tells me "it's just a job" and she has a point. A lot of her days as an officer aren't much different than mine were running a helpdesk: Sit in front of a computer, sit through long meetings, check up on projects, make some calls, send some reports. Even the Navy's day-to-day "working" uniforms reflect the reality that far more time is spent preparing to fight than actually fighting.

These special occasions and the symbols that go with them are part of what makes her job "...more than just a job..." as the old advertisement put it.

Serious baby is serious

Had to post this one too. For the briefest of moments he stared into a camera lens and DIDN'T ham it up.

From Theo, Aug-Oct 2008

Cubs Win!

Today's project

Do you believe in magic? I do. Today's plan is to take this:



and this:



and in a process something like this:



we will create a magic that the ancient wise ones called "Dinner."

As you can see, there's excitement over here about these plans...

Compare and contrast

Theo at six months:



Theo at 13 months:



Please, whoever stole our baby and replaced him with this other kid: Just return the original, Raising Arizona style, and we won't call the police. Promise.

BOB the stroller

I've been planning a post for a few weeks to review our new BOB Revolution,which has quickly become a new member of the family. It has taken Theo some time to get used to it, but he's reaching the point where he's as excited to see me setting it up as he is to see his Moby Wrap.

Pay no attention to the manufacturer, who calls it "The perfect stroller for family life in the 'burbs!" This is a stroller that begs to be on the street and the trail, not stashed in the back of an SUV to be used in Target or the Mall (although I'll admit it would work well there as well).

Living in Newport, where the sidewalks and streets are sometimes paved and sometimes brick, but rarely level and never wide, an everyday stroller has to be lightweight, not too wide, with big tires and a heavy-duty suspension. Tall guys like me need the handlebar to be tall enough to push with no hunching. This solid stroller totally fits all those criteria, plus it gets the job done as a jogger or for general baby transport. It rolls smooth on any surface, and tilts easily over the monster curbs here in Newport.

Despite all that, It's light enough once folded for either of us to carry one-handed and it folds small enough to shove into the trunk of our Jetta and still leave room back there for a shopping trip. We bring it into the house folded and never even notice it stashed into a corner of the living room. If space is at a premium, all three wheels have bike-style quick releases so it would take up even less room.

If you were looking for an in-depth discussion of the brakes, shade, safety harness, front wheel adjustments, cupholders, etc...well, yeah, that stuff all works too, and extremely well. There are sunshade and rainshade attachments, but we've never had a situation where the built-in hood wasn't sufficient.

Most importantly, it's the perfect accessory for the cute baby about town:




Also, thanks to Rosanne for selling me on the BOB.