Just random thoughts today. I want to get a new camera, a decent one.

Getting ready to move. It will be busy here. Closing soon, getting packed. The owners of the house we're buying have come back and Dan and Sue have worked it out. They are an old couple and one of them has Alzheimer's, and it's difficult to talk to either of them, though they have a son who is their POA...still hard to deal with them...waited long enough. Latest closing date is July 27 but we're hopeful it will be done before then.

Nathanael on the way to Crowduck tomorrow with my parents and I will be worried the whole time, especially about the driving situation, so please keep this and them in your prayers. Safe trip.

I'm glad Dave & kids are going. I don't know about Maria and Jazmin.

We may be moving while he is there so he will come back to a new house and all.

Then in mid-August a Grinnell orientation somewhere in Wisconsin, then there's a parent orientation at Grinnell for a few days. During this summer I have also promised Micah a trip to NYC and Ground Zero, Chrysler Tower, Central Park, and a few other things he wants to see. He is still so interested in being a NYC Port Authority Cop. :) I have saved my vacation days at work so I will take them for these events. Then also in early August I need to schedule Micah to meet with the new school's counselor, assess with them the fact that I think he needs to redo 8th grade (and he agrees with me) and he will be with people closer to his age. He is just not ready for high school. Intellectually yes but we still have maturity issues. I have read up in Scientific American about the teen brain...a brain in transition from childhood to adulthood can do more kneejerk and compulsive stuff than a fully adult brain. (Tell me something I DON'T know.)

Now physically Micah is right smack in the middle of it all. His voice is about halfway, I think, to where it will eventually be. He eats about 5,000 calories a day and still has a 28" waist and weighs little more than 100 lbs. and is about 5'5". I think he has about 4-5 inches of growing left to do. His muscles are tight and strong and he has not an ounce of fat anywhere. His face is getting that long, angular look with the well-defined bones that men have. He will probably be about as tall as his brother, if not an inch shorter.

Nathanael is in excellent shape. He does a lot of exercise for parkouring purposes- pullups, situps, "hanging" situps, biking everywhere, balancing exercises. He has a nice little 6-pack and great cardiovascular stamina. He frequently complains at us because we can't keep up. He recently left his dad walking a bike up a big hill that Nathanael easily mastered. He complained about Steve being out of shape and I had to remind him that he is 48 years old and not 18 and no, he isn't one of those exceptional athletes that stays fit until they are 80.

Sorry for the run-on stuff. Unlike my older son, I don't really proofread before publishing. It's just blah blah blah...whatever I feel like writing...not polished or concise.