Florida Pics

We went fishing with Grandpa and Grammy Wren. Here are some pictures. Here are some of the fish we caught. When we went out with Bradyn we didn't catch anything, so we went back out, caught some, and had to show him his first fish. He liked going on 'rides' with Grandpa. Grandpa liked taking him around, and after Bradyn kept saying 'ride' and trying to climb on the 4 wheeler.

After a little while on the boat, Bradyn was walking around a little checking things out. He's a little young to fish, but he had fun. I like this picture.

Grammy let him drive... sort of.

The old man was fishing and Bradyn was watching.

We had fun. We're going to look around 'High Springs' in Florida for a rental when we get there. We toured UF and spoke to some people about me getting in. I should have a good chance to get in, and they'll set me up with a job working with one of the VA Departments in Gainesville. I'm looking into Anthropology at UF. I may switch over to business once I get in if they let me, and if it doesn't extend the time It'll take to graduate too much.

Jeanann had a good time visiting family, and I had a good time too. Everyone loves Bradyn. I have a few itchy bug bites I'm not used to, but I figure they're just itchy reminders of how much I love Jeanann and how much nicer it'll be to raise kids in Florida, and how much easier I hope it'll be to get some land out there.

Jeanann is ready to have our second. She's due in April but she's ready to be done already. Me too.

The move is scheduled for June. We hope to have a trailer parked up here much before that to start packing, but I could use a hand probably near the end to do the final packing, and also a little house cleaning to leave the place we're in in a good order.

Down with the Sickness...

http://draperphotography.com/ My brother in law Aaron and my sister Julie are awesome. Here are a few pictures they took at their studio in Modesto.

Julie was cracking up cuz we were dancing like fools behind the camera to keep Bradyn smiling.

Last week was rough. Bradyn came home with a friend Monday night and we were all screwed most of the week... Sick. We recovered enough by the weekend to go visit Julie and Aaron. We never get to see them. They were nice enough to take a few pictures. I hope all of you can take a second to check out their blog at http://draperphotography.blogspot.com/. He's amazing when it comes to pictures, and I just wanted to help spread the word. I'll have some new pictures soon! We're getting ready for the trip to Florida though, and working on getting rid of stuff we don't need to move next summer. We have a good plan to get out there, and we're both excited. There isn't much that can stop us at this point.

Bradyn's Treasure

I was giving Bradyn a bath yesterday, and he found something. He was fascinated, so much so that his toys must have become invisible. He was falling over trying to get a better look, trying to lean over, stand up, whatever it took to get a better view around his belly. It was his Pee Pee! There was almost nothing I could do to distract his attention away from his pee pee. The bond between man and his pee pee is strong. I think they were having a psychic conversation. "Size matters not! Judge me by my size, do you?" Yoda--

Here's a picture of some of his spoon training... and of Spencer and Bradyn sleeping on the floor.

Chicken Day!

We're having a girl, and we're thankful for that! With a boy and a girl I'm hoping Jeanann will agree to snip the stork's beak off. She's still not sold on the idea.

I'm thankful for life. It's good. It's extremely difficult to look past the immediate impending doom that seems to linger over our heads from time to time, but it's possible. Sometimes it takes a reminder like Thanksgiving to help pull our heads out of our rears and appreciate all of the good things. Thanksgiving is a great 'dislodger of heads' in my book. So I'd like to share a couple things I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for Jeanann, and her friends who brought her to Durty Nelly's in Gainesville, where we met a few years back. She supports me and my dreams, and I love her. She makes smart kids too (I make em cute).

I'm thankful for Bradyn. He's 'begun'! He's curious and full of energy. I used to hear people say 'full of energy' and chuckle, not really knowing what they meant. 'Full of energy' is more like a cry triggering phrase I think. He's healthy and he loves us, and he makes me happy, even though he keeps us on our toes. He'll have a sister to help keep him busy before too long.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to go to school. I've been trying to work out some of my unused, slow, aging brain cells and turn them into athletes. I think it's working. Some of them are out of their wheelchairs and using walking sticks now. I still have a long way to go, but I understand what my high school counselor kept saying all those years. "You can do anything you put your mind to." The more I learn, the more I realize how far I am from the goal. It's like playing guitar... The better you are, the more you realize how much you still have to learn. And I now realize a little bit how to 'put my mind' to something.

I could list a bunch of things, and people, like this cup of coffee I'm sipping on,

the new VW we bought gets over 400 miles a tank, with a 14 gallon tank or so,

my fingers, they still remember how to play my guitars, even though they haven't practiced much lately, thankfully they're still attached to my hands,

my family, even those in my extended family who I haven't had a good chance to get to know yet, I look forward to the opportunity,

my lawyer, he was worth every dollar, he got the bankruptcy done before thanksgiving, so he's earned a spot on my list, not to mention he blocked the repo man from coming to my house to kick my teeth in... I'm thankful for that since I was sitting on my patio with Jeanann's shotgun,

I'm thankful I'm not in prison,

The three things I mentioned earlier is where I am focused right now, and where I hope to remain focused. Life is good. When it seems like it sucks, I remember this little story...

A young friend in NY (18-19) came to my house really upset about a local friend who died in Iraq. I listened to him a bit, and he wasn't too upset since he didn't know him too well. In my head I was glad it wasn't me, and glad it was someone I didn't know personally. I realized I 'dodged another bullet'. A minute later I said, 'I didn't know what I was getting into when I joined the Army, but I've learned one thing for sure... Life Is Good.' I think the tone in my voice expressed my understanding of that message, cuz he cried like a baby after that. I never fully understood it myself until that very second.

And it is, it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative, and I'm thankful for the chance to live it.

Have a good Holiday everyone!

It's A Girl

It's a girl, unless the winky was hiding... Looks like we'll be out of state for Christmas.

Change

YES I CAN! Osama is my leader... I wonder why the hell they sent me into the hills of Pakistan a few years back, he's right f-in here! YES I CAN! Maybe now my military disability check will show up in the mailbox. I think it comes with a free piece of cheese every month. It's been 3 years, but heck, I hear some cheese gets better with age. With 3 years of processing, that $*^* better be good! YES I DID! The bankruptcy is just about over! We're buying one of my neighbors old Jetta's. Me and Jeanann have no idea how the heck we paid our bills for so long when we bought our other house. But now it doesn't matter, cuz YES WE CAN, and WE DID! Life is funny though. Every time we thought we saw a light at the end of the tunnel, I think we realized we had our heads lodged up someones @**. But we're getting our bearings now I think. Bradyn is fun. We have an ultrasound on Monday and should find out the sex of the next one. It seems we may be sticking around CA this Xmas. It stinks in some ways, but we'll be together as a family so I'm looking forward to it. Jeanann is doing well. She's working on getting set up to pursue her RVT again at a Florida online college. I have some interviews with the CHP (California Highway Patrol for you foreigners) in January. If they go well, I may have a chance to get into CHP academy by the end of 2009. Super Troopers is a cool movie. Otherwise I'm going to 'Stay the Course' as Bush would say, and get into Sacramento State going after a Business Information Management Degree. Basically computer oriented business... stuff. IN-N-Out is hiring in Davis, the post advertised free food for employees. Think I may check that out in the meantime, though last time I worked there I couldn't understand the dang drive through people on the speaker thing. I'm sure drive through audio technology has advanced since I was in high school though, so maybe I'll be fine.

Halloween/Birthday

Bradyn is 1. He had a party at Chuck E Cheese.

There was dancing and playing for kids of all ages. And later that week, we made him some brownie, and Dad sang him a scary song in the dark.

He didn't seem to mind too much, once his first brownie hit his lips.

We then dressed him up as a monkey for halloween. First Mommy showed him off at work.

Then we took him to his first door.

We showed him off to a couple more, before Bradyn was all pooped out.

Finally We took him home, where Dad made him goofy faces until he fell asleep.

Bradyn's Balls

Bradyn had surgery yesterday! One of his testicles wasn't down all the way, so they went in and gave it a little push. It wasn't very invasive, and short of the first couple hours, he seems to be pretty comfortable. He's not moving around as much as before, but he's still trying to get up and walk around a little. It's amazing how well he seems to be doing. I'm so proud of him. He's twice the man he was before. The folks on my side have decided to start writing. They hope to turn it into a book. I know they have plenty to write about, and I'm sure the book that is written would help inspire and educate many many people. I hope they stay motivated to write down thoughts for the next year or two. I think it's a great idea, and hope I can help in some way. If any of you would like to write anything which describes your thoughts towards what they have gone through, or how their friendship has affected your life, do it and send it to: http://carleneandlarryevans.blogspot.com/ I spent the day with Mike, delivering shirts for a Pop Warner cheer competition. We got them there on time despite the couple of major setbacks which required Mike to fly here to get them here on time. The shirts look good! Mike has a good thing going for him. I'm glad to help. I hope to help as much as I can. He's working on putting together PTA packages for schools. I'm going to spend a little time working on producing the media to advertise those packages (I hope). Check out http://inkpressiveprints.com/. Jeanann is still pregnant! She has an appointment set I think to find out the sex of the new addition to our family. We'll let everyone know as soon as we find out. I'm happy no matter what we have, I just hope we can show as much love and attention to the second child as much as we have the first.

What's Happening!

This year has been crazy. We've moved to Winters, CA only 2 months ago. I'm Figuring out how to put up pictures on here for everyone. I've (Nate) finally recieved confirmation that my A.A. is complete. I'm stoked about that, but it seems I'm not even halfway to a B.A. degree. I'm looking into possibly attending Police/Fire Academy, but still hope to continue working towards a B.A. degree. Jeanann is Pregnant! She is also in a Neuro-Biology class at UCDavis. I think she's crazy, she knows she is. Bradyn has his first tooth! It's one of the lower front ones. More are on the way in, finally. He runs around pretty good now. He still needs close supervision walking around outside, to avoid any rock in the face - plants. There's a campsite across the street from our hill here, and Lake Berryessa is 7 minutes up the road. If any of you would like to come spend some time outside, please come.

September 23rd

I've heard from a few people that blogging is the new cool thing to do, so here we go. Bradyn is getting bigger so I'll try to keep fresh pictures up for all the family. Me and Jeanann are busy this year, so we'll post some of our current events up here for the world to read.