Several Things...

Jeff and James left this morning for their first ever Daddy/James fishing expedition! James was very wound up and kept saying 'Daddy, we need doe to da river and tatch fish right now!' I think they will have lots of fun. Hopefully they can find a nice spot to fish and actually catch something.

I don't know if I have mentioned this here, for the benefit of the relatives, that Katie has learned to wave, clap, turn on the light switch, and is starting to say little words every now and then. She has said 'Bye,' 'Boo,' and 'Da-Dee.' Why, oh why, do children learn to say daddy first!?

And now, a funny story that will make you laugh. Last night, we had Jeff's friend-with-a-swimmer-physique/coworker Ryan over for dinner. He brought his dog, a Rhodesian ridge-back. It was a pretty cool looking dog. After dinner, we all went on a walk. When we got back, we were all hanging out in the living room and the dog was running around. James was chasing him and showing him all his toys. He built a fort for Chaka and kept trying to tell him, 'Look, Chaka, I built you a fort!' Meanwhile, there was a smell. And it wasn't pleasant. Ryan suspected his dog immediately, and began apologizing. He had changed the dog's food earlier and apparently it was giving the dog gas. It came to the point where Ryan took the dog into the back yard. Unfortunately, the smell didn't go away. What I didn't mention earlier was that Ryan's dog had, how do I say this delicately, used the facilities. Ryan, the diligent dog owner, collected the deposit in a little bag. While we were sitting there, intermittently smelling the dog's gas, Jeff asked Ryan what he had done with the bag. Ryan jumped from the couch and checked his pocket, realizing that the offending smell was coming not from his dog, but from his own pocket. He had stashed the goods in his pocket till we found a trash can, and then forgot all about it. Eeeeew! Fortunately, as soon as the bag made its way outside, the smell was gone.