some good, some bad

To start with some sober news, one of my friends, Amy, had her brother die this week. Her family (all 5 kids) were our neighbors while I was growing up, and Brent was pretty much the closest thing I had to a (much wished for) older brother. He pelted us with pinecones, let us tie him up with rope and pretended to not be able to get free, shared his tree fort with us, drove us home from school when we missed the bus and scared the crap outta us when we were camping in tents. He served for 13 years in the Marines, made it out of the first Gulf War safely and then joined the California Highway Patrol. He was killed by a hit-'n run while on duty at a traffic accident. I'll be attending the memorial service for him soon.

yet another reminder to all of us... life is short. You should make sure you're all doing what makes you happy.

On a happier note, today we held a lovely bday celebration for theKenna. There were lots of cupcakes, some apples2apples and a potluck. Lots of fun kids were there, including some new to me. A good time was had by all, and we all sugar-crashed pretty early in the evening. I also got to hang out with Sarah and her stepson, Adam, who were up school shopping. We spent the previous night watching homestarrunner shorts and puppet skits (thanks to chris).

Brian and I are closing our house sale on Friday the 18th (it's moved up a little). We're very excited. We plan on going and buying paint samples to test out on walls this week, and I'm setting up the utilities tomorrow. Yeah!