Par-tay!

Amity sure does know how to throw a party! And not to toot my own horn, but who else got photos of the decorations? Randy/Amity: 0, Lauren/Phil: 1. It's okay, I am sure that at the next family gathering you'll have your chance...

Moving on! the party was a success! And, our wonderful hostess made everything look so easy! Maybe I'll try hosting one of these myself one day. But I'll start off on a smaller scale...

Dinner was fantastic (and I can't forget dessert!), and the company was even better. Loved trading stories about childhood and hearing how everyone has different memories of how things happened. Very entertaining, but I of course stick by Phil's version of how it went... AND that he is the inventor of the do-it-yourself mechanic shop!

Sunday at the river

On Sunday we spent the afternoon at the Guadalupe River with Phil's coworker Floyd and his girlfriend. Floyd owns a ski boat so it was lots of fun getting to hang out in the sun. My St. John tan is long gone so it was nice to get a little color again. (Just have to remember to generously apply the aloe so that the tan/burn doesn't peel off!)

All along the river, different property owners have installed rope swings from their trees which we had lots of fun swinging from. They installed ladders so you had to climb up onto the tree and swing off of it. And let me tell you, it seems much higher when you're up there than it looks from the ground!! It was very fun... luckily Floyd happened to know the owners of this particular property because they came over to find out why we were using their swing!! Turned out that since Floyd knew the guy, we all ended up swinging and hanging out, so what could have been a sticky situation turned out just fine! Hopefully you can see the blur that is Phil swinging into the water in the photo above.

Phil also got to try water skiing for the first time. Turns out it's a pretty fun sport, and much, much easier to be successful at than wakeboarding. I think he did pretty great for his first time!! Then again, what are wives for if not to be their husbands' cheerleaders from the boat?!

Tomorrow is a big TEST day for some important people in our lives! Karthik is taking his MCAT after many, many months of intense studying. This day has been long-time coming, and we can't wait for it to be over so we can spend more time with him!! And Dana is taking her GMAT tomorrow which will determine where she goes back to school for her MBA and ultimately where she lives the next few years of her life. So needless to say, tomorrow is a big day.

Good luck to both of you-- we know you're going to ace those tests! And we can't wait until you're successful and of course wealthy, all because you did so well on these standardized tests. Just remember who wished you luck on their blog, when you're deciding who to give the biggest Christmas gift to when you are head honcho doctor and business woman.

AND we want to know how you celebrate when this is over with! We'll be in Houston next weekend, and we think a celebration is definitely in order.

I am Demi Moore's long-lost twin!

Felicity sent the coolest website, where you upload a photo of yourself and you get a list of matches of which celebrity you look most like. My best match, surprisingly, was Demi Moore (73%)! Who knew?! I thought it was going to be one of those joke websites where it comes up with a picture of some monkey but it's not, and the results are cool! My other matches include Shania Twain (64%) and Sarah Michelle Gellar (53%).

Philip matched with Jason Biggs (66%), David Schwimmer (63%), and Ed Harris (61%), amongst others.

http://myheritage.com/FP/Company/tryFaceRecognition.php

Back in Texas

Philip and Brad made it in just after 1:00 this afternoon, safe and sound, but of course extremely tired. They met Stacy, Logan, and I at the outlet malls in San Marcos; Stacy had no clue they were coming in today and I guess my lying skills are better than I thought because I was able to keep the secret for the few hours we shopped before they arrived.

Looking forward to all the siblings being in TX now and all the fun weekends and holidays to come!

Freeeeee!

With Phil in San Diego with his brother this weekend, I am a free woman! I can do what I want, when I want (as if that's any different than normal, haha). Really, all I plan to do is catch up with my girl friends and spend plenty of time with our puppy. Except Cooper is always on edge when one of us is not home, so I will pretty much be stopping him from barking at every little noise which he thinks may be Philip coming home.

The boys will be playing golf and hanging out in CA until Sunday, when they begin their long drive home. But I am sure they are well equipped with rap music and snacks to keep them awake. What better way is there to spend an 18 hour drive, after all?