Happy Sunday morning. Looked at my site yesterday and realized I haven’t posted in almost 2 months. Congratulations to you, for not having to expend your valuable time pondering my meaningless thoughts. Time to make up for that.

Let’s start with the fact that Braelyn is within three weeks of being a big sister. And, if Rebecca’s motherly intuition is correct, it will probably be less than the 3 weeks. While the baby’s due date is September 23, the doc has scheduled a Friday, September 18 induction. Our money is on not waiting that long. Rebecca feels like she needs a few more weeks to get everything done at work that she needs to get done, but the little one may not let her.

Baby’s name is going to be Brody Carlen Elledge. Brody because we like that name. Carlen because that is my mom’s maiden name and Rebecca suggested it. Elledge because I think the baby is mine. Time will tell if we got the names right!

Brody’s room is almost ready. New carpet was put in yesterday. Walls are painted. We have *some* of the stuff that will hang on the walls to bring it alive but still have to get some. So, surprise surprise, Brody’s room is baseball-themed. Vintage baseball themed, I should say. Grandpa Bradshaw was going to build a couple of nice wooden lockers for the room, but I think I complicated it enough that he doesn’t feel comfortable doing it now. So, I have to find me a good wood carpenter to get them built. Will be searching the WWW later today to find someone. I have already diagramed them and have some pictures for the lucky person to work off of.

As of today, Braelyn has been out of her crib and in her new big girl bed for one week. While Rebecca and I would have been more than content to leave her in the crib for awhile, her pediatrician suggested we get her out of the crib and into her big girl bed in advance of Brody coming home so that she won’t have any negative associations with the baby and leaving the crib. She has done really well in her queen sized bed… thanks to the rails we added to the side, we get some sleep, too. Only once this past week did we find her not in the bed in the morning, and that time she was on the chair we put at the corner to catch her if she falls. I think she really likes her new bed and has been doing quite well with it.

The Big Dawg is pretty-well back to “normal” and is recouped from his ACL surgery. He is back chasing the next door evil dogs up and down the fence line, at least until Rebecca or I get over there and get him to stop. I am not inclined to have to replace his other knee so he best take it easy.

Well, since we last “spoke”, my grandpa Carlen has moved out to California to be in an Alzheimer’s facility. He seems to be doing quite well and enjoying it, at least from what we hear out here. The facility is close to my aunt and uncle’s place so they get to see him quite frequently. It was definitely time. Speaking of evil, that is most definitely what Alzheimers is.

Should be off to the Gorge next weekend for my somewhat annual trip to see the Dave Matthews Band for three nights in paradise. Doesn’t look like I will be making the trip this year. Figure it is too risky that Brody might grace us with his presence around that time, so I am going to have to miss out. It’s a bummer, too, as I won’t get to hear the new album at the Gorge and won’t get to reconnect with Rick and Nath (from Europe) and Jamie (from Las Vegas) who we camped by last year. I was looking forward to seeing them again, but they will have to enjoy this year without Gabe and I.

Work is crazy. We sold part of the business and created a new brand, Codero, for our remaining services. This has, and will continue to, kept me overly busy with work. I enjoy working hard and a lot (yep, that’s the Republican in me), so I guess it’s good.

Ok, so I touched on politics… let me get this out of the way right now. I am so excited to live in a country with czars in charge of many aspects of my life. I am so excited to live in a country which is de-privatizing industry and taking control over salaries, leadership and the such. I am so excited to live in a country that is more concerned with the “rights” of those who intend to do harm than the safety of its citizens. I am so excited to live in a country that is governed by a few whackos who feel that even though they can’t keep our government clean they should manage our health care for us. I am so thankful to Pelosi, Frank and Obama for really doing everything possible to make my life better so I don’t have to.

Enough politics for now. Quick sports update:

* Broncose will suck. Bowlen will figure out soon he messed up.

* Royals still suck. And, as long as they have David Glass and crew owning them, they probably always will.

* Chiefs will still suck, though they may double their victories from a year ago. The push for 4 is on!

* Soccer is still not my favorite thing to watch. Spent 2 hours watching Spencer play it yesterday. And after 80 minutes of thrilling no-scoring soccer, they shake hands and walk off the field with both teams, um, winners? losers? equals? I dunno, guess it isn’t important enough to have someone win that they don’t do over time or even a “kick-off” of some sort. What a disappointment to spend so much time watching so much “action” and not even have a winner. Oh well, this way I am the only loser!

Speaking of Spencer… it’s official. He’s 16. But have no fear [yet] as he doesn’t have his driver’s license. That will be coming soon, though. He’s a sophomore in high school. Must be doing really well… hasn’t had any homework in the first week!

Ok, time to go put together a crib and such so will sign off.

Talk to you soon… maybe.

-RE