Education, Politics . . .

School.  This is where politicians irk me. The kids start school and from day one, they want your money.  It's money for supplies, for books, for pictures, for gym clothes.  Money for lunch, for graphing calculators, for the school bus!! Then, here comes the school fundraiser!!!  Now, you get to harrass all of your relatives to please buy things they don't want or need to help the school and win your kid a crummy pizza or a Transformers lunchbox you could have bought at Target for $6.99.

Don't we pay taxes for education??? Isn't this one of the primary and fundamentally important requirements in our society?  Our kids are our future and we can't even get them some windows???  (Jordan's school has no windows.  It really freaks me out.  The place looks like a prison.)

Anyway, grumbling aside, the kids' are sem-excited about being back in school.  Jordan is loving PE and Jeramy is working toward college.  They are both continuing to grow at a rapid pace.  Rob won't be phased and still wrestles them both, risking his life for his Fatherly Honor.  lol.

We all watched the debates last night and the kids are starting to get into the political debate.  Jeramy enjoys the fact that he's the only one at school who knows what's going on in the political world.  I find that a bit scary.  He's considering a job in law enforcement, so we're pushing him toward US Marshall or Military officer . . .who knows where the chips will fall.

1.5 years and the kid can vote.  Sheesh.

There's the Mod Squad to our Left and here we have the . . .Four . . .Amigos? There's my dad, representin' for the UT. Love you dad.

Mia and Rob on the Fourth. Mia and Momma, celebrating June family birthdays. It was a Cindarella/Dinosaur theme, culminating in a scavenger hunt-discovered pinata stuffed with candy, toys and I Love Jesus Fans.





Mia, I need a corndog, or some CHICKEN. PLEEEASE!!



These pics are from my family's visit last month. There's Cami, being buried, one of her favorite pasttimes, and of course, the adorable Miss Emma. No orthodontist can create that smile ;0)

To the left is the glorious G Family. Doing what we do. Standing on walls, dominating, perpetuating joy and good times.









Every Californian should experience the joys of Medieval times. Corny, yet necessary.








We are so excited to have Jordan back from Oklahoma, carrying an extra 7 pounds of Fried Okra and all-you-can-eat pizza. The grandparents did the appropriate spoiling. Jordan perfected his bow and arrow skills and missed Jack, terribly. Or maybe it was the other way around.

The boys are growing like those capsules you buy at the store and submerse in water. It's a little frightening. Every time we turn around, they're thicker, wider, huskier, taller and I (Mia), am beginning to fear for my life. Good think I have some serious num-chuck skills. K, does anyone know how to spell that????

We are all paying a keen eye to the election, although we are less than pleased with the candidates. Occasionally, we like to watch the House of Commons in the UK do their thing. It's always so intense and exciting. These guys actually think on their feet and debate and discuss real raw issues with passion and knowledge. Obama and McCain would fall flat on their faces in a setting like that. Jeramy is taking a newfound interest in democracy. We're thinking he may have the perfect personality for politics. Charm, skills in manipulation. Striking fear in the hearts of men.

Current Readings: 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West.

This is where it all began. A definate must, simply to understand the historical dynamics of this continuous battle.

Well, it's Chile Verde for breakfast and then we are heading up to go kayaking.

Buenas Noches!

Poop and Ahi Tuna

Home Sweet Home.  I love living in a Historic Home,

You feel as though you are part of a legacy as small as it may be,

100 years of life, love and laughter :)
Look at the baby frog on our boy's shirt.  You could

alert him of your excitement, but he's probably NOT listening . . .lol
Such a cool sketch of Jer
These are old pics, but they make me laugh.  Look

at these Hams.  They are so adorable and funny.
I know what you're thinking. And NO.  He's a marvelous Actor. lol.

Life is good, we are working hard, as usual.  I found an amazing Ahi Tuna Steak recipe for the other night, coated in fresh-grated fennel seed, coriander and pepper with a lemon-garlic aioli, over rice.  Rob was on Cloud 9, as he is a sucker for Ahi Tuna. 

We discovered Lake Gregory, and have been heading up to check out the swimming/fishing and boating.  We're cruising up in the morning to do some laps and enjoy the beautiful weather.  It's such an amazing work-out.  California holds endless glories and delights to be discovered.  

Jack, our crazy dog, is finally settling down.  He is adopted, so he has some issues, but we give him continuous love and discipline and he is finally settling down as part of the family. I continue to resist the temptation of doggie stew when I find poop on my carpet.  But, unfortunately for my carpet, we have love for Jack and he part of the family.  

Happy Sunday!!!! :)

BLOGGERS

This whole blog thing has remained strangely elusive to me, until quite recently.  I started browsing.  Blogging, it seems, is very intimate.  There's a site for my graduating class, links to a variety of alumni blogs and I'm suddenly seeing the memories and substance of all my ex-classmates.  You almost feel like you're spying in somebody's living room window, with all the personal information people post.

Mine has been fairly impersonal and vague, as I'm unsure who would be reading about me and my family.  God forbid some psychopath is out there browsing . . . . Then again, I live with three husky men.  Not much to worry about.

The point:  Through my quick little browsing episode, I discovered something.  You know, in high school, we do the whole segregation thing.  You kick it with the people who you feel understand you.  Then again, in our late teenage years we define ourselves by our music, clothing and personality types.  Ironically, every blog had a common thread that was both intense and beautiful.  Families.  Pictures of kids eating this, jumping over that, couples embracing and delightful little paragraphs about the love that they had for each other.  The physicality has changed, and these people only resemble their teenage selves, at best, and to be honest, most of them are complete strangers to me.  

You realize as life progresses, that very few people truly understand the inner workings of your heart or your mind.  Mine has always been cloaked in a shell of cynicism and resentment.  That's neither an act, nor a facade, but actually a mixture of humor and pure annoyance with the shortcomings of humanity.  Ultimately, I'm just another softie who loves to love and gets an enormous kick out of life.  

I have to say, I'm impressed with my co-graduates.  None of them have won the Pulitzer (That I know of), nor established a new equivalent of the Peace Corp. (That I know of), but they seem like truly decent people, with strong family values and gorgeous kids.  I must say, I feel like the odd one out with these teenage boys, but I wouldn't trade them for all the adorable toddlers in the world.  

So now, I am diving headfirst into the world of blogging, so that when we do have a couple little rolly-pollies of our own, they can look back and see the purely human side of their obnoxious domineering mother and their amazingly sweet-stern father.  I too happen to be madly in love with my family and I feel so blessed I could spit cherries.  

Trust me, you will see my skeptical, spiteful side, as she deserves her moments in the sun.  Hopefully Rob will post, because he's the light at the end of the tunnel kind of guy.  

Anyhow, thanks to all you strangers for redeeming my hope in humanity, at least for today. ;)

Mia

July

Jordan G with his Latest Creation

Ooh, check out that Stache.  Stash?  

In N Out.  Need we say more?


Rob's Mom sent over some old pics. So cute.

The boys have been enjoying a pretty kick-back summer, Jordan is in Oklahoma with his grandparents, lovin' it, I'm sure.  Jeramy has been going to work around the house and also been especially busy cultivating his gaming skills.  Right.

Mia's parents and kid sisters came for a visit last month and we had such a blast.  We will be posting pics when we get them together.  We're a bit terrible at this stuff as you can see by our sporadic posting tendencies. 

Mia is almost finished with her Real Estate License and Rob has been insanely busy with his new business ventures.  We have a load of plans for the Fall, including some remodeling and traveling.   

The kids are growing so fast, it's amazing to watch their personalities change overnight.  They've definately picked up their father's optimism and his inclination for steak.  We will be barbecuing nonstop, so visitors are always welcome :).

Updates, Updates

Okay, so I'm guessing one post a month is a bit slackerish, lol.

California is lovely, the sun has begun to get comfortable in the sky, once again.

It's spring break for the boys and Jeramy flew to Tulsa, Oklahoma to visit his grandparents. It's his first time on a plane by himself and Rob is in denial. If he had his way, they would stay babies forever.

We took Jordan's dog, Jack to the doggie park yesterday and he behaved quite oddly. He seems to be a bit anti-social, and here's the first dog in history that doesn't have a clue, when it comes to fetch. He's warming up to Rob, finally. The first few months he would just tremble like a leaf and bark his miniature head off whenever he came around.

I(Mia) had a nice week, finally got some work done. I headed to the Blizzard headquarters mid-week to continue voicework on the video game I began in the fall. Unfortunately it's "top secret", so I can't reveal too much, but it's going to be amazing.

Rob and I are headed to the ASCAP (The songwriters' guild) next week to do some networking and check out some panels. One of my songs was selected to be reviewed.

Rob's work is going well. He's made some important progress and we expect more wondrous things to unfold quite soon.

The cowboy finally jumped ship and headed out to the docks to cook on a private fishing boat.

Overall, life is continuously fascinating and we are all very blessed.

Keep shining :)

-G Family

Hmmm, Intro, I guess

We have officially arrived!!! The BlogWorld is now our domain, no more voicemails, mass emails or telegrams . . . .uh . . .anyway, where do we begin. We have a blessed life. Two incredible families came together the day Rob G and Miss Mia Karter decided to let love carry them. Yeah, I know, the road to Bliss is filled with potholes, but we're doing our best. Ok, enough mumbo jumbo, I'm actually down here writing while Rob and the boys are up in the attic wrestling. Sounds like a damn earthquake in here. I'm not kidding, the walls are shaking, lol. I guess that's what happens when . . .hmm, math, 220 (Rob) + 150 (Jer) + 110 (Jordan)=480 pounds rolls around in a hundred year old house.

It's been a long day. We attended the funeral of Rob's beloved grandmother, Lita Gutierrez, this morning. She passed at 92, having lived a full and amazing life. She worked diligently for the Apostalic Church for nearly her entire life, creating a new fundraising program called "Flor Azul", which earned millions. She also worked towards female strength and had a beautiful charisma, from what I understand. I never had the pleasure of meeting her.

I loved the service, gorgeous singing and they released a dove at the sight, which was lovely. It was nice to have Robert's mother, who recently remarried, her new husband, Raul and Rob's brother, Phillip with us yesterday. It's always pleasant to have family around, people who are legitimately concerned with your well-being.

Jeramy and Jordan are continuing to grow and it's crazy to watch them learn and progress. They are becoming men much quicker than myself or Rob are ready for.

Much love to all and we will be leaving thoughts and experiences on a regular basis,

-Mia :)