King of the neighborhood

So our little guy Bojangles is a mean bully. He has this secret alley way in our backyard that leads to ... well we don't know for sure. But he loves going back there and we suspect he has a nice collection of socks, panties and a slipper where ever it leads. One place that we know for sure it leads is my next door neighbor's backyard. And my neighbor has 2 dogs and a cat. So when Jengles sees the cat, he immediately runs through his secret alley and into the neighbor's yard. We just discovered this and boy were we surprised! We had no idea he was getting into our neighbor's yard at all. That explains the toy duck that he brought into our house that we have no clue where it came from. Also, we suspect he has been going to the bathroom over at her place too because we don't have any clean ups surprisingly. So here is his other backyard where he travels frequently... ie. everytime he sees their cat and he knows the dogs are inside...
peeking over the fence.... Imagine the first time I saw my baby over there...I was so shocked.
He hangs out on their deck taunting the dogs from the sliding door.... Until they get let out and he runs for safety (squealing like a little girl).

The board we put up to stop him from going back into his alley way.

i am so lucky

Its 10 o'clock at night and my honey is in the kitchen making tomorrow night's dinner... beef brisket! And he stuffed it with stuffing or something. He is the best. He loves cooking and I am so grateful!! And I am just lounging in bed waiting for him. He is the cutest and I am lucky.

A fun trip to Texas...

Chris and I went to Texas for a few days to visit my Mom and Michelle. We had a really great time. One day we floated down the river in an intertube. Normally I would freeze doing this but since it was close to 100 degrees and there was high humidity, I managed alright. I am a wimp when it comes to cold water.
We hit the local swap meet... one of my favorite things to do.
We cruised through San Antonio.... while my mom waited for us in an air conditioned hotel lobby.
The cool river walk...
One of the cruising boats that we rode on...

After a yummy brunch at the Four Seasons
More photos from our boat ride...
A cool tree
Here is the start of our trip to Michelle's new home...She definitely lives in the boonies. There is no walmart or a target. She has 1 bakery, 1 post office, fire station, rifle club, and a grocery store. She absolutely loves the laid back pace of life. Chris and I could not live there in a million years except if we were in the witness protection program. Pray that never happens. Those poor people never go to cool places I bet. Just rinky dink places. That would be cool if you got sent to Tahiti or somewhere. Sorry random thoughts.
Michelle's new boyfriend Russ. He is an EMT. And they have been serious for 1 week.
Michelle's new stray dog that she just adopted, named Molly. Lots of new things for Michelle. She has had Molly for 1 week and already she has made huge improvements(sadly she was a beaten dog).
Every night her driveway is covered in frogs! It was so funny. I have lots of photos of her night friends.
The camera can't adjust to the humidity so this is why this photo is blurry... It truly was that sticky out. We were amazed that electronics don't cease to work altogether. But anyway, this is her backyard. She owns 10 acres. It is beautiful.
Sad to say goodbye. We had a great trip visiting. Russ cooked us up great barbeque. We watched the darn Lakers win the World Championship in basketball. All six people watching at her home were for the Celtics. Lakers are too damn cocky. Darn them.

Meeting my birth family in Chicago

The whole group.... From left to right.... Top row- Nathan (Kim's step son), Patrick (Nicole's boyfriend), Nicole (my niece), Peggy (my birthmom). Bottom row- Dale (Peggy's husband), Kim (Peggy's sister), me, and Jeanne (Peggy's sister)

Kim and Nicole, mother daughter (my aunt and niece)
Sitting at the graduation
We took a nice ride out on the boat... Peggy, me and Deb.
Randy, Paula, Peggy and Dale
My grandmother....
So now I understand why it was such a big deal that I attend my (birth) niece's graduation in Chicago. As it turns out, out of 10 people in the family...only 3 have graduated....HIGH SCHOOL!!! And I am included in the 3 people. So, it is a major accomplishment to get a diploma from high school. I arrived in Chicago and I met a lot of Peggy and Dale's family along with a lot of their friends. We got to stay a few nights with Deb and Bill. The other two nights I got to stay with my girlfriend Kimmy which was a blast. Going back to Peggy's family, she has 2 sisters and 2 brothers. However her brothers are not doing so well. She has a homeless brother who literally is a bum. He lives on the streets so I didn't get the chance to meet him. Her other brother Randy is close to being a bum. He doesn't have a job, lives in a dilapidated home rent free and is an alcoholic. The owner of the home however is trying to sell it so if and when it sells, Randy and his wife Paula will be out of luck. I did meet Randy and Paula and they were super nice. I just felt bad for them. They had this apt that didn't even have room to sit down in so we had to sit on the front porch to talk. Not to mention that they don't have email or a phone so the only way to let them know we were coming to visit was to mail them a letter. Crazy huh. Their daughter is in jail and they were headed there to visit her the following day.

And Peggy's sisters were great!! They are super nice and fun to be around. They are big boned and Peggy is definitely the smallest sister. Both Kim and Jeanne just bought houses in Florida close to Peggy and Dale so they all will be living close to one another in a few months. By the way, they bought homes for $60k and $75k and they are nice homes!! I wish I had extra money right now because I would buy a home in Florida. And it was Kim's daughter that graduated.

And I met my grandmother. She was in a nursing home and she has severe Alzheimers. So I met her but she had no clue who I was. She is in the final stages I think.

Overall, it was a great experience. It's a new side to the world I haven't seen really. It really makes me appreciate the family I was raised in. I was given lots of love and a life with opportunities that I would have never had otherwise.
On my last night out in Chicago... I went out with my good friend Kimmy who is on the left.