Oversights

Mindy and family came down on Monday and she mentioned she had read the update on our blog. She reminded me that I hadn't even mentioned the birth of Tate. I guess while I wasn't keeping up on my blog, lots of things happened. Let me fill you in. Mindy had her lastest addition to her family, Tayton David Merrill, on February 12, 2009. He shares his birthday with Susan's twins and Abraham Lincoln. He is a cute little guy with fuzzy light brown hair. It sticks straight up all the time. (It reminds me of Mike when he was a little boy.) He's five months old now, and he's just fitting into clothes that Porter wore when he was three months old. He's built very different--perhaps I should say Porter is built very different. Porter is very stocky and solidly built. Tate is built more like Clay.

I also didn't mention that my father, Ralph Mattingly, celebrated his 80th birthday on the 20th of June. His actual birthday is the 19th, but we threw a big bash at my brother, Shane's house on the 20th. We had a torrential downpour during the celebration, but Shane and Debbie opened their swimming pool anyway, and our grandchildren swam in the rain. We wondered if we should call them in from the rain so they wouldn't get wet. Funny how grown-ups think, isn't it? The pool is about 98 degrees, keeping it a warm swim in spite of the cool weather.

We enjoyed the family interaction and I think Dad had a good time. He was a little teary-eyed before the shindig got started. Shane and Deb had gone all out with decorations, and the festivites were top notch. He felt like there was too much time and money spent on him, but we all had fun doing it.