The Gravley Life

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Three Plus Two

In moments of questionable judgment, Bets and I decided to increase the size of our family by adding a cat first, and then a kid (the decisions were made in the reverse order). We didn't do this to test the limits of how many "beings" (human or feline) we could fit into our 990 sq ft house, although I'm sure the results will be interesting. We also did not feel the necessity to measure up to some ideal that trumpets the false sense of fulfillment from having two heterosexual parents, a dog, a cat, a commuting car, a minivan and 2.4 children -- especially considering the legal/medical implications of creating 0.4 of a child. Although, we're actually there, sans the 0.4 "it", which gives me an unsettling urge to jump out of plane with a air board strapped to my feet, screaming "I'm alooooooonnnnnneeeee" for 8,000 ft and "Oh craaaaa" for the rest of the fall. As an aside, when do I get my midlife crisis toy, and what's the price limit on that? I'm thinkin' Tahiti.

So we got a cat, Jack Wyatt. He's about 8 months old. I was against this addition and had been for a long time, but even the strongest of defiant walls are worn away by the constant pleadings of a wife and a 3 year old. Jack Wyatt (JDub) is actually an exceptional cat. He's mellow, affectionate, doesn't shed, looks nice, knows how to use the litter box, and is endlessly patient with James. He was a gift from Kirsten, James' Aunt, for his birthday.

The other addition is that Bets is due February 4th with a new kid, a boy. His name will probaby by Samuel Henry Gravley. I'm reserving my thoughts on the new kid for another post, but in short, we're very excited!

I changed the image on this site to something a little more personal. Below, I've posted a couple of pictures from the shoot.

Happy Holidays!




Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Ten Pin Alley - James Bowling

As parents, Bets and I sometimes get stuck doing some of the same activities over and over on weekends like going to the MN Zoo or the Mall of America. We thought we'd try something new last weekend, and headed to the Brunswick Zone in Lakeville.

The Brunswick Zone just opened up. It's a bowling alley with an arcade, restaurant, corporate meeting space, and lots of alleys (I'll bet you had guessed that part). It's very nice.

We came into the place during "Cosmic Bowling", luckily. The lights were down, laser lights and fog machines painted the alleys, and music blared overhead. James loved it!

We had a great time. Here's a vid of James knocking the hell out of a couple of pins.