#42: Win a round of either mini-golf or bowling.

I did better... I did BOTH!

#42: Win a round of either mini-golf or bowling.

As a kid in a family with many competitive people, it is rather difficult to win at either of these games until you're old enough to play by the rules. When I was three, my dad still counted every little movement of the mini-golf club as a stroke, so I ended up with a score in the high 200,000s every time.

Now, I'm old enough and I was determined as anything to beat my family in these games for two reasons: one, for my own (admittedly selfish) recognition, and two, as punishment for all the torture I went through playing these games as a little kid.

First, the bowling:

In early July, Mom was down at the beach with a friend so I was with Aunt Leah and the kids hanging out. We decided to take advantage of an offer the bowling alley had that said all kids under the age of 16 could play free on weekends. I put my acting face on and went Benjamin Button-style, turning 15 before everyone's eyes. (Actually, I just raised my voice about a half octave so the guy behind the counter would believe that this 6'1" kid was under 16.)

We decided to play two rounds. The first round went pretty badly for me. I ended up in fourth (behind Alex who won, Nana who is 4x my age, and Aunt Leah who was playing one-handed while carrying Maddie in the other). Embarassing, right? Wes finished last, though, having gotten mostly gutterballs, so we decided for the second round that we'd put the bumpers up. This, tied in with my exponentially greater determination having failed miserably in the first round, led to a better outcome the second round.

That outcome was called first place, baby.

I did a little victory dance with Maddie (who was covered in lemonade, chicken finger crumbs, vomit and eyeshadow and not happy about it) and accepted my trophy (getting to put all the bowling balls back on the racks) and skipped out of the alley happy as a clam. I was disheartened, however, when Alex mentioned that technically he won the game as he had a higher combined total between the two rounds than I did.

So we called for a rematch.

Granted, we were a little bowling-alleyed out, so we decided the rematch would take place on the Wii a few days later. When that match happened, it was absolutely neck and neck. In fact, Wesley ended up winning that match (we let him play too), but since it was meant to be the determining factor in Alex and my heated battle, we were playing just for the two of us.

And I won (only by two or three points, but hey, it still counts!).

Alex put up a very good fight, but ultimately he succumbed to my bowling awesomeness. That's not to say our heated competition is over, as Part II of this epic saga is still to come, in the form of goal #71: Beat Alex in Wii Boxing. When the [boxing] gloves go on, the gloves come off...

Mini-Golf:

A decidedly less exciting victory, as it was somewhat rigged in my favor. On the last full day of the beach trip with Dad's family, we got up and went to Viking Golf in Fenwick Island (my personal favorite golf place). Our party was too big for just one game, so we had to split, with Uncle Marty, Aunt Mer, Uncle Kevin, and Grandpa Mike going head to head in one group, and myself, Aunt Amy, and Lauren in the other. (Ellie, Lucas, and Abby played too, but of course they didn't keep score.)

That's right. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I rigged it so I'd go against the two people in the family who admitted how terrible they are at golf. If I had played any of the people in the other group, I would have lost terribly. But I decided to take the low road. Before you judge me though, you have to realize it paid off, cuz I won anyway. So ha!

It was fun and, along with the Boardwalk that night, a nice ending to the trip.

BUT NOW, I AM VICTORIOUS! All those years I was taken advantage up. Seen as no competition. Well, now, if you're playing me in mini-golf or bowling, watch your back because I am coming after you!!!

#75: Write a song for your guitar.

Took me long enough!

#75: Write a song for your guitar.

Many, many years ago, my parents got me a guitar as a birthday gift. From then until last September, said guitar sat in my closet collecting dust. Then, my mom and I decided we would try to get me lessons at George's Music (a music superstore near our house). Suddenly BAM! I became obsessed with playing. In the most stressful few months of my life, guitar was one of a very limited few activities I still enjoyed. Others included singing, acting, watching TV, socializing, playing games, and [the one I am best at] writing.

Granted, I am best at writing poetry. I have written some kickass poems that nobody has ever read...they're all in the bottom drawer of my desk, and probably enough to fill a whole anthology by now! Songs were a whole new forum for me.

Since this was my first song and as I am still more of an advanced beginner at guitar but a much better writer, I decided I'd write the lyrics first and then add the chords later. I wanted to write something that spoke to me, something that could influence people. I decided to write a song with the same message as this project, to look at the great things in life rather than the ones that bring you down. That brought to mind the idea of a "glass half full", and that became the title and basis for the song. Then I came up with a simple chord progression that matched perfectly.

The night of Aunt Leah's birthday, I sang it for the family and when I looked up, everyone was in tears. That was a cool feeling because it meant the song accomplished what I wanted it to. Even my mom, who is completely anti-arts (theater, music, etc.) told me that it was good enough to become a hit. I don't know about that, but Pop-Pop (my grandpa) is going to help me get it copyrighted so I can at least record it and post it to Facebook or YouTube without any possibility of plagiarism.

Without further ado, here it is... I hope you like it.
The Glass Half Full:

Staring through a painted glass
The glass stares back at me
The water reaches for the brim
But half full is all it can be
There’s not enough to be full
But too much to be empty though
Room for error, room to lose
But there is also room to grow

And as I look at this glass
I can’t help but ask

Is it what we’ve had that we have lost
Or what we have still with no cost
What we’ve gained or what we lack
What we’ve been given or what we’ve given back
There’s just enough to keep us going
Just enough to wet our cup
We’ll only ever get halfway there,
Halfway down or halfway up

In this life full of successes
We all have our share of fails
We must risk to make it anywhere
And this glass asks heads or tails
It gives or souls something to feed on
An endless questionable pull
Does this glass have any purpose?
Are our lives empty or full?

And as I look at this glass
I can’t help but ask

Is it what we’ve had that we have lost
Or what we have still with no cost
What we’ve gained or what we lack
What we’ve been given or what we’ve given back
There’s just enough to keep us going
Just enough to wet our cup
We’ll only ever get halfway there,
Halfway down or halfway up



So may this circle be unbroken
May any lies be unspoken
Pray the Lord my soul to keep
May I see the shallow water deep
And may I live but one more day
May I say all I have meant to say
And may this glass next to my bed
Put thoughtful dreams in my head

And as I look at this glass
I can’t help but ask

Cuz it’s what we’ve had that we have lost
And what we have still with no cost
It’s what we’ve gained, and what we lack
What we’ve been given, and what we’ve given back
There’s just enough to keep us going
Just enough to fill our cup
We’ll only ever get halfway there,
I’m happy just to be halfway up
------------

Hope you liked it! I'm glad I got this experience crossed off because now I feel more confident to go write even better songs! I might sing this at one of our concerts this year. Who knows, maybe someday you'll hear it on the radio! =)

What can I say? I like my glass half full.

#19: Try a donut with a weird flavor combo at the Fractured Prune.

Just because things taste good separate does NOT mean they will taste good together!

#19: Try a donut with a weird flavor combo at the Fractured Prune.

For those who don't know, the Fractured Prune is a "donut shoppe" in Ocean City, MD where the donuts are made custom for you (unlike that other donut place... Dunkin' Somethin'?)

All of the toppings are delicious of course. I, however, am willing to take a challenge and try to make a disgusting flavor out of the tasty ones they have.

Last year, I tried their mint chocolate chip donut and it was DISGUSTING. However, as that was a premade flavor, I don't count it. I am a mint lover, but for some reason mint on a donut does not work. So I decided to stick with mint as the glaze flavor. Then, I had to choose a sugar: powdered, granulated or cinnamon sugar. Of those three, the one I figured would go worst with mint was cinnamon sugar so I picked that. From the toppings, I was torn between coconut and sprinkles, but I don't eat coconut and I wasn't gonna push my luck getting sick at the beach, so I stuck with sprinkles.

We can all agree, I'm sure, that separately, a donut, mint flavor, cinnamon sugar and rainbow sprinkles are delicioso (as Dora the Explora would say), but how did they taste together?

Honestly? Not as bad as I expected!

I almost felt disappointed. Granted, Aunt Mer called it, saying that the combo sounded awesome to her, but I had faith that it would be nasty. And it let me down.

Would I order it again? No, I'd probably stick to the maple cinnamon donut or even the prune donut (much tastier than it sounds), but overall it really wasn't that bad a combo. Maybe Baskin Robbins should consider adding a 32nd flavor- Cinnamint (with optional rainbow sprinkles for the kiddies)!

Oh well. Better luck gagging next time.

#9: Send a message in a bottle.

I'm Nate Stauffer, and I approve this message.

#9: Send a message in a bottle.

Another thing I have always wanted to try is this, but I never could find the right words and I didn't want to litter. Well, I decided there's no better time than the present. The opportunity presented itself while I was at the beach with my dad's family, and I seized it.

I found an empty Perrier bottle in the recycling at the condo and it said "biodegradable", so that relieved my worries. I didn't have any real paper so I had to improvise, using one of the courtesy "ResortQuest" post-it pads that was in the main realtor's office (luckily, Gram had grabbed a few so we had them handy! We used them to keep score in board games too.) I sat quietly in the room that Mom and I shared and just wrote what came to mind...
---
Dear Reader,
I don't know who is going to read this, if anyone at all. My name is Nate. I'm 16 and I live in PA. I've had a rough year and it wasn't until just recently that I learned how to live life the right way. One thing I've always wanted to do is send a message in a bottle, so here it is. Now I want you to go send a message for someone else to read. And as you go through your life, remember this letter and, more importantly, remember to live each day to the fullest while you can and don't be afraid to show your real emotions. I don't know if we'll ever meet, and if we do, I can't be sure we'll recognize each other, but I hope the person I meet is a better person because of this letter you're reading.
-Nate
---
Mucho corny? Chet, you betcha. Nonetheless, my whole goal with this list is "Carpe Diem" basically in that I'm trying to enjoy every moment of life (especially those where I'm not sick) and at the same time to try to pass that along to others. This was my way of trying to do that yet again. I just let my words pour out so they could be washed away by the tide.

I sealed the lid shut and snuck the bottle onto the beach (NO LITTER!)... actually, I kind of smuggled it in Mom's purse. When the time came, Mom grabbed the camera and I took the bottle. The wind was blowing so hard I could hardly keep my eyes open. Sand was whipping along the ground, scourging my feet and leaving little miniscule scrapes that itched for a few hours afterward. Nonetheless, I trudged on toward the water. I tried to avoid getting wet since my jeans were the only semi-nice pants I had with me, but they still got a little damp from the foamy remnants of the waves that lapped up against my ankles.

I wanted to keep the bottle close enough to shore that someone would be able to find it but not so close that it would come right back to me on a rolling wave and get stuck in the sandbank. I gave it a moderate-powered throw which worked perfectly as it managed to push against the wind and catch a wave maybe 20 feet out. I watched as my message surfed the waves, pushing back against nature, The wind pushed it west of me and I watched it until it was a little speck on the distant lefthand edge of my sightline. I never saw it again.

I don't know where that bottle ended up. I don't know if anyone found it, or if they even took the time to read it instead of just throwing it out.. I don't know if it dissolved in the salty water and the papers were carried off until the fibers broke apart and my words were lost at sea. I'll never know what happened to that message, but I can only hope someone read it and that it influenced them in some minor positive way. For the rest of my life, I can wonder what happened to it, who received it if anyone at all, and while that would bother most people, I like that feeling. In this definite world where there is a place for everything and everything has its place, there is now one little detail that is eternally indefinite, about which I can forever ponder, forever wonder, forever dream...

#73: Wear something crazy in public.

We may look weird in the picture (the sun was reflected off the car and glared into our eyes), but we looked MOOOO-velous in our COW-stumes!

#73: Wear something crazy in public.

How it all milked out...
Near Aunt Leah's house is a Chick-Fil-A. Mom and I don't have any of those nearby, and she thought it would be fun to stop in sometime. I had a movie I wanted to see, so one morning, she dropped me off at the movies and took Nana and all three kids to Chick-Fil-A. While they were there, she noticed a sign that said "Cow-preciation Day! Pick up your costume packs at the front!"

For those unaware, the mascot of Chick-Fil-A is a cow who is upset because people eat so much beef and not enough chicken. This was a "cow-vent" hosted by the mascot for cows to gather at the Chick-Fil-A and get free chicken meals for surviving the bloody, horrifying Beef Holocaust that so many of their ancestors succumbed to.

In plain English, it was a publicity stunt where anyone dressed in a cow suit could get a free meal. Of course, Mom saw the word "free" and jumped at the chance faster than the cow that went over the moon. She got black fabric, tape, markers, stickers, white hats and cow masks and had each person (except Uncle Mac, who was in Michigan the day of the event) grab an undershirt and make a cow costume.

It was fun to begin with, but when we actually pulled up on the day of the event, we were instantly ashamed. As we were walking in, we looked around the parking lot and saw not ONE SINGLE COW! We were sure we were the only idiots that had paid any attention to it. When we got inside, though, we breathed a sigh of relief. Almost everyone inside was in costume and the mascot was walking around greeting his relatives. Some people, believe it or not, went even crazier than we did with the costumes!

Well, I can say taking that long walk of shame through the parking lot was plenty embarassing, but once we got inside, it was so much fun. Maddie was freaked out by the mascot at first, but when he walked away she kept asking "Moo?" (In fact, the rest of the day, her conversations were peppered with "Moo? Haha!") If nothing else, we saved about $50 on food between the 8 of us.

I've worn some embarassing stuff in my time... viking hats, superhero costumes, the occasional princess dress (courtesy of Olivia), milk carton masks, bunny ears, clown wigs, big blue and purple fuzzy tophats, Elvis getups, but never anything quite like that homemade cow costume. And it wasn't even Halloween! (Granted, it WILL be my Halloween costume this year!) But it made it even more insane and enjoyable to be doing it with the WHOLE clan. It was an A-MOO-zing experience, and I personally can't wait for the next "Cow-preciation Day"!

#76: Visit the SPCA again.

Our lemonade money went to a good cause.

#76: Visit the SPCA again.

Two days after our lemonade stand-stravaganza, Alex, Wes and I went with Pop-Pop and Mom to the local humane society to donate our proceeds. We had also collected a rawhide bone and two toys for the doggies there. Even though it was only $40, it felt so great to know we were able to help to some extent. Max, my doggy, was adopted from a pound so I have a special place in my heart for shelter dogs.

My original intention for this goal was to go back to the SPCA where we got Max, but it occurred to me that every kennel is equal in the sense that all the animals there are in need of a home, so what's the difference which one I go to or help out at. As a reult, for the lemonade stand, Mom and I came to an agreement that we would go to Aunt Leah's humane society instead.

After dropping off the donations, we took a few minutes to walk around in the cage area where all the puppies were chilling. Most of them, as soon as they heard us open the door, came right up to the edge of their cages to see us. It makes you feel even more special seeing the actual animals your donation is going to help and how happy they are just to see someone come in to pet them or talk to them. A few stood out. One dog had just passed his "Canine Good Citizen Test", which I took to mean "Behavior Rehab for Dogs". There were a brother and sister that were a cross between a bloodhound and some other huge dog... Imagine the adorable sad face of a bloodhound on a 7 foot, 400 pound body. There was a tripod (three-legged) dog that I had remembered from my slideshow. Mom fell in love with a medium-sized black-haired dog with a white spot on her chest (forget the name, but I think it began with S.) They were all so adorable. There were a lot of Boxers there too. (The dog, not the athlete... Lord knows Mom would've adopted Sugar Ray Leonard.)

We left feeling good about what we had done. One of the unwritten parts of my list is, along the way to never turn down an opportunity to help someone out. I'e stuck true to that, from offering to bring the laundry down for Grandma and Pop-Pop to helping the Diveleys with Bridget's heart to dancing like an idiot with a bunch of little kids for Baobab Blast to, now, helping out animals in need. It makes the list even more important, enjoyable, and fulfilling for me.

Thank you to everyone who supported the lemonade stand and to the puppies who we met for helping me remember why I should help out whenever, wherever, and whoever I can.

#63: Open a lemonade stand.

Makin' money makin' lemonade!

#63: Open a lemonade stand.

You know, as a kid people always talk about lemonade stands. On TV, characters will have lemonade stands (or in Spongebob's case, bubble stands!) You'll drive by kids in your neighborhood that are having them. But I'm one of those ones that never really took the time to hold one. (I was much too busy playing in a cardboard box castle with my Tarzan action figures.)

Well, now I'm older and I have the drive to do stuff, so I wanted to gie this a shot, and boy am I glad I did!

On July 2nd, the night before the stand, we started with the basics. First, we had to decide which charity to put the money towards. We narrowed it down to either a local park dedicated to a little girl who died of cancer or the local animal shelter. The park looked well funded, though, and we wanted to try and cross another item off the list (Visit an animal shelter), so we went with the humane society.

Mom pulled out some posterboard and markers and the boys (mainly Wes) and I went crazy. We made a big sign to put out on the table (stand) and then a bunch of smaller signs that we put throughout Aunt Leah's development.

Later that night (after chasing my naughty dog through the neighborhood before catching him sneaking back into the yard through the fence), Aunt Leah and I went to their local Giant and bought two things of lemonade (little did we know that we already had two back at the house), ice, cups and ingredients for brownies.

We were up super late baking three batches of brownies, two things (gallons?) of lemonade and a slideshow of pictures of dogs from the local homeless shelter. We ended up not using the slideshow, but I still have it and it is nice to look through. Plus, I got to meet the dogs a couple days later! (Stay tuned for that post.)

The next morning, we awoke super early. By the time I got upstairs for breakfast, the stand was already up, the cooler was outside, and the boys were already manning it for me! I had a quick bowl of cereal (and I snuck a brownie =P) and then jumped outside to get started. I grabbed Uncle Mac's outdoor speaker and hooked it up to my iPod (I made a kid-friendly playlist).

Business boomed in the first hour of the stand. All the neighbors and the kids' friends were guilted into coming over and buying at least one cup. People actually hung around in the yard to talk to the grownups and as a result, ended up buying multiple cups. It was really hot out that day (and yet we were still very strict about how much ice we gave people).

After a few hours, we were pooped out. By the time that Mom, John, Aunt Joyce, and Grandpa George got there, we were almost done with the stand entirely! Maddie was a little crabby from getting up so early, so she stole some of our money and ran away and played with it on the front porch for the whole time we were out there (supervised, of course).

I would like to take all the credit for the stand, but I have to hand it to a few people... Mom's work on the posters, Aunt Leah's baking skills, Alex's support and Wes' all around help (he did more than I did, actually!) really made the stand as great as it was. But I'll still take SOME credit. After all, it WAS my idea!

The stand was so much fun and we ended up raising an even $40 for the shelter (which we delivered in person a few days later... I will post that adventure in a few days.)

Another item checked off the list, another childhood dream fulfilled, another awesome memory to look back on, and another set of dry throats and empty stomachs satisfied. All in a day's work!

#50: Try Hawaiian (Pineapple) Pizza.

Yuuuuum.... or Yuuuuuck?!

#50: Try Hawaiian (Pineapple) Pizza.

I did not require myself to put the ham on the pizza as well as with whatever condition I have, my body seems not to process salty foods very well and ham has not gone down quite right the past few times I've tried it. (It's come back up just fine though =P)

Well, a couple factors played into this. First, the pizza was not professionally made; rather, it was made by me and was looooaded with cheese, which looking back couldn't possibly have helped the pineapple taste better. Secondly, we used rings, not chunks of pineapple, so the juices spread more and it infected the whole pizza like it was infected with necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating bacteria... impressed with the terminology? Thank you, Wikipedia!) Now that the disclaimers are out of the way...

Let me start by saying I have always said that hate is too strong a word to use. Okay, that being said...

I hated it.

Haha! I really don't know why. I like pizza and all of the ingredients (cheese, sauce, pepperoni, olives, etc.) I like pineapple. Why did I not enjoy pineapple ON my pizza. Well here's an analogy... I like ice cream. I like mac and cheese. I would NEVER eat the two together. Or... I like the show The Big Bang Theory. I also like Morgan Freeman. Would I like it if in the middle of an episode of TBBT, Morgan Freeman began narrating with his booming godlike voice? Probably not. (Although, honestly, can't you just hear the choir of "Bazinga"s?)

Again, hate's probably too strong. I very very much disliked the presence of a juicy tropical fruit on my fatty Italian delicacy. That said, I'm glad I put it on the list because so many people do enjoy it so I wanted to see what the hype was all about. THAT said, will I ever try it again?

Answer that question by answering this question. Is Morgan Freeman a mere mortal, just like the rest of us?

[Hint: the answer is no. He has some supernatural abilities, and the pizza was just plain nasty. No, thank you very much.)

#44: AIRZOOKA FIGHT!!!

One of the really fun goals on the list that was added at the very last minute...

#44: Airzooka fight!

We got three airzookas, six cans of silly string, and a crazy sprinkler and had an afternoon of crazy fun! It was super hot when we first started, so we were all a little tense but the airzookas were good stress relievers! Alex, Wes, and I chased each other around, shooting the airzookas left and right. I may have hit Max a couple of times... He may have gone crazy as a result! We then gave everyone else the honor of being shot with airballs. Maddie thought it was the greatest thing although she made her scaredy face every time. Within 15 minutes though, all three were broken. Quality stuff right there! [Luckily, Uncle Mac fixed them all with duct tape and they still live to fight another day!]

Then we whipped out the silly string. Wesley of course took blue. Alex and I took whatever other colors there were. Wes used the tactic of shooting long (looooooooooooooooong) strands of silly string at one person at a time so they had to spend half an hour cleaning it off themselves. Alex went for the burst method where he would wait a long period of time before taking short, sniper-like shots at Wesley and myself. I, on the other hand, used the short-shot defense method where I was impartial until someone came after me and then I would barrage them with kamikaze like force until they fell to their knees, stared up at me and begged for their mommy. Okay, not really... Actually my first can of silly sting malfunctioned so it just made a sizzling noise every time you pressed down on it and I lost the fight as a result. If anything, I ended up screaming for my mom several times, but she was too busy laughing at me to help. Oh, cruel silly string world where teenagers can be taken down by pint-sized polymer marksmen...

I surrendered within 5 minutes. Wesley ran out of string within 3. Alex still had a whole can left at the end.

It was SOOO much fun and good stress relief. That is until we had to clean up, of course. =P

Once we finished making balls of dried-out, grass-covered silly string, we were able to hop into our swimsuits and jump into the sprinkler. It was a long orange tupe that had little extensions... fingers, flagella, cilia, whatever you want to call them... each with a hole at the tip so they ended up waving water around uncontrollably. It was so much fun to run through. We brought water guns out with a cup to fill them up, which was a blast. The force of the water was so great that at one point I aimed one of the little wriggling arms at my teeth and it felt like that water pick that the dentist uses. Unfortunately, Wes saw me do this and liked the idea, but he misaimed and hit the back of his throat causing him to gag uncontrollably. Then he went back and did it again. And again.

[And again.]

Maddie decided to join us, but was terrified of actually getting wet. When she first came out, she started running to the very edge where she could get water droplets on her toes and then run away as fast as she could as if she had just come from a monsoon. I decided to have some fun with her, but she wouldn't walk by herself up to the sprinkler (she would trot in place so she could feel brave... so cute!) so I picked her up and ran her in. I didn't know whether to expect her to burst into tears or laugh hysterically. Luckily, she picked the latter. She liked it so much that every time I'd ask if she wanted to go again, she'd say yes. In fact, we might have been out there all night if we could have! As soon as I put her down, though, she was back to her cautious little self.

Once again, it was super fun and another great item on the list!

#57: Be at Maddie's Baptism

In all honesty, probably one of the most important goals on the list was this one.



#57: Be at Maddie's Baptism.

I know the wording sounds strange. "You're the godfather! Of course you have to!" But truthfully with everything that has been going on, I can't make honest-to-God commitments to be anywhere at any time to do any thing, no matter how important. And as much as I adore my goddaughter, I would rather have had to miss out on that day than jeopardize it by going despite being violently ill.

Lucky for me, the sicky fates cut my string a little longer so I was able to attend her baptism. Mom and I had gotten her a cross necklace and a bracelet to wear from Shuler's, but she only agreed to wear the necklace. I felt special but I felt bad for Mom that her gift got... "rejected", per se. =)

Maddie strutted her stuff with that necklace though, man. She thought she was hot stuff. Everyone that came up and said congratulations to her, she first gave a confused look like, "Congrats for what? Getting water poured on my head?" and then proceeded to show them her beautiful necklace.

I've seen 5 baptisms in my life that I can remember (not counting my own, since I was a little preoccupied at the time being a baby and stuff): Aunt Leah, Alex, Wes, Declan, and now Maddie. They're really powerful, although I think there's a little too much hype about them. They'd almost be more subtly beautiful and meaningful if people didn't throw huge shebangs afterwards and videotape it for future generations.

In terms of the actual baptism itself, Maddie stayed relatively calm. For the minutes leading up to it, standing in front of the congregation, she insisted that everyone hold her at least part of the time - her mom, her dad, me, Mom, Aunt Joyce - but when it came time for the blessing, she went right back to her mommy. She had one other little caviat...a request... a clause in her contract. She absolutely insisted that she hold her friend Dora throughout the whole thing. =)

All in all, it was very nice and I'm so glad I could be there. Maddie, if you're reading this some day, I hope you know just how much I love you and am happy for you. I hope to God that I'll be there to witness all the big events in your life, but even if I miss a few I want you to know how special you are to me and I'll always be proud of you. I feel so blessed to be the godfather of such an amazing little girl. <3