They Grow Up So Fast

Originally published at BunkBlog. You can comment here or there.

He’s nine?  How the heck did that happen?

First of all, I love this squirrel:

That little critter is the only mammal at the Nature Center that tries to escape through the roof of its cage. We start humming the Mission Impossible theme music whenever we see him.

Alex’s love of all things military continues, so even though he asked for a birthday party with lots of animals, he still got this cake:

He loved wearing the snake and was great with the tarantula:

More photos in the gallery, as usual.

Kat coerced three other Nature Center folks to help with the party (a task which is usually relegated to just Kat), so the kids got to see over a dozen animals, and everyone was able to touch and hold them. A few animals were brought out that have never been brought to a party or event before - Kat rocks.

Alex has had a pretty good year, with his trips to several Eastern states, a trip to ride nearly every roller coaster at Fiesta Texas, Schlitterbahn, lots of toys, games, and just a lucky time for the boy. Fortunately, he’s also a great kid. Every time I have other children his age over for dinner, I’m reminded again how well Alex’s mother and I have done in instilling a modicum of manners and not instilling a distrust of vegetables and “weird” food.  He loves to try new things, and although I may want to strangle him some days, I’m very happy that he’s in my life.  Happy Birthday, boy.

GOP spends $150,000 for Palin’s wardrobe

Originally published at BunkBlog. You can comment here or there.

Once again, we are shown how easily the McCain/Palin campaign can relate to the average American voter. Yep. Obama is such an elitist, with his one house and paying for his own clothing.

The Republican National Committee spent about $150,000 on clothing, hair styling, makeup and other “campaign accessories” in September for the McCain campaign after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin joined the ticket as his running mate.

More detail
You’d think this sort of thing would be illegal. Thanks to the campaign finance reform laws backed by Senator McCain over the years, it is illegal for the campaign to spend this sort of money on personal services for a candidate. Fortunately for the campaign, McCain’s bills never included a mention of the National Committee being prohibited from spending that money. Good for them.