The Commissioned Artwork...

Michele's cousin Mary is a very talented artist.  We thought it would be nice if we would ask her to make a piece of artwork to hang on Sammy's wall.  Michele figured something with a cowboy theme (since Sammy likes cowboys so much...though right now Batman is the thing).  So Paul got the notion that maybe if we had Sammy as the cowboy....now Mary will be making a set of two pieces of artwork.  The works are, still in progress, but here is where things are now (we're very excited):

Mary's original concept...

Sammy's 3rd-year birthday portrait...

Paul's idea he sent to Mary..."Sammy with that kind of look
where he's both a boy, yet seems older than he is (and then again
doesn't). -- I figure Sammy will not always like
cowboys, but Michele and I will always like Sammy)." 

And the concept Paul made from the original photo:

Mary sent us a progress photo...

Fleas...

Paul recently got his new ukulele...a Flea Ukulele.  He got just the basic model.  It's an interesting musical instrument (see this review).  The side/back is made of plastic/fiber glass. For its price, it's a nice uke to use on a daily basis for playing.

"The FLEA uke offers easy playability, great sound and plenty of personality. The FLEA is offered in both soprano and concert scale (15 frets). A solid maple neck and Australian pine top are combined with a molded body and fretboard creating a surprisingly big, bright tone, unmatched at this price. Available in cool colors and designs with a how-to-play booklet. Rosewood fretboard and pickup options are available on all models. Proudly made in the USA." - Flea website

Anyway, we found this on youtube...a tour of the Flea factory (the "Fluke" is another model they make):

What could be better?

What could be better than playing the ukulele?  Only one thing...playing the newspaper (just watch to see)...now if we can just get Michele to learn to play the upright bass....