WOO HOO!!!!!

Could we BE more EXCITED?
(There's a sign of the 'Friends' generation for you...)

The answer is NO... we could NOT!

He PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Mike officially passed his state exam. He's done... it's over!!!

What was his score? We'll never know. They only show you a score if you fail. So, we're very happy we don't know what his score was.

It was, however, at least 75%

The Doran Kids...

Are finally official.

The family made a brief court appearance yesterday and even took pictures with the judge!

In typical Doran fashion this has been one heck of a year. Fortunately, we are on the down side. Mike takes his final this week and his state exam on Friday 10/29. Then we are off to the beach for a well deserved break.

November looks to be a quiet month. Kate asked Mike if he would help decorate the house for Christmas this year. It's not his favorite part of the holiday because I'm a little picky. He was such a good guy last year, he decorated and took orders from me (no, hell did not freeze over)... although he yelled at me twice for climbing up on a chair... and the ladder... and the couch.

So, he's off the hook this year, but has promised to help decorate the tree like he always does. I told Ethan he could be my little ladder-boy this year and he replied, "That's great, I love a good excuse to hurt myself."

Isn't that the truth.

I plan on getting him a t-shirt with a stick figure that has fallen down that says:

I Do My Own Stunts

Which is absolutely true... because he really does.

In the last year alone we've had the mysterious elbow injury, the dislocated fingers, a knot on head from running into the freezer... and probably half a dozen I've already forgotten. And, he does a great Dick Van Dyke over the ottomans in the den, all accidental too.

Flu Shots

Maggie got her flu shot yesterday...

Fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective) Ethan and Kate will not be able to get a flu shot this year because they are not "high risk." Maggie, just shy of 10 months old is considered "high risk."

So, she got her flu shot and took it like a real little trooper! She weighs almost 18 pounds now!

She didn't seem to have any side-effects. Doesn't even have a knot where she got the injection. Today she seems to be in a great mood - just as active as ever... of course, I don't think anything could knock this kid out for long. Mike says she's a little machine. She wakes up IN MOTION.

In other news... Mike has a test date for the state exam!!!!
Friday, 10/29!!!! We're really excited and plan to start shopping for his new work truck in November!

We Can FINALLY See The Finish Line...

It's been a long five months. I wouldn't disagree that five months really isn't that long. In some respects the time has seemed to just fly by. It seems like school has only been back in session for a couple of weeks. Yet, looking at the calendar - we're only 5 weeks away from Thanksgiving.

Still, we're all tired. Mike is especially exhausted. He went back to school the beginning of June. He passed his finals and went through some tedious steps to get his state application put together correctly. Then he went back to school... again. Only this time it required a 90 minute drive (EACH WAY) twice a week. He rarely gets in before 11:30 and is always up by 6:30am to get to work on time.

Now we are down to his final 4 classes, the last being a final exam. And, we just found out that his application was accepted and he can take the state exam as early as 10/23.

It's been a long road, and yet, he's really accomplished a lot in what might appear to be a very short span of time. We really couldn't be more proud of him.

We're also looking forward to having him back. Being gone two nights a week isn't that big of a deal, until you consider all the time he has to spend studying, not just studying for the current class, but studying for the state exam as well.

Still, he has managed to have Kate to all of her piano lessons on time, found time to help Ethan with a new song or two, and even shut down study time early on Sundays to watch movies with us.

But, between his classes and the kids being in school - we've had one heck of a crazy schedule. We are all due for a break... if we can just hold on for a couple more weeks - we just might get one.

Ever The Political Activist...

Ethan has vowed to personally cancel his father's subscription to Guitar World magazine...

IF...

If the featured article for this month (100 Worst Guitar Solos) mentioned anything remotely negative about Jimmy Page. For those who do not know this "Guitar/Rock God" he would be the famous Jimmy Page of LED ZEPPELIN.

Ethan spent a long time going over every word the article contained and walked away satisfied that Guitar World had not slandered his idol. Mike's subscription is safe.

Let us all breathe a sigh of relief...

Done?

Me too.

But Who's Counting?

Katie is!

This time of year our white board in the hallway becomes a giant COUNTDOWN POSTER! Katie has decorated it in red and green... and every day she updates how much longer it is until Christmas!

As of today (10/07/04) there are only 79 days left until CHRISTMAS!


Click here to see exactly how long it is until Christmas!