Update: Ben passed his Search and Rescue final which involved finding golf balls on the bottom of the ocean. I guess he found them because he is now officially (he got a card) an advanced search and rescue diver. He is building a hydraulic machine that cuts wire in his hydraulics class. He wears special helmets in his surface supplied diving class. He needs clean clean socks to go in a chamber and sit in his hyperbarics class. Also, and I'm relatively unhappy about this one, he is participating in "no-shave november" but he doesn't quite grow hair in all the usual places (not ready yet?) so he has a sort of goatee and extra long sideburns. And maybe his soul patch isn't a soul patch anymore and is now part of that damn goatee? Other than that he's been reading science fiction books from the public library and eating enough to feed a family of four. He made a lovely fennel pasta sauce the other night.

also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELVIS!!! I LOVE YOU DEARLY HAVE FUN TONIGHT!!!!