Amy's sisters came to visit our new house for the first time, so we fired up a Weber for the first cookout on our deck. We had a selection of salads from eatzi's deli along with burgers and dogs from the grill. Both Aunties work professionally at an architecture and interior design firm, so we got a load of good ideas for decorating the house.

In the last photo, it may appear as if I caught a firefly tonight, but it's actually store bought. While shopping for home stuff at Target this afternoon, I saw the new display for Firefly mobile phones for kids 8-12 years old. I decided to buy one to see if my 73-year-old mother will use it. Unlike normal cell phones, which my mom won't use because she thinks they are all too complicated, the Firefly phone only has five buttons, and I will configure it so she can call my brother or me from the "mommy" and "daddy" speed dial buttons. For $99, the phone comes with a Cingular SIM and 30 minutes of talk time. More time, at 25 cents a minute can be bought at Target as $25, $50, or $75 cards which are activated at the cash register. The Firefly is pictured here running its animated lights in its creative plastic jar packaging.

- mike lee - wheaton, md