Gavin's trip

Just FYI, a big reason I've been so absent from the blog is that Gavin was gone from Tuesday to Saturday afternoon doing a really cool job in a really cool part of PNG, so watch for pictures! Meanwhile, things were really, really good here but also really, really busy. I was one tired mama by nighttime and finally getting Isaac to bed. No "chick flicks" or period drama movie nights for me anymore during Gavin's overnights! :) I had all the help I needed in our wonderful community and am very grateful for happy, healthy, well-adjusted kids - although David and Will kept talking about Daddy having gone bye-bye and "fwy" (fly) on the "ow-ka" (helicopter), and a couple of times Will cried for him. Sweet!

From Karen regarding Monday's playdate:

The kids decided the most fun thing to do with the plastic chairs was to push them around the house. They made a little train following each other, though my photos somehow only show one kid at a time.

 Marcie, however, had her own ideas. While the others were pushing chairs around the house, she found a hat, put it on, got a book off the shelf, took her chair to the table and sat down to read, all without any guidance from me or anyone else.

I was photographing the chair pushers when I heard a sweet voice say clearly, "Up and down!" I looked at Marcie and saw she had put Corduroy back on the shelf and taken off "The Wheels on the Bus." She was bouncing in her chair and singing the words the best she could.

Marcie looks like my mom as a baby in this photo, I think!