A tale of three dates...

In a house without boys...

The furniture stays put
The sofa cushions stay on
The laundry hamper and dishwasher fill slowly
And the baby sleeps longer
But it's too quiet
and too clean
And not quite right without them

Today we got our boys back. They spent five incredible days in California visiting their Aunt Laura and Uncle Adam. They were the first kids in the entire universe to see a brand new Cartoon Network show. They ate a different kind of sugar cereal for breakfast each day. They rode their very first roller coasters and took their first surfing lesson. They took in Lego Land with Harry, one of their oldest and best friends. They met Sponge Bob. The Sponge Bob (or his voice, at least).

They came home dressed in sunglasses and checkered Vans, utterly exhausted and laden with new treasures: toys, buttons, tattoos and the like. They shared their bounty with the entire neighborhood, who gathered on our front lawn to welcome them home when school let out. One child said to me, as I pressed a wet rag over his temporary tattoo, "I wish I could be in your family. When we go on vacation we just go to people's houses and a bunch of stores!"

We had breakfast burritos with root beer and brownies for dinner. (I felt the need to show I could serve fun food too). We had a short family home evening and they fell asleep almost as soon as their newly clean heads hit the pillow. They had showered a total of one time in five days and, inexplicably, almost all their clean clothes returned home unworn...the mark of a truly good, parent-free vacation. I told them I'd let them sleep late tomorrow because they're still on California time. I can just see them telling that to all their friends when they saunter into class in their Vans at 10 A.M.









We got a lot of surprised looks when we told people where Eric and Brigham were last week. Though I worried just a tiny bit, I know my cousin and my brother and knew that they would be extremely well-cared-for. At least emotionally, if not nutritionally:). The flights went off without a hitch- one of the benefits of living in Atlanta= non-stops to everywhere. It was the adventure of a lifetime, and I think they'll remember it forever.

More details of their exploits to come, when I get the serious-camera pictures....