Check out the new photos (over there! on the right! at our flickr page!), from our weekend at Balsam Lake with Meimei and Pompom. A quick selection of my favorites:

Well, don’t you? Here it is.

Now, check out this video response from a couple of guys on youtube.

Dooood.

I just mentioned in the previous post that Freeman is spending the weekend up in Wisconsin with his grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts, etc. Not us, though. Nope, we’re working, cleaning, etc.

Freeman likes to write emails to people. Mostly that means dictating word salad to me. Since he has no idea that typing takes time, it’s really improving my typing speed. Back up to secretarial speeds soon!  Here’s the email he sent this morning. Word Salad? Should I be worried about the popsicle and the soda can? Or the eggcrack on his butt?

—-

Dear Paxton, Dorian, and Kailani,

I both love you and I both miss you all the time; but I’m sure you’re fine. Do you have any sickness? But maybe you want to go to the cave. Just one day out for you and me. I love you so much it breaks my heart, but I just had an eggcrack in my butt, or in my head. C’mon, go to the cave with me! Off we go.

all done. Our house is six miles away from you if you want to visit. Bye. I love you. Next time I’ll see you. The exit is joy appropriate for everyone. I love you so much that I just love you, do you love me? You’re best friends with me. Or would you like to go to PomPom with me; Doo doo doo.  Soda cans are wiggling in the popsicle.

THe end of the wheels, hunting for forest, along came the brother, shaking up the boor merest. Up came the sun, dried up all the rain, the itsy-bitsy spider, …. I love you, I love you, won’t you go to meet me? Thanks for meeting me this Summer. This will be fun. Goodbye meeting duck

Love,

Freeman

Yeah, we’ve been out of commission here at the embassy’s communications center lately: too busy with all of our other commitments to write anything here. I hope the twitter feed has kept some of you amused and vaguely in touch.

A few things of note:

• Freeman is attending J.J. Hill Montessori (Public) in the Fall. I’m excited, and nervous. I hope it’s not too big a school, or too big a change. Worried parent syndrome.
• Nahanni is now sleeping in her own bed! That’s a huge change. She’s sleeping in her own twin bed just a few feet away from her brother, in their own room. Not sleeping through the nights yet, but an awesome improvement nevertheless.
• Our awesome next-door neighbor Pat taught and showed me how to replace our basement plumbing pipes two nights ago. The job lasted from 7 PM until 2 AM, but we got rid of the old, clogged, cast-iron pipes and replaced them with spanking brand new copper pipes (less lead, more water flow, and much shinier). They look great, and work much better (no more using the outdoor hose to fill up a sink full of dirty dishes, e.g.). Thanks to that, I now have a better idea of how to do basic plumbing, use a blowtorch, a hacksaw, sauter (“flux”), and a host of other issues.
• The next morning, the basement was flooded. The ancient water main shutoff had blown when I turned it back on. Pat fixed it with a crescent wrench. Wow. No problems now.
• Then, I bought and installed a new kitchen faucet.
• Leah’s been doing TONS of work on the new embassy: painting, ripping up carpeting, decorating….just tons of stuff.

We’re having our official housewarming party this Saturday! Should be lots of fun – people from Macalester, the neighborhood, the IWW, and, of course, family.

Then, Leah’s parents (Nonna and Poppop) show up in about a week and a half. The kids are nearly besides themselves with excitement.

Okay, that’s it. But hey – we love you.

So said Arun two minutes ago. Now, Terry Brazelton may think this sort of thing is normal, but I’m considering inducing a certain amount of trauma. Or perhaps I can just accept that my son will become a lifelong copraphiliac.

Man, have I missed my family. But they are back! I picked them up at the airport yesterday afternoon, and we spent time hanging out with various members of our family before snuggling into bed last night. The kids are already back at daycare today (and Nahanni transitions up to an older group of kids this week!), and I don’t have time right now to announce much in the way of news, but here are some of my favorite photos of the kids from the last month in Florida:

Lots more on our flickr page. See especially the Fountain photos!

Arun’s been talking lately about wanting to “go to church”, “’cause they have music” to listen to. He associates, we suppose, church music with more instrumental, classically-oriented music.

So, Leah told him, “We can take you to church, no problem.”

His instant reply? “No, churches are only for funerals.”

Guess who’s been listening to his father?

Hmmm….That came on faster than I expected! Try also this one, uttered just before sleep after leaving Sokhun,

Daddy, I’m going to dream about Sokhun. I’m going to dream about Sokhun entering our house, ’cause I miss her all the time.

Of course, a second later than that, he plaintively demanded that he be allowed to marry me.

continuing in the BTB vein, I recently discovered this video which we all love, on youtube. Think the BTB theme song sticks in your head? Watch with caution. What, this hit number one or something in England?