camping!

We lucked out with a rare warm and sunny weekend up at Mackinaw City over Memorial Day weekend. We have a tradition of staying at a cabin up there with my mom and sister and brother in law, this trip was especially good! Our campfire cooking has been improving by leaps and bounds every year. The marinated flank steak, feta stuffed peppers, and campfire-baked apples will be making repeat appearances, I am sure of it. One of the highlights was a morning spent on the Lake Michigan beach. We tried to teach the kids how to make sand castles but they are still at the age where destruction is more interesting than construction.

a sampling of questions I've been asked in the last 24 hours

Why does a balloon go up?

Why does an airplane go up?

Why does fire go up?

Why does steam go up?

Where is the sun at night?

How can I get into outer space?

How does a space shuttle go higher than an airplane?

What is lightning?

What is thunder?

Can you teach me to read all by myself?

Can you teach me spelling?

(I taught him C-A-T. Then he said, no mama, all the words! I said we don't have time, I'm making lunch. To which he replied OK, after my nap. And naturally brought it up as soon as he woke up- "it's time for me to learn spelling!!!")

How does a car drive?

How does electricity work?

How do batteries work?

(Then after an extended discussion about motors, electrical and gasoline-powered, he commented "the food processor is like a tiny car with one wheel." I've said it before and I'll say it again, ENGINEER.)

number three

Introducing- baby boy Durrett! Isn't he a cutie.

If you're looking very closely you'll see that the ultrasound picture is labeled "University of Michigan" and you might ask yourself, now weren't the Durretts halfway across the state at Michigan State, not down in Ann Arbor? And you'd be right about that. But, certain events have transpired lately. At my first ultrasound a problem was noted which is an unusual and alarming/serious finding (echogenic bowel). My midwife actually rarely sees it and I didn't get much information from her but I did get a whole lot of scare. Eventually we learned that this issue is associated with a number of severe disorders and we had just a 2 in 3 chance of having a healthy kiddo when the 9 months are up. We were referred for further diagnostics at the University of Michigan and just had a looooong appointment there on Tuesday. Very, very happily they noted some positive findings in terms of how the little guy is doing and our odds are much better (maybe 90-95% chance of a good outcome). We still have some tests out and we ultimately won't know for sure whether he is okay until he is born. It will be a tough wait but given the perspective of where we were last week, we feel hopeful and are surrounded by family and friends who love us and are praying faithfully. As are we.

girly girly girl

I was not an overly girly child, never really played with dolls, liked reading and cooking and doing science experiments above all else. Therefore I was rather unprepared to have a child like Helen who is the epitome of all things girly.

She plays with her dolls all. day. long. At Build-A-Bear she emphatically chose the purple sparkly bear. She constantly tries on my shoes, her favorites being my red pumps. She loves to go to Target and peruse the shoes and purses. She insists that I change her shoes several times a day, actually. Maybe this is her aunt MM coming out in her?

Anyway I do hope I figure out how to raise such a child. Maybe she will want to be a ballerina, or a cheerleader?? I am not sure I would know how to go about that, but I'll give it my best shot.

Easter!

Easter was a little subdued this year owing to George having a major bout of asthma. But we did get out for an egg hunt and chocolate was, of course, consumed.

Helen is always our little wild card- when George was finished finding his eggs, he unwisely sat his basket down to go and play. Helen promptly pilfered all the eggs- fortunately Mommy spotted this before George noticed...

visiting granny and granddad

We recently spent 10 days in the UK with Tim's family. It was lovely except for the travelling part. On the way there our pilot spaced out and failed to show up for our first flight, so we missed our connection and spent 8 glorious hours in the Dulles airport with two overtired toddlers (we'd been up since 4 am). If you need a good quiet gate at Dulles to spend a day, try D11!

But once we arrived we had a lovely time, lots of proper tea, grandchildren spoiled within an inch of their lives (as it should be!). Here is Helen at Build-A-Bear with her Granny:

And best of all we got to meet our new little nephew/cousin Samuel!

Spent a morning at the science museum, always a favorite:

We're home and well over jetlag now, but George still talks about how "soon" we need to get on the little plane and then the big plane to go visit Granny and Granddad again.

the end of an era

Helen's wheels:

Our wheels!

Recent developments (*ahem*) have made it imperative for us to get a bigger vehicle. Three carseats just won't fit across the back of a Hyundai Elantra no matter how hard you try, and we need a three-carseat vehicle by, oh, around September 9th or so. So we did a little shopping a bought our first-ever brand new vehicle, the incredibly awesome and fabulous minivan. You don't have to tell me- I know it's a sexy beast. We've just been cruising around town, blowing smoke rings through the windows and gunning the engine at stoplights.

I will say, though, there is no getting around the eminently practical aspects of a minivan and we already feel that our life has gotten just that much easier!

Even more significant than the car we got was the car we traded in. Tim finally let go of his '98 Saturn, his beloved first and only. I had some worries, okay nightmares, that he would chicken out at the last minute and want to keep it but he was a grownup about the whole thing and just gave her one last little hug before sending her on her way.

A moment of silence, please.