I miss these guys

Hard to believe, a week ago we were on the outskirts of Washington, enjoying Andrew's hospitality after the road trip from hell. We had taken care of these little boys for ten days and it was time to get them back to their parents. We were going to meet up at Andrew's so Al could take them home to sleep and the next morning they would all meet Gody's plane. They had been so good during their stay, but the little two were in need of some big parental hugs.

We took our own kids on many long road trips, but back then we threw a mattress in the back of a station wagon, threw the kids in on top of it and let them roll around like puppies until they fell asleep. We passed some food back once in a while, made the occasional stop to change diapers and rolled on. So the five hundred mile trip from here to DC with three little kids held captive in car seats was quite an experience and one I don't want to repeat in the near future. How Al did it three times this summer on his own defies my imagination.

Frederick was unbelievably cheerful, greeting me every morning with a big grin. Last time he was here, he ate virtually nothing except cheese for every meal. This time he was much less choosy and showed a great affection for cherry tomatoes. Like a minor bureaucrat, he does everything in triplicate and I soon learned that "Apple, apple, apple" meant any kind of fruit, and "Bread, bread, bread" would keep him happy for while. How I miss Frederick's enthusiastic "Gamma, Gamma, Gamma."

Alex, on the other hand, seen here wearing his grandpa's gardening hat, has changed from eating anything to being a serious consumer of peanut butter. That was fine by me. He adores his big brother. He had a ready answer when offered something he didn't want, as in "Do you want some potatoes, Alex?" Answer, "I've got potatoes at home."

Emmanuel is nearly eight, and he had a great time with his cousins Patrick and Charlie. Kate and Ron had him sleep over several nights and he got to go on a number of outings with their family. Manny's secret? He and his grandfather ate Dove bars together when the little guys were out of the picture.

As for us, we turned around next day and drove another five hundred miles home to Michigan and a quiet and empty house.