OUT OF OFFICE AUTOREPLY

Brace yourself for two weeks of little to no blogging! We're off to Tuscany. We won't forget the camera. Love, Dr. HF ,et.al.

Obama-mama!

" I like Obama-mama."

- Margaret, while watching Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention on youtube with me this morning. REGISTER TO VOTE 2008!

Overheard

"William, could you please try to be nice to Margaret this morning?"
"But Mama, I am almost nice all of the time!"


"THAT's why you are so fat! Now we'll have to explain EVERYTHING to the new baby. MAN"
- William, upon learning that Mama has a baby in her belly.


"Mama, are you almost done cleaning the glass off the floor?"
"Almost, William."
"Good! Then you can do the laundry like you were supposed to!"

Photos from a Friend!

For all of these events, we forgot our camera. Lucky for you blog-readers out there who were about to suffer another blog-free period, our friends sent us some photos yesterday. So now you know that we grilled kabobs.

We observed snails.

We watered the flowers.

We sat around and smirked.

And Sean went waterboarding with Axel and Uli!

In Other News...

We saw a rainbow on the way home the other day! Sean is the best rainbow-finder der Welt.

No wonder I get their names mixed up!

Plaettli Zoo, Frauenfeld, Switzerland

Today, I took Wm and Mg to a little zoo in Switzerland. I only took pictures of a certain two animals - because the grandparent-readers of this blog tend to have very specific interests. After lunch, Wm and Mg ordered "Baby Lion" ice cream. It made them very happy.

I was also very happy. They did sugar. I did caffeine to keep up.

It was sweet.

It melted, since it was made of sugar.

We have a new pet!

Welcome, Venus, the fly trap! Today, we fed you a yellow jacket and a mosquito and you provided a little entertainment, clamping your jaws around the insects pretty fast, for a plant! You may be faster than our snails! I hope you live, but am encouraged to know that you prefer to be over-watered. That, I can do. Help, one more mouth to feed! I'm calling it Audrey II.

Thanks, Grandpa!

Grandpa McCrea has suffered one or two too many rainy camping experiences. While we were together this month, we noticed that he didn't like getting wet when it rained. He would run about nervously if it looked like rain saying, "Help! I'm going to melt! I'm made of sugar! I'm going to melt!"

Well, for better and for worse, children hear and remember EVERYTHING that is said.

Today, William noticed that his ice cream was melting. He asked me why. I returned the question to him. "Why do you think?" (We were sweltering in the sunshine).

He thought for a second and replied, " Because it is made of sugar, like Grandpa."

Batman Battles Sir Knight "Mad Stork"

Margaret and William Box

Austria with Oma and Grandpa

While I was in America, my family was not suffering without me. They stayed in a sweet little farmhouse in Austria (above) for a week.

It was a long car ride away.

They went on hikes.

And played near mountain streams.

And drove tractors.

And looked at chickens - at later ate their eggs for breakfast.

They drove to Munich to chill in the English Garden.

And took a gondola to the top of a mountain to see what was there.

Slides are a lot of fun in the mountains!

... As is playing soccer.

Oma and grandpa took Spiderman and Margaret to the playground and built a castle.

They look so cozy together!

I'm glad they had such a good time and I'm glad to be back!

Spiderman dressed as Batman

I got home and my son Spiderman is now dressed as Batman. He is actually still Spiderman, in disguise. If I refer to him as "William", he asks me impatiently if I have forgotten his name.