We had a beverage at Starbucks before the flight and Stefan made friends with an old lady with a cane. They were clearly enjoying each other's company while Camille drank her orange juice and I watched her eat a lemon cake: long fingers and brown eyes.
In line for the flight, I knew there would be trouble over who should sit by the window. I told them they would need to figure out a way to make it fair and I proposed that each would have a turn each direction but to decide who went first by a coin toss. Stefan called it "heads" and won so he got to choose. Camille was upset and said, "Fine! He always gets to go first!" After a few minutes of sulking, Stefan tried to be friendly but got long slitty stares and a pout which only conveyed the message of, "leave me alone!"
After a few minutes, he came up to her and with his eyes wide open and said, "Ok, Camille! You can sit by the window! Ok?! Do you want to?!"
'No! It's ok Stefan." Bizarre behavior from both. And then it was over.
Later, on the plane, the stewardess remarked, "You seem like a very nice boy." To which he replied, "First we're mean and then we're nice!"
When the stewardess asked him what he wanted to drink, he said; "The real thing!" He told me he wanted a real Coke before she asked, meaning, not diet, not cherry, or cherry vanilla...
Mike picked us up and I was just as excited as the kids. Of course, when we got to the house, Tanya and Ana were out somewhere, only to prolong the kids agony. When they did arrive, Camille was jumping up and down like a pogo stick and Stefan ran up to Tanya and asked, "You wanna see my trucks?! I'll show you!" The kids immediately started to play and it was at least two hours later before I realized that they had been playing nicely (including Stefan in their games) without any whining or sagas.
Yesterday morning, we had great coffee with breakfast. Tanya and I completed the camping list. Mike lent me his car (anything I borrow from Mike is special) and we followed Tanya and Lidia to REI. Tanya bought a rack with a space case for her new car. We bought Ana and Camille matching T-shirts with a dog on it.
Camille, Stefan, Ana and I drove to Bob and Valerie's on Sunday. Grammy and Grampa were already there. The kids mostly played in the yard and later swam in the hot tub. Bob bought burritos and chicitos for lunch. Grandpa was ok but looked disheveled; unshaven and scruffy. He mostly sat quietly as he lately does. Valerie was a joy and we chit-chatted about our kids, trips, and current thoughts about the Foreign Service.
It rained on the drive back to Davis from Sacramento and all three kids fell asleep in the car.
Lidia came over with Bunya for dinner and we had fish tacos. The kids just played and played so nicely together. Camille and Ana made a collage from magazines. Camille's has pictures of dogs and cats (both wild and domestic) and wrote; "Dogs are active. Cats are lazi."
Mike and Tanya are at work. Bunya is inviting us to lunch and tonight we are all going out to Japanese food. I have errands to run and I want to take the kids out to a park in between rain showers. The kids are currently playing school and Ana and Camille did some homework this morning.
The kids loved your "hot cross bunnies" joke and I can hear Stefan announce he wants to be eight now.
You are my life.
Peter