Things They Are A Changin'

Remember the days that I would write about Claire and Chloe spending so much time with us when we were at their house, reading, playing, pretending, singing, and all matter of things? Well those days may be over. Fortunately, Chris still spends his moments adoring his grandparents and smiling and cooing at our beck and call.

I was shocked on Friday when the phone rang and a little voice said, "Can I please speak to either Claire or Chloe?" The girls came, and as they took turns talking, I discovered that it was a neighbor girl asking them to come out/over to play. I quickly said that they would have to wait and ask Daddy when he got home, and they were fine with that decision. Daddy came home shortly after that call, and they both ran to the door to ask him. He said "yes" and they were out the door in a flash, put their water boots on and took off. Below you see them running down their hill to the creek. Apparently two sisters live across the creek, ages 7 and 9, and have become pals of our girls. Mike reports that they seem to really enjoy Claire and Chloe and have played in the house several times so he feels very comfortable with the situation. I remember last year when the twins were two years old how they would see kids across the creek and call out to them. There was never any response at that point, but now they have become fast friends.

Here is one of the sisters greeting Claire and Chloe. Claire was returning up the hill to pick up a bucket of mud that Chloe had decided not to carry any farther. Paula told me later that they both returned home covered in mud. That is always the sign of a good time.... The good news is that the creek is quite low and that you can stand out on Mike and Paula's deck and hear the laughter and play but not necessarily see them. Mike reports that it is very safe and that they play on a flat area just across the creek.

And so, as you can see, we are no longer the "center of the universe" when we are with Claire and Chloe. It was inevitable that this day was coming, but it came much sooner than I had expected.

Looking forward to a great week ahead and a family trip to Hawaii coming up very, very, soon. Chloe has informed us that she isn't sure she wants to fly since she is "afraid of heights". She did add on one occasion, that she had decided, however, "to be very brave."