Aimee received a Sales Award last week to The Ritz Carleton in Naples, FL and took Derek as her guest. Unfortunately, no kids were allowed, so Will and Claire spent the week with us. We took them to the Mall one evening to eat, ride the carousel, and play on the playground. Since this was the first time they had stayed away from home without Mom and Dad, it was a trying experience for both of them, but probably even worse for their mom.

We learned that Kayma makes better peanut butter and jelly than Mom, and we make good chocolate milk. Mom makes better oatmeal than Jerpa, however, Jerpa's is better than Dad's. Sleeping in a sleeping bag is O.K. for Will, but Claire longed for her "beautiful crib".

Will is pretty "laid back" and goes with the flow. Claire is feisty and stubborn, and her favorite sentence is "I don't want to!!", which we heard a lot.