July 1

Friday was a free day and we did some packing in the morning. Packing uncovers toys and books that haven't been seen for a long time or never discovered. Gavin found a French history novel, for kids, and went through every page - reading just the speech bubbles in the frequent illustrations. But still, they didn't make much sense and he kept reading them. I stayed by him and listened and looked for a while, which I loved. It's a luxury that usually only happens with Chris around.

While I was doing some packing Chris disassembled the trampoline. We later delivered it to the Coehlos, which is when my kids swam. It was free to us from a Stanford family and has been well-used every day. I am thankful we got it, although the home insurance guy and our pediatrician told us we shouldn't get one in Washington. I loved trampolines as a kid and spent tons of time on them. For a period of time I even went out before school to get some jumping in. I played a lot of Add-On with Laron and neighbors. So I see the positives more than the negatives. 

All kids love their parents' phones, right? It seems innate because Abby prefers my phone to almost every other option. Betsy and Ruby take pictures without me knowing it, too. Well, this time I was sitting right there and heard them. Ruby said, okay Betsy go stand over there. Say cheese! It all sounded normal, and then I look up and see Betsy standing there forcing the biggest grin ever. It made me laugh. 

Also, let's remember our walkway from door to street. Our stroller and bike trailer scrape the doorsteps and stairs and fence as we roll through. I'm glad to record this, but I might not have thought of it if Betsy/Ruby hadn't taken this picture.